The focus of this article is how to ensure (beginning) teachers' needs as practitioners are part of the discursive dialogue in physical education teacher education programs. We consider the relationship between "structure" and "agency," teachers as "change agents" and refer to "workplace learning" as we…

Talk, peer collaboration and exchanging ideas significantly contribute to a child's conceptual understanding in science (Howe, McWilliam and Cross, 2005). Dialogue helps children to clarify their thinking and to develop their capacity to reason, which are crucial scientific process skills (Mercer et al., 2004). One very effective way of supporting…

This study examines the induction needs of a group of teachers at different career stages working in a socially disadvantaged secondary school in the Republic of Ireland. 44 teachers participated in the study, 11 of whom were student teachers, 11 of whom were newly qualified teachers and 22 of whom were experienced teachers returning to the school…

This paper examines the use of peer-videoing in the classroom as a tool to promote reflective practice among student teachers. Twenty pre-service teachers from a variety of subject disciplines participating in a Post-Graduate Diploma in Education programme in an Irish university participated in the study. The practice of encouraging student…

Since the late 1980s and early 1990s, Comparative and International Education (CIE) has almost disappeared from the curricula of teacher education colleges in Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Yet, CIE is experiencing a revival at postgraduate level. This article will explore the reasons for this dichotomy and the decline of CIE…

This article, by Jackie Lambe, lecturer in education, and Robert Bones, lecturer in psychology, both from the University of Ulster, provides a useful review of the current state of policy, practice and teacher education relating to pupils with special educational needs in Northern Ireland. The authors use this review to launch their account of…

This article reports on the outcomes of a study that compared implicit and explicit teaching approaches on the development of contemporary conceptions of the nature of science (NoS). The sample comprised two groups of prospective primary teachers in the Republic of Ireland, all non-specialists in science. Research has shown that contemporary…

Research into student teachers' perceptions, attitudes and prior experiences of learning suggests that these experiences can exert an influence on practice which can be relatively undisturbed by their initial teacher education. This article is based on the initial findings of an all-Ireland survey of all first-year students on B.Ed. courses in…

With the passing of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Act into law alongside the move away from academic selection for post-primary pupils by 2008 and a far reaching review of the curriculum, education in Northern Ireland is about to face its most radical change in fifty years. Issues relating to Inclusive Education are now pressing…

A study of the comparability of results of two techniques of testing, the traditional approach and that of giving the students the questions before the examination, revealed little difference in the two approaches' results, and supports the use of "prior notice" to reduce test anxiety. (MSE)