Some Key Issues Identified So Far...

I was trying to source for information for teachers who work in through casual employment, as well the complexities of supporting Asian international pre-service teachers as they undertake practicum  in Australia.

The two articles from the journal would cost 60AUD, which would cost too much for anyone to pay anyways, but it is helpful to know that such issues does arise, and I'm happy to know that these problems were not uncommon.

I particularly like how the abstract of both the articles above as follows:

Teaching Staff in Casual Employment...
"The Educational Alumni Support Project (EdASP) indicated that there is an urgent need for the teaching profession to support casual beginning teachers (CBTs). The EdASP that was carried out at the University of New England provided online support for primary and secondary beginning teachers, yet the majority of postings were submitted by CBTs.

In general, these casual teachers experienced feelings of alienation, culture shock, a lack of school and systemic support, and are often not considered part of the school community by staff or students. The analysis of postings by CBTs provides further insight into the difficulties they face, as well as reveals or reinforces strategies that could effectively facilitate their teaching.

Many of these findings are not new, yet the call to aid casuals continues to be overlooked. This need for support is both professional and pragmatic.

Ethically, education - a nurturing profession - should support its novices. In addition, the transition period from pre-service to professional teacher has significant implications for teacher educators plus the potential retention of teachers."

and...


Complexity of supporting Asian international pre-service teachers..

Increasing numbers of Asian international students are choosing to undertake their tertiary studies in English-speaking countries. For universities, international students are an important source of revenue. However, Asian international students face multiple challenges in adapting to a foreign culture, understanding the expectations of their role, and adjusting to language, communication and cultural differences.

These challenges are manifested, in particular, during practicum or field experience. This paper investigated the concerns of twenty Asian pre-service teachers before and after their practicum in Australian schools by drawing upon data from focus group interviews.

Although language barriers and cultural differences were identified concerns before the practicum, concerns about their relationship with their supervising teachers and the limited time in which they had to learn also emerged after the practicum.

Whilst the findings are limited to the present study, implications for supporting Asian international pre-service teachers during practicum are discussed."

The abstractly sweetly summarizes the issues and problems that I have identified in my blog entries so far...