The aim of this article is to offer an approach that can be used to develop Decolonial Critical Awareness (CDA) and Decolonial Critical Reflection (CDR) in student language teachers at post-Primary level as part of their Initial Teacher Education (ITE). The article contextualises the rationale for such provision in ITE programmes in the wider…

Conversations and networks are essential for transforming academics' teaching practices as learning experiences (Palmer 1993). Yet, there has been little research reporting academics' informal conversations about teaching (Thomson and Trigwell 2018). Teachers will generally access small significant networks (Becher and Trowler 2001) for nuanced…

This paper focuses on a teacher educator's professional learning gained while facilitating teacher research with teachers in Ireland. The teachers were engaged in a teaching portfolio development process, while the teacher educator conducted a concurrent self-study. Qualitative data was gathered and analysed from the teacher interviews, the…

In this research we examined the ways we accessed and responded to students' engagement with a set of pedagogical principles of teacher education focused on meaningful physical education. The research was cross-cultural, taking place in universities in Country 1 and Country 2. Self-study of teacher education practice (S-STEP) methodology guided…

This article outlines how a cyclic process of reflection and action was strengthened by the role of an external critical friend in a collaborative self-study. As three teacher education practitioners, two of us participated in the collaborative self-study, acting as internal critical friends to each other, while the third added an external layer…

Although primary teachers in the Republic of Ireland are generalist teachers, language teaching of both Irish and English, as well as the development of literacy skills across the curriculum is an integral part of their daily professional practice. This paper presents an analysis of the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL)…

This study explores reflective practice through the lens of counterfactual thinking and examines its role in encouraging student teachers to reflect on negative "critical incidents". The study posits that reflections on critical incidents are often not "critical" in nature. They more frequently result in counterfactual thinking…

In Ireland, at present, the roles and responsibilities of the educational partners regarding initial teacher education (ITE) are in transition. ITE routes have been extended allowing for additional focus to be placed on the central component of school placement. This material change, as well as policies promoting collaborative practice, teachers…

Digital Badge design and practice at a national level is a relatively new field of scrutiny and this study reports on a sector-wide initiative for building digital capacity with the design, and implementation of an ecosystem of 15 open courses in teaching and learning with digital badges to recognise the professional development of teachers in…

A new model of reflective practice for student teachers on school placement was implemented into a teacher education program. The model aimed to encourage critical reflection that challenged hegemonic assumptions and power relations. In contrast to this, the analysis of the student teachers' reflections revealed a desire to fit in and conform.…

Problem Statement: This paper focuses on assessment in Irish education, which, despite best intentions, shepherds students through the process to an extent that the individual is prone to undervalue her/his ability to trust in the self as a rational, self-thinking individual. In Ireland's assessment system lies the paradox whereby from childhood…

This paper reports on a research case study into a form of mentoring for teachers in higher education in Ireland with 30 academic staff. It begins with an exploration of the concept and practice of mentoring in the world of higher education professional development; focus will be limited to an overview of the concept of teacher mentoring, an…

This article is located within the wider European context of teacher development and is specifically concerned with the needs of those supporting novice teachers during the early stages in their professional career. Currently, induction systems across Europe are largely fragmented, locally based and with little transference of best practice. There…

In the drive to achieve universal primary education as one of the Millennium Development Goals, there is an increasing recognition of the urgency of focusing on teacher education to both meet the demand for more than one million qualified teachers required to achieve this goal within sub-Saharan Africa, as well as to combat the sometimes poor…

In order to effectively meet the needs of families, this paper argues that there is a need for people working in the arena of family support to incorporate theory and research into their practice and to engage in a process of reflective practice. An inter-disciplinary cyclical model of training for experienced family support practitioners is…