How is the "LIKAL" * curriculum implemented in the teaching activities and induction process of the program's graduates in the schools?

Author(s):

Smadar Galili(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2015

Network:

10. Teacher Education Research

Format:

Paper

Session Information

10 SES 13 C,

Paper Session

Time:

2015-09-11

11:00-12:30

Room:

209.Oktatóterem [C]

Chair:

Viv Wilson

Contribution

Abstract

Since 2009 the LIKAL program (*teaching difficult-to-teach children) has been fully implemented into the elementary teacher training track of the David Yellin Academic College. A compulsory 15 hour per week course for regular students over four years of elementary school teacher training. this program is based on the psycho-educational-social approach developed over the last 20 years by JDC-Ashalim deriving from its considerable experience in advancing weak and excluded populations in the schools. In this study I propose to examine how the subject matter taught in this program was implemented in the teaching activities and induction process of the program's graduates in their schools.

Research question: What influence do educational perceptions, principles and strategies acquired during teacher training in elementary schools in the LIKAL program have on day-to-day teaching and the graduates' induction process in schools?

Theoretical Review

The LIKAL program – background and rationale

The literature indicates that the key to teachers’ efficiency and advancement are to be found both in their initial training and their ongoing development (Avdor & Kfir, 2013). A central objective of LIKAL’s training program is the development of teachers and educators committed to creating personal, academic and social mobility for their pupils, who regard their vocation as both a mission and a profession (Beijaard et al, 2000).

The educational method at the basis of the program's rationale is a psycho-educational-social approach (Mor, 2008).The psycho-educational-social approach provides a rich knowledge base linking varied disciplines (philosophy, psychology, sociology and education), and combines basic terms, methods, strategies and applied tools to promote educational activities in school among children at risk and their parents. The concept is to train educators professionally and personally to equip pupils at risk with the tools to help them overcome the diverse obstacles in their way, to integrate into school life and to realize their maximum potential (Mor, 2008).

One of the most significant challenges of the LIKAL program is to strengthen the link between theory and its implementation in the practicum, thus providing optimal preparation for the students’ future work in the educational field (Hands & Rong, 2014;Darling-Hamomd,2014).

Customized teaching – applied tools and practical teaching strategies in in the heterogeneous class

Customized teaching including applied tools and practical strategies for teaching in a heterogeneous class is an integral part of the LIKAL program. In today's educational reality, most of the "regular classes" in elementary schools are heterogeneous; elementary track student training should therefore focus more on heterogeneous classes. Strategies and customized tools for the needs of different children in a heterogeneous class allow the teaching staff to deal with diversity amongst pupils, to listen to them and observe them carefully whilst achieving learning, social and personal goals (Brikner, Zehavi, Yosefon & Chacham, 1997; Avissar, 2009).

The transition from training to teaching

The research literature presents a discouraging picture of the new teachers' encounter with the reality of the educational field as a "sink or swim" matter of survival (Tsabar Ben Yehoshua, 2001). Many new teachers experience feelings of helplessness, loneliness, strangeness and alienation (Dvir & Schatz Oppenheimer, 2011), and embarrassment, conflict and lack of control,

leading to a 45% dropout rate in the first five years of work (Peleg, 1997; Hong, 2012).

The LIKAL study program aims to intensify students’ awareness of their own processes of change and self-growth, alongside the development of points of affinity between theory and its practical application, thus assisting new teachers in the complex transitional process from training into the educational field.

Method

Methodology Research population: Eight teachers in elementary school, graduates of the elementary track training that includes the LIKAL unit, teaching for their second year. I have chosen the qualitative research method based on an interpretive/ constructivist paradigm for this investigation of my subject, on the basis of interpretive contact with the participants in the research. These same participants in the study represent an additional level of interpretation, in so far as they represent their own day-to-day reality and explain their world to themselves as well as to me (the researcher) (Shleski & Arieli, 2001). Research tools Interviews “Semi-structured” in-depth interviews were conducted on the basis of a trust relationship between the interviewer and the interviewee (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994) with eight graduates after completion of their practicum and working in their second year as teachers in elementary school. The interviewer is the researcher, head of the elementary education track. The interviews took place at the David Yellin College. The aim of the interviews was to learn about the interviewees’ personal and professional world, and what they know, think and experience (Cohen et al, 2000). Data analysis The data collected in these in-depth interviews was transcribed and analyzed according to the principles of subject matter analysis which relates to the students’ words and descriptions as a reflection of their thoughts, emotions and beliefs (Shkedi, 2003). Ethics False names have been used In order to protect the research participants’ privacy and the names of the schools in which they teach have not been revealed in this article. All the teachers participating in the study have signed a consent form. The study’s theoretical and practical contribution The findings of this study provide significant information with regard to the way in which the LIKAL program in its present format answers the professional needs of new teachers and educators embarking upon their professional life in elementary education and the extent to which it impacts their induction in school. The findings are likely to provide the developers of the LIKAL program with information and conclusions as to what to keep and build up in the present structure of the program on the one hand, and what updates and improvements may be necessary on the other. In addition, the results can contribute towards the development and enrichment of teacher training programs in other colleges by integrating parts of this program in their own training programs.

Expected Outcomes

Findings: Personal contact with the pupils All the graduates endorsed the positive value of the affinity developed with pupils and parents from the outset of their work as educators. They connected personally, academically, socially and familywise with their pupils, (Mor, 2008). The awareness of the importance of this personal contact, and necessary related practical skills, were acquired mainly from LIKAL courses, as well as from their experience, as students, of the personal example set by their pedagogical advisors and lecturers in the LIKAL unit in establishing their personal acquaintance and maintaining close personal contact. Teaching in a heterogeneous class All the new teachers who participated in the study were aware that customized teaching utilizes applied tools and practical strategies for teaching in a heterogeneous class. Some testified to using the various strategies daily for differential teaching in a heterogeneous class (Brinker et al.,1997). However, some still have difficulty in applying these strategies routinely. The new teachers who have succeeded in applying customized teaching in their classes maintain that they learnt these strategies in courses in the LIKAL unit, though primarily from their pedagogical advisors. Thus, it is apparent that courses integrating the theory and implementation (Hands & Rong, 2014; Darling, Hamond, 2014) of these disciplines in the education field, as embodied in the LIKAL program, equip the program’s graduates with tools suited to coping with complex, heterogeneous classes and with difficult-to-teach pupils. The induction process in schools: Despite their LIKAL training that, the graduates’ experienced difficulty in fulfilling obligations imposed immediately upon entry into their schools and frustration over their inability to implement what they had learnt in the LIKAL class such as awareness of their own processes of change and self-growth.

References

Avdor, S., & Kfir, D. (2013). The double role of Israeli colleges of education: initial training and professional development. In R. Klavir, L. Kozminski (Eds.), The construction of professional identity processes of teacher education and professional development (pp. 217-241). Tel Aviv: Mofet. (in Hebrew). Beijard, D., Verloop, N., & Vermunt, J. (2000). Teachers' perceptions of professional identity: An exploratory study from a personal knowledge perspective. Teaching and Teacher Education 16: 749-764. Brikner, R.,Yosifon, M., Zehavi, Y & Hacham, A. (1994). Customized teaching in a heterogeneous class. In Teaching methods for the heterogeneous class (pp. 17-33). Even Yehuda: Reches. (in Hebrew). Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (5th ed. 2000). Research Methods in Education. London: Routledge. Darling-Hamond,L. (2014) Strengthening Clinical Preparation: The Holy Grail of Teacher Education PEABODY JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, 89: 547–561, Denzin, N., & Lincoln, E. (1994). Introduction Entering the Field of Qualitative Research. In: N.K Denzin, & Y. S. Lincoln, (Eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Dvir, N., Schatz-Oppenheimer, A. (2011). Looking in the mirror: Constructing novice teachers' professional identity as reflected in their narratives. In A. Schatz-Oppenheimer, D. Maskit & S. Silbersturm (Eds.), To be a teacher (pp. 91-115). Tel Aviv: Mofet. (in Hebrew). Hands,R., & Rong,Y. (2014). Schools as clinics: Practice in practice. Peabody Journal of Education, 89: 453–465. Hong,Y. (2012). Why some beginning teachers leave the school and others stay? Understanding teacher resilience through psychological lenses. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 18(4), 417- 440. Mor, P., (2008). Coping with under achieving pupils in the education system according to the psycho-educational social approach. Et HaSadeh , 1, 8-13. (in Hebrew). Peleg, R., (1997). First year in teaching: Schools and supervisors in induction process for beginning teachers. (Doctoral dissertation). Hebrew University, Jerusalem. (in Hebrew). Shleski, S & Arieli, M., (2001). From the interpretive approach to the post-modernist approach in educational research. In N. Tsabar Ben Yehoshua (Ed.), Genres and tradition in qualitative research (pp. 31-76). Tel Aviv: Dvir. (in Hebrew). Shkedi, A., (2003). Words of meaning, qualitative research theory and practice. Tel Aviv: Ramot. (in Hebrew). The Central Bureau of Statistics (2014). Report. Retrieved from http://www.cbs.gov.il/reader Tsabar Ben Yehoshua, N., (2001). Interpretive research: from paradise to reality via crisis- immigrants as new teachers. In N. Tsabar Ben Yehoshua (Ed.), Genres and tradition in qualitative research (pp. 443-468). Tel Aviv: Dvir. (in Hebrew).

Author Information

Smadar Galili (presenting / submitting)

David Yellin Academic College of Education

Moshav Bitzaron

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