Preservice Teacher Preparation in International Contexts: A Case-Study Examination of the International Student Teacher Programs

Authors

  • W. James Jacob University of Pittsburgh
  • Deborah L. Swensen Hawthorne Academy
  • Julie M. Hite Brigham Young University
  • Lynnette B. Erickson Brigham Young University
  • Marie Tuttle Brigham Young University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/ehe.2010.15

Abstract

This article examines the teacher preparation experiences of preservice teachers in six international contexts: China, Fiji, Kiribati, Mexico, Samoa, and Tonga. More specifically, it looks at the value-added components in an international teacher education program, with an emphasis on effective teaching and employability. Theoretically the study is based on Straus and Corbin’s (1998a) substantive grounded theory and Patton’s (1997) Theory of Action Framework. Verbal and non-verbal forms of feedback were identified as essential aspects of the international preservice training experience. Cultural diversity, teaching English as a second language, collaboration, and exposure to a different educational system were identified among several components as advantages to individuals who conduct their preservice teacher training in international settings.

Author Biographies

W. James Jacob, University of Pittsburgh

W. James Jacob is Director of the Institute for International Studies in Education at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Education, and is the former Assistant Director of the Center for International and Development Education at UCLA. His research focuses on program design, implementation, and evaluation; HIV/AIDS multisectoral capacity building and prevention; social change and development; and higher education organizational analysis in developing countries with geographic emphases in Africa, East and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands.

Deborah L. Swensen, Hawthorne Academy

Deborah L. Swensen is a Principal/Director at Hawthorn Academy, a Utah Public Charter School.  She received her Masters Degree in Education with an emphasis in Gifted and Talented secondary education. She received her PhD from Brigham Young University in Educational Leadership and Foundations with a focus on Peer Leadership Communities (PLCs) and the organizational development and sustainability of visions. Her experience includes work at the Utah State Office of Education as the Assessment Director with research that addresses the effectiveness of state summative assessments verses computer adaptive testing. Her research utilizes quantitative and qualitative methods and analyses. She works  in administration in the public school system and currently serves as the principal and superintendent of a K-9 school whose focus is International Baccalaureate. The school offers both the Primary Years Program and Middle School Years Program. She also does extensive work in Accreditation for the state of Utah and the Northwest Accreditation Commission.

Julie M. Hite, Brigham Young University

Julie M. Hite is an Associate Professor of Organizational Leadership and Strategy in the Educational Leadership and Foundations Department at Brigham Young University. She received her Masters Degree in Organizational Behavior from Brigham Young University and her PhD from the University of Utah in Strategic Management with focus on entrepreneurship and social and organizational networks. Her research addresses on social networks in educational contexts, including administrative networks, teacher networks, administrator/teacher relations, and dyadic relational embeddedness and trust. She researches the development, structure and implications of strategic organizational networks, including resource acquisition and organizational performance, in the context of United States and Ugandan educational systems, districts and schools.  Her research utilizes quantitative, qualitative and network methods and analyses.

Lynnette B. Erickson, Brigham Young University

Lynnette B. Erickson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Brigham Young University. She has had public school teaching experience in the Utah and Arizona public school systems and holds a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from Arizona State University. Erickson served as associate department chair for the Department of Teacher Education at Brigham Young University for eight years. During that time developed, administered, and supervised national and international student teaching programs for BYU preservice teachers in Houston, Texas and Washington, DC; and China, Fiji, Guatemala, Kiribati, Mexico, New Zealand, Samoa, and Tonga.

Marie Tuttle, Brigham Young University

Marie Tuttle is a Professor Emeritus at Brigham Young University's School of Education. She has held a number of administrative positions, including serving as Associate Dean of the David O. McKay School of Education, and directing BYU's international student teacher programs in each of the countries mentioned in this article.

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Published

2010-12-31

Issue

Vol 1, Nos 1&2 (2010)

Section

Articles

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