teacher education curriculum

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a training program based on constructivist theory in improving the pedagogical competencies of female digital skills teachers. To achieve this aim, a quasi-experimental approach was employed with a sample of 20 female digital skills teachers. A pedagogical competency test was developed, and its validity and reliability were established. The findings revealed statistically significant differences at the significance level of α ≤ 0.05 between the mean post-test scores of the experimental and control groups in the dimension of subject-matter knowledge, attributable to the training program. Statistically significant differences were also found between the two groups’ mean post-test scores in the dimension of knowledge of students’ characteristics and educational needs, attributable to the training program. Finally, the results indicated statistically significant differences between the two groups’ mean post-test scores in the dimension of pedagogical knowledge, attributable to the training program. The study offered several recommendations, most notably incorporating constructivist theory-based training programs into teachers’ professional development across different disciplines because of their role in improving knowledge of instructional content, students’ characteristics and educational needs, and teaching principles and strategies. It also recommended providing specialized training programs in teaching methods and strategies, with particular emphasis on training teachers to select the most appropriate instructional strategy according to the nature and characteristics of their students.

This study examined teacher candidates' technostress levels and information and communication technology (ICT) competencies, the association between these constructs, and differences according to selected variables. A quantitative correlational survey design was used with 427 third- and fourth-year teacher candidates from nine programs at the Faculty of Education, Akdeniz University, in the 2024–2025 academic year. Data were collected with the Teachers' Technostress Levels Defining Scale, adapted for teacher candidates, and the ICT Competencies Scale for Teacher Candidates and were analyzed with simple linear regression, Mann–Whitney U, and Kruskal–Wallis H tests; group comparisons were treated as exploratory and adjusted with the Holm procedure. Mean technostress scores fell within the upper third of the possible range, and mean ICT competence scores fell within the lower third. ICT competence was negatively associated with technostress and accounted for 36.5% of its variance. Female candidates reported higher technostress than males, with small effect sizes. Technostress was higher and ICT competence was lower in the Science and Guidance and Psychological Counseling programs. Because the design is cross-sectional, these findings indicate associations rather than causal effects.

Professional speech culture is an essential component of teacher preparation, yet university courses in this area often emphasize normative linguistic knowledge without sufficiently integrating its application to authentic pedagogical communication. This study aimed to preliminarily adapt and evaluate the Teacher's Speech Culture course for pre-service Kazakh language teachers by strengthening the integration of normative-linguistic, communicative-pragmatic, discursive, and interactive components of professional speech competence. A single-group pre-test–post-test design was used. Initially, 180 students were recruited from two higher education institutions in southern Kazakhstan; 156 completed all stages and were included in the final analysis. The adapted course combined theoretical instruction with professionally oriented communicative situations, independent construction of professional utterances, interactive tasks, and reflective analysis of speech behaviour. Professional speech competence was assessed before and after the course using diagnostic and performance-based measures. The assessment demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.86). Data were examined using pre-test -post-test comparisons and path analysis. Overall professional speech competence increased from M = 7.84 (SD = 1.62) to M = 9.72 (SD = 1.48), t (155) = 11.46, p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 0.92. Significant improvements were also observed across the normative-linguistic, communicative-pragmatic, discursive, and interactive components. Path analysis indicated that the ability to analyse professional communicative situations had the strongest direct association with professional speech competence. Professional speech competence was also positively associated with speech self-control and flexibility of professional speech behaviour. The findings provide preliminary empirical support for a practice-oriented adaptation of the Teacher's Speech Culture course that connects knowledge of language norms with contextual analysis, independent speech production, and regulation of professional communication. Given the absence of a separate control group, the observed changes should be interpreted as pre-test–post-test differences associated with course participation rather than evidence of a causal intervention effect. Further controlled studies involving broader samples are required to evaluate the effectiveness and generalizability of the adapted course.

Islamic higher education continues to face challenges from the dominance of secular, materialistic, and positivistic Western epistemology in curriculum development, theory building, and academic research. This indicates curriculum colonialism operating through the secularization of course content and the hegemony of international publication standards, a condition that ultimately affects how Islamic Religious Education (PAI) is designed and taught in elementary schools, since PAI teachers and curriculum developers are themselves trained within that same higher-education system. This study aims to uncover these practices, analyze their impact on Islamic education, and examine their implications for PAI instruction at the elementary level (SD/MI). Using a qualitative library-research method, this study analyzes 12 journal articles published in 2021–2025 as the main sources, supported by methodology books, policy documents, and primary works of the key thinkers, on the decolonization of knowledge. The results show that curriculum colonialism operates through the dominance of Western theories in the learning process, the separation of knowledge from divine values, and higher education's dependence on publication standards set by institutions such as Scopus and Web of Science. This dichotomy of knowledge risks being reproduced in elementary PAI instruction whenever teacher-training curricula remain uncritically Western in orientation, while integrated schools that succeed in bridging faith and science tend to do so through grassroots initiative rather than systemic curriculum reform. Curriculum reconstruction is therefore needed at both levels through integrating knowledge and religion, strengthening Islamic scholarship, reforming PAI teacher-education curricula, and building an independent scientific publication system. In conclusion, curriculum colonialism in Islamic higher education has the potential to be passed on to elementary PAI instruction through teacher education. This study recommends integrating knowledge and religion in the curricula of Islamic higher education and PAI teacher education, and conducting further empirical research in elementary schools (SD/MI).

آموزش عالی اسلامی همچنان با چالش‌هایی ناشی از سلطهٔ معرفت‌شناسی غربی سکولار، مادی‌گرا و پوزیتیویستی در توسعهٔ برنامهٔ درسی، نظریه‌پردازی و پژوهش‌های علمی مواجه است. این امر نشان‌دهندهٔ استعمار برنامهٔ درسی است که از طریق سکولاریزه‌کردن محتوای دروس و هژمونی استانداردهای بین‌المللی انتشار علمی عمل می‌کند؛ وضعیتی که در نهایت بر نحوهٔ طراحی و آموزش تعلیمات دینی اسلامی (PAI) در مدارس ابتدایی تأثیر می‌گذارد، چرا که معلمان و برنامه‌ریزان درسی PAI خود در همین نظام آموزش عالی تربیت می‌شوند. هدف این پژوهش، کشف این رویه‌ها، تحلیل تأثیرات آن بر آموزش اسلامی و بررسی پیامدهای آن برای آموزش PAI در سطح ابتدایی (SD/MI) است. این پژوهش با استفاده از روش کیفی کتابخانه‌ای، ۱۲ مقالهٔ علمی منتشرشده در سال‌های ۲۰۲۱ تا ۲۰۲۵ را به‌عنوان منابع اصلی و همچنین کتاب‌های روش‌شناسی، اسناد سیاستی و آثار اصلی اندیشمندان کلیدی حوزهٔ استعمارزدایی معرفت را تحلیل می‌کند. نتایج نشان می‌دهد که استعمار برنامهٔ درسی از طریق سلطهٔ نظریه‌های غربی در فرایند یادگیری، جدایی دانش از ارزش‌های الهی و وابستگی آموزش عالی به استانداردهای انتشار علمی نهادهایی مانند Scopus و Web of Science عمل می‌کند. این دوگانگی معرفتی در آموزش PAI ابتدایی زمانی بازتولید می‌شود که برنامه‌های تربیت معلم بدون نقدپذیری، همچنان با رویکرد غربی باقی بمانند؛ در حالی که مدارس تلفیقی که موفق به پیوند ایمان و علم می‌شوند، عمدتاً این کار را از طریق ابتکار عمل‌های مردمی و نه اصلاحات نظام‌مند برنامهٔ درسی انجام می‌دهند. بنابراین بازسازی برنامهٔ درسی در هر دو سطح از طریق ادغام دانش و دین، تقویت دانش اسلامی، اصلاح برنامه‌های تربیت معلم PAI و ایجاد نظام مستقل انتشار علمی ضروری است. در نتیجه، استعمار برنامهٔ درسی در آموزش عالی اسلامی این پتانسیل را دارد که از طریق تربیت معلم به آموزش PAI ابتدایی منتقل شود. این پژوهش ادغام دانش و دین را در برنامه‌های درسی آموزش عالی اسلامی و تربیت معلم PAI توصیه می‌کند و انجام پژوهش‌های تجربی بیشتر در مدارس ابتدایی (SD/MI) را پیشنهاد می‌دهد.

Teacher attrition remains a persistent challenge, particularly among early-career educators, with language teachers facing distinct systemic barriers such as job insecurity, undervaluation, and emotional labour. While existing studies predominantly focus on in-service teachers, pre-service teacher attrition remains underexplored, limiting the development of effective interventions to support student-teachers. This study addresses this gap by examining the case of a pre-service teacher from China, who was enroled in a Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages programme at a Malaysian university and later left teacher education for business studies. Adopting a longitudinal qualitative approach, we thematically and temporally analysed 13 semi-structured interviews conducted over nearly two years. The findings reveal that the participant’s departure was driven by a mismatch between teaching realities and initial aspirations, psychological strain and burnout, inadequate skill development and support, concerns over the recognition and transferability of the degree, and the relocation of career identity. These factors were contextualised through the interplay of human, social, structural, and psychological capital constraints, alongside relational, comparative, and agentic capital influences, manifesting through contradictory, socialising, dislocating, and evolutionary routines in careership. The study has significant implications for teacher education programmes and the broader educational community in fostering teacher retention and promoting a more sustainable teaching profession.

ترک شغل معلمی همچنان یک چالش پایدار است، به‌ویژه در میان معلمان اوایل دوران حرفه‌ای، و معلمان زبان با موانع نظام‌مند خاصی مانند ناامنی شغلی، کم‌ارزشی و کار عاطفی مواجه هستند. در حالی که پژوهش‌های موجود عمدتاً بر معلمان شاغل تمرکز دارند، ترک شغل معلمان پیش‌خدمت کمتر مورد بررسی قرار گرفته است که این امر توسعه مداخلات مؤثر برای حمایت از دانشجویان معلم را محدود می‌کند. این مطالعه به این خلأ می‌پردازد و مورد یک معلم پیش‌خدمت از چین را بررسی می‌کند که در برنامه آموزش زبان انگلیسی به سخنگویان زبان‌های دیگر (TESOL) در یک دانشگاه مالزی ثبت‌نام کرده بود و بعدها آموزش معلمی را به نفع مطالعات کسب‌وکار ترک کرد. با اتخاذ رویکرد کیفی طولی، سیزده مصاحبه نیمه‌ساختاریافته که طی تقریباً دو سال انجام شده بود، به‌صورت موضوعی و زمانی تحلیل شد. یافته‌ها نشان می‌دهد که ترک آموزش معلمی توسط شرکت‌کننده ناشی از عدم تطابق میان واقعیت‌های تدریس و آرمان‌های اولیه، فشار روانی و فرسودگی شغلی، توسعه ناکافی مهارت و حمایت، نگرانی درباره اعتبار و قابلیت انتقال مدرک، و جابه‌جایی هویت شغلی بوده است. این عوامل از طریق تعامل محدودیت‌های سرمایه انسانی، اجتماعی، ساختاری و روان‌شناختی، در کنار تأثیرات سرمایه رابطه‌ای، مقایسه‌ای و عاملیت، و بروز آن‌ها در روال‌های متناقض، اجتماعی‌کننده، جابه‌جا‌کننده و تکاملی در مسیر شغلی، زمینه‌مند شده‌اند. این مطالعه پیامدهای مهمی برای برنامه‌های آموزش معلمی و جامعه آموزشی گسترده‌تر در جهت تقویت نگهداشت معلمان و ترویج حرفه‌ای پایدارتر برای تدریس دارد.

Background Inclusive education is a global policy priority. Such education requires teacher education programs to provide pre-service teachers with the skills, attitudes, and knowledge required to support diverse students in inclusive classrooms. In Ghana, recent reforms have transformed the initial teacher education requirement for basic schoolteachers from a three-year diploma into a four-year bachelor of education, with inclusive education positioned as an important component of teacher preparation. However, questions remain regarding how effectively the reformed curriculum prepares pre-service teachers to implement inclusive practices in classroom settings. Methods This study explores teacher educators' perspectives on Ghana's reformed initial teacher education curriculum and its role in preparing pre-service teachers to offer inclusive education. Following a qualitative research design, data were collected through focus group discussions with 10 teacher educators: eight from colleges of education who are directly involved in training pre-service teachers, and two working in affiliated universities. The data were analyzed using reflective thematic analysis. Results The focus groups revealed that, while the reform has increased the visibility of inclusive education, significant gaps remain in the depth, duration, organization, and practical orientation of the curriculum. Participants reported that inclusive education content is too narrowly focused on disability identification—particularly visible disability categories—with limited attention to broader student diversity, inclusive pedagogy, and classroom-based strategies. The findings also highlight curriculum overload, limited opportunities for experiential learning, and a disconnect between reform aspirations and curriculum implementation. Conclusion The findings suggest that strengthening inclusive teacher preparation in Ghana requires more coherent curriculum design, institutional support, and expanded opportunities for practice-based learning.

زمینه: آموزش فراگیر یک اولویت سیاستی جهانی است. چنین آموزشی مستلزم آن است که برنامه‌های تربیت معلم، مهارت‌ها، نگرش‌ها و دانش لازم را برای حمایت از دانش‌آموزان متنوع در کلاس‌های فراگیر به معلمان پیش‌خدمت ارائه دهند. در غنا، اصلاحات اخیر، الزام اولیه تربیت معلم برای معلمان مدارس ابتدایی را از یک دیپلم سه‌ساله به یک لیسانس چهار‌ساله آموزش تبدیل کرده است و آموزش فراگیر به عنوان یکی از اجزای مهم آمادگی معلمان جایگاه یافته است. با این حال، همچنان پرسش‌هایی دربارهٔ میزان اثربخشی برنامهٔ درسی اصلاح‌شده در آماده‌سازی معلمان پیش‌خدمت برای اجرای شیوه‌های فراگیر در محیط‌های کلاسی باقی است. روش‌ها: این مطالعه دیدگاه‌های مدرسان معلمان دربارهٔ برنامهٔ درسی اصلاح‌شده تربیت معلم اولیه در غنا و نقش آن در آماده‌سازی معلمان پیش‌خدمت برای ارائه آموزش فراگیر را بررسی می‌کند. با پیروی از طرح پژوهش کیفی، داده‌ها از طریق بحث‌های گروهی متمرکز با ۱۰ مدرس معلم جمع‌آوری شد: هشت نفر از دانشکده‌های تربیت معلم که مستقیماً در آموزش معلمان پیش‌خدمت مشارکت دارند و دو نفر در دانشگاه‌های وابسته فعالیت می‌کنند. داده‌ها با استفاده از تحلیل تماتیک بازتابی تحلیل شدند. یافته‌ها: گروه‌های متمرکز نشان دادند که اگرچه اصلاحات موجب افزایش دیده‌شدن آموزش فراگیر شده است، اما شکاف‌های قابل توجهی در عمق، مدت، سازماندهی و جهت‌گیری عملی برنامهٔ درسی باقی مانده است. شرکت‌کنندگان گزارش دادند که محتوای آموزش فراگیر بیش از حد بر شناسایی ناتوانی—به ویژه دسته‌های قابل مشاهده ناتوانی—متمرکز است و به تنوع گسترده‌تر دانش‌آموزان، پداگوژی فراگیر و راهبردهای مبتنی بر کلاس توجه محدودی دارد. یافته‌ها همچنین به بارگذاری بیش از حد برنامهٔ درسی، فرصت‌های محدود برای یادگیری تجربی و گسست میان آرمان‌های اصلاحات و اجرای برنامهٔ درسی اشاره دارند. نتیجه‌گیری: یافته‌ها نشان می‌دهد که تقویت آمادگی معلمان فراگیر در غنا مستلزم طراحی منسجم‌تر برنامهٔ درسی، حمایت نهادی و گسترش فرصت‌های یادگیری مبتنی بر عمل است.