Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into teacher professional development (PD) is a promising way to enhance teaching practices and foster innovation in education. However, the development and adoption of AI-based educational platforms face unique challenges in the BRICS region, including technological infrastructure and cultural diversity. This study aimed to identify key aspects of teaching in developing an integrative AI-assisted adaptive learning environment (ALE) in the region. Theoretical methods were used along with qualitative analyses of in-depth interviews and focus group discussions of 36 professors, researchers, and experts from Iranian universities. The findings of this study provided perspectives on the feasibility and effectiveness of developing a joint AI-ALE platform, emphasizing the importance of contextualizing AI initiatives and educational approaches to the needs and constraints of each country and underscoring the significance of local training programs, understanding areas of growth, clarifying values and cultures to be shared with other parties, designing educational resources compatible with collaborative platforms, and overcoming technological barriers. The study provided recommendations on capacity building and joint partnerships for educational innovation, and the development of AI-based teaching practices to open up new opportunities for PD of the next generation of educators for the digital landscape in the BRICS area.
Keyword(s) : teacher education
Inflicting Risks of Teacher Education in BRICS Countries: Discussion in Search of Quality Training
Teacher training has been increasingly emphasized to improve the educational quality of a country and it is based on factors like inheritance and preservation of ethics of society, expectations of people, policy matters, and teachers. Teacher education policies and the role of respective regulatory bodies is well defined in every country but there are many deficiencies in the training of teachers. It is happening in many of the BRICS countries also. Factors like attitude of people towards teaching profession, commercialization of educational institutions, theoretical curriculum, irrelevant pedagogy, defective methods of evaluation have made this volcano to explode now. Managers, teacher educators and student teachers are more responsible for adopting shortcut ways. Factors like lack of infrastructure, research innovations, rational recruitment policy, low salary and social status further add to the problem.
The need of this study is to find the deficiencies, as major risk factors. The study is based on authoritative inspection visit outputs of teacher education institutes in various states of India, policy documents and functionality of regulatory bodies to diagnose the problem for immediate remedial decisions.
Innovative Pedagogies and Role of Teachers for Quality Teacher Education in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s education sector has experienced substantial growth, with considerable investment and emphasis placed on teacher education. This qualitative research delves into the specific requirements and challenges faced by teachers in Saudi Arabia to underscore the necessity for comprehensive teacher education programs. Until now, Saudi teachers’ colleges trained future school teachers for all school subjects especially English as a second/foreign language. However, there has been a change in teacher education planning and curriculum, and teachers of English (especially for schools) are mostly recruited who have bachelor’s or master’s degrees in English language/literature. Some researchers and educationalists are always of the view that proper pre-service teacher training is required to prepare effective teachers because school teaching lays a solid foundation for future courses and workplaces including English language institutes (for English teachers). Keeping the crucial roles in view, teacher education is expected to train teachers in digital education in augmented or virtual learning environments which emerged as a need in the post-Covid scenario. To cater to such needs, the researcher employed a purposive sampling technique and recruited 20 experienced school teachers and 5 English language instructors (from King Abdulaziz university, Jeddah-Saudi Arabia) who participated in semi-structured interviews. The study unearthed critical insights into teachers’ perspectives, highlighting their needs, experiences, and expectations within the educational landscape. Through thematic analysis, the research identified significant areas for improvement in teacher education initiatives. The outcomes underscore the urgent need for tailored teacher education programs to better equip English teachers, ultimately enhancing the quality of English language instruction in Saudi Arabian schools.
Building a Standards-Based Quality Assurance System for Teacher Education in China: Retrospect and Prospect
After entering the 21st century, a series of standards have been developed to build a standards-based quality assurance system for teacher education in China. The building of quality assurance system for teacher education has made some achievements, but it also faces some problem. At present, the building of high-quality teacher education system has been determined as the most important task in the reform and development of teacher education in China. This requires us to improve the quality assurance system for high-quality teacher education on the basis of reflecting on the existing system building. Based on documentary analysis the paper examines the building process and compositions of the standards-based quality assurance system for teacher education in China, and analyzes the problems and challenges of the existing system and puts forward some suggestions on building a quality assurance system for teacher education based on development-oriented teacher professional standards.
