AMI8P

Section: 7 TE programs

Title: Beyond a command performance: reflections on Classmates as a new teacher

preparation initiative

Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, Volume 36, Issue 1 February 2008 , pages
5 - 18

Journal:
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/1359866X.asp

Abstract:
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a789869925~db=all~order=page

Author:
Tania Ferfolja Details: http://pubapps.uws.edu.au/teldir/personprocess.php?7211
Email: ta.ferfolja@uws.edu.au
The University of Western Sydney, Penrith, Australia

Keywords:
Australia
Beginning teachers
Pre-service teacher education
Teacher training
Teacher preparation
Socially disadvantaged populations

‫תמצית‬

This paper reflects on a new pre-service teacher education initiative, Classmates. Classmates
is a collaboration between the University of Western Sydney (UWS) and the New South
Wales Department of Education and Training (DET), South Western Sydney Region.
Classmates aims to prepare pre-service teachers to work in challenging, hard-to-staff
schools. These contexts typically have socially disadvantaged populations and annually
experience teacher shortages and high teacher turnover, particularly amongst beginning and
early career teachers.

‫מאמר‬

Source: Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, Volume 36, Issue 1 February 2008 , pages
5 - 18

This paper reflects on a new pre-service teacher education initiative, Classmates. Classmates
is a collaboration between the University of Western Sydney (UWS) and the New South
Wales Department of Education and Training (DET), South Western Sydney Region.
Classmates aims to prepare pre-service teachers to work in challenging, hard-to-staff
schools.

These contexts typically have socially disadvantaged populations and annually experience
teacher shortages and high teacher turnover, particularly amongst beginning and early career
teachers. Classmates seeks to produce beginning teachers who are highly prepared for,
confident and mentally and emotionally equipped to work in such environments.

This discussion focuses on some of the positive attributes about the initiative, particularly its
practicum structure; its nurturing of pre-service teachers to work in challenging contexts; and
its strong focus on networking and development of ongoing support structures.