Dynamics of Career Orientations of Student Teachers: Interuniversity Study Results
One of the reasons for the shortage of teaching staff in various countries around the world is the problem of attracting young staff to schools and their rapid dismissal. This situation actualizes the issues of studying the motivational bases for choosing a teaching profession. Tracking changes in students’ career choice preferences can be facilitated by monitoring students’ career orientations at different stages of their studies.
The study aims to explore the dynamics of career orientations of student teachers from universities of various types over a three-year period of study.
As a method of repeated research, the methodology for determining career orientations by Shein (adapted by Vinokurova and Chiker) was used. Analysis of the universities’ curricula was carried out to determine the characteristics of the educational process organization. With the help of a questionnaire, socio-demographic and motivational-professional characteristics of students were identified. Five hundred and four 3rd-year students from 6 universities of different types, who had already taken part in the first stage of the study in 2022, became participants in this study. The analysis of the obtained data allowed to identify the preservation of main career orientations (service, job stability and integration of lifestyles) among students. The convergence of the indicators of career orientations among students from different universities was established.
Transformation of the Content of Teacher Training in Russia in 1917-1941
This article examines the evolution of the content of teacher training in the period from 1917 to 1941. This problem is relevant because historical analysis of curricula helps to understand how the planning of the educational process took place and to draw lessons for the modern system of teacher education, which is in a state of continuous reform. It also examines the ideological component in teacher training, the process of introducing certain academic disciplines and its causes, and the changing structure of curricula over two decades. The study helps to trace not only the evolution of the planning of the educational process, but also the role of crucial historical events and individuals who influenced the formation of the content of teacher education in the period under study.
Being, Becoming, and Belonging: Professional Identity of Teacher Educators
Teacher education plays an essential role in shaping the quality of education, and teacher educators are central to this process. The paper explores the personal and professional aspects that constitute the professional identity of teacher educators, shedding light on their journey from classroom teachers to facilitators of fellow educators’ growth. This article delves into the intricate model of professional identity of teacher educators, examining the dimensions of being, becoming, and belonging within this dynamic role. The concept of ‘being’ a teacher educator encompasses the multifaceted roles and functions these educators undertake. The aspect of ‘becoming’ a teacher educator focuses on the transition from classroom teaching to teacher education. The paper examines the two prominent pathways into this role: the academic pathway, driven by advanced academic pursuits, and the practitioner’s pathway, chosen by experienced educators seeking a shift from schools to training institutions. The concept of ‘identity shock’ during this transition is explored, along with the heightened intellectual engagement that emerges as teacher educator’s grapple with new challenges and opportunities. The theme of ‘belonging’ uncovers teacher educators’ affiliations with various communities, each shaping their professional identity. The paper highlights the role of collective affinities in shaping teacher educators’ teaching methods, research endeavours, and leadership approaches.
How do Slovenian Educators feel about Gamification? Interested to Know More
Research examining teachers’ attitudes toward gamification is scarce, although attitudes play a critical
role in implementing a new pedagogical approach. The aim of this study was to understand whether
Slovenian educators are familiar with the concept of gamification, whether they have experience
using it, and what their attitudes are towards its use. A secondary goal was also to construct an
instrument that can capture the affective, behavioral, and cognitive components of teachers’
attitudes toward gamification. Based on survey results from 103 Slovenian educators, teachers did
not have a good understanding of gamification and had difficulty distinguishing it from game-based
learning, although more than 60% reported using the principles of gamification at least once in the
past year. However, teachers’ attitudes toward gamification are quite positive and they expressed an
interest in learning more about how to use it in their teaching. They would use it mainly to make
learning content more interesting and motivate their students but have concerns that it is difficult to
implement and that it would overwhelm them. The main findings of the study show that Slovenian
educators lack familiarity with gamification and competencies to effectively take advantage of its
benefits but are open and positive about adopting this innovative method to motivate their students.
Motivation in Teacher Education: The Forgotten Element and Its Snowball Effect
This research explores student teachers’ motivation to join teacher education and its relation to
their career intention to join the teaching profession. The qualitative study was conducted in the
English department of private and state teacher education in Indonesia. A total of 14 student
teachers (20-23 years old) took part in the interview. The findings show that most student teachers
chose Initial Teacher Education (ITE) because of external motivation factors such as the alternative
option of not being accepted at their desired faculty or following parents’ suggestions. Besides that,
considering the internal motivation factor, one of the common reasons students chose English
teacher education was the interest in English, which was also viewed as transferrable skills that
could be useful to many other job possibilities. The findings show that only a few of the participants
who prioritised their career to become teachers. The findings might contest the generalisation that
often associates student teachers’ motivation to join teacher education to become teachers. Even
though the assumption is valid to some extent, the nuances in the student teachers’ motivation
to choose teacher education might need to be considered, especially in the context when joining
teacher education is relatively easy because there is no high-stake test involved and teaching might
be perceived as an unattractive career intention. The findings also indicate that as motivation is fluid,
abstract, and hard to measure, teacher education overlooks this element in the admission process.
However, forgetting the importance of student teachers’ motivation in teacher education could lead
to a more severe problem in the quality of graduates and education in the long run.
From Challenges to Opportunities: Reorganization of Teacher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Post-Socialist Countries
Although the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, there is no doubt that education researchers
will analyze the changes in teaching and learning over the years to come. There is no certainty that
new waves and variants of COVID-19 will not force humanity to radically change educational
technologies in the future. This will bring mankind closer to the predictions of science-fiction
authors and futurists, not taken seriously before. In this regard, it is important to scientifically
document and analyze various measures for transforming education in the current situation, thus,
creating the database for future generations. Analysis reveals that geographically adjacent countries
with numerous current or historical interrelations, show the uniqueness of their response to the
pandemic because of a number of current economic, social, cultural and geographical factors.
Quite promising in this regard are the post-socialist countries of Central and Eastern Europe,
which in the second half of the 20th century had almost identical principles for developing national
education systems, but changed significantly under the influence of the reforms of the last thirty
years. Comparing the cases of five universities from Russia, Germany, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic
and the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic enable us, not only to identify common problems, but
also to describe the most effective measures for the reorganization of higher education during the
COVID-19 pandemic, dictated by the need to sustain the quality of teacher training.
Post-Soviet Identity and Teacher Education: Past, Present, Future
Research into the historical background of ongoing global and national reforms is essential for the development of effective strategies, models and content of teacher education. Historical and anthropological research in education offers a good perspective on the matter as it draws from interdisciplinary and cross-cultural scientific approaches, thus helping to fully comprehend socio- cultural processes.
The article explores the development of teacher education in the Post-Soviet countries (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Ukraine) from its beginning in pre-revolutionary Russia up to the present day. The purpose of the research is to analyze the evolution of initial teacher education up to the end of the 20th century and its further transformation during the past thirty years. Until the early 1990s, the teacher education system represented a common education area that shared the same content and approaches to pedagogical education. After that, compromised by political factors, the system was transformed.
The juxtaposition of convergent trends and national features of teacher education systems in the Post-Soviet countries provides an opportunity to thoroughly assess current teacher education policies through the lens of pedagogical, geopolitical, economic and cultural partnership of the CIS countries.
A review of social robots in classrooms: Emerging educational technology and teacher education
The 21st century is the age of robots, an age in which we are witnessing the development of social
robots for education. In the future teachers will be required by the labour market to prepare students
for work with robotic technology and co-work and interact with robots. Initial teacher education
needs to follow the development of robots and prepare students and teachers in applying robotic
technology in teaching. In the review study, we aim to identify how robotic technology is applied in
classrooms on different educational levels and subjects. We performed a review of the Web of Science
Database for the period between 2006 and 2018. The analysis categories included: the educational
level and research participants who experienced social robot activities, subject areas, outcome
types and robot-learner interaction time. We also examined the research design and publication
source. Findings indicate that the educational-pedagogical aspects in the studies often represent
more a vehicle, rather than a final goal of integrating robots into teaching practice. The studies
reviewed focus mostly on mixed human-robot interaction (HRI) and educational-pedagogical
outcomes. Robotic learning activities are prepared in the function of research goals, and not for
the introduction of robots into regular teaching practices. They engage a small number of students
in a diversity of learning contexts. Robot-learner interaction takes place primarily as a unique
experience or as several short-term ones, during fragmented activities that rarely approach the time
unit of the lesson. Robots carry out short, detailed tasks in classrooms for which lengthy studies and
preparations have been required. The novelty of this work is in focusing also on (1) The demarcation
between the focus of studies on educational-pedagogical outcomes; educational-pedagogical and
HRI outcomes; HRI outcomes; (2) study of the robot-learner interaction time dimension.
Strategic technologies for pedagogic education in universities
The purpose of this study is to identify a set of strategic and effective technologies of pedagogical
education in a university on the basis of the analysis of the problems of teacher training. The research
methodology is based on Hamel’s concept of ‘core competence’. This concept involves the analysis
of management strategies based on a matrix of significant problems. The study used methods
of questioning, interviewing, analysis and comparison, methods of summarizing the results of
statistics, and learning outcomes. According to Prigozhin’s typology, the problems can be divided
into embedded, socio-cultural and situational, and the wording of the problems are classified as
denominative, causal and antithesis. On the basis of the matrix obtained from this analysis, we
define the set of technologies of pedagogical education; psychological and pedagogical conditions
of realization of technologies at the level of baccalaureate, pedagogical master’s degree program,
and professional retraining of workers of education. The organizational and pedagogical model of
realization of technologies in the conditions of a classical university is developed. The results are
implemented in practice through the curriculum, programs of professional retraining of the Kazan
(Volga) Federal University.
Cultivating ‘good’ practice or ‘best’ practice? Moralities for teacher education
This paper engages with the double meaning of ‘good’ in English. ‘Good’ can refer to the morally
correct choice, and it can also refer to high quality. The question then becomes whether these types
of ‘good-ness’ refer to the same thing in teacher education. Theoretical treatments of moral goodness
in education highlight morality as a social fact that changes with the times. In contrast, goodness
as quality is tested and measured through international comparisons which increasingly define
what counts as ‘quality’. In available research accounts of Russian education and Scottish education,
different kinds of ‘good-ness’ emerge, with the risk that they conflict. The conclusion reflects on how
we might and should prepare teachers for different versions of goodness and their contradictions.
Development of competencies of L2 teachers in student teacher internships (competence area: teacher language in the classroom)
This evaluation study on tandem learning among future teachers of Russian in school-based
internships aims at examining the development of teacher language competences for institutional
Russian teaching. The focus is on development of competencies of L2- teachers in student teacher
internships. The article deals with the tandem-method as one of the ways of training teacher language
for educational purposes in the classroom. Teacher language always has didactic implications. The
teacher serves as an educational role model in his foreign verbal actions, but the level of command
of the language for using it professionally as teacher language in university internships is very
heterogeneous. The reasons are manifold and related to worldwide migration and the efforts of
reforming the educational system in Europe. That is why the subject of interest for this research is
the development of teacher language as a part of linguistic competence. The individual perception of
future Russian teachers of the functional logic and quality of tandem language learning and support
is examined on the basis of learning diaries and interviews. The paper concludes with discussion
and results of providing external support – firstly, the autonomous learner, secondly, the partnerorientated
learner and thirdly, the learner who is determined by others. Depending on this typology,
the qualitative research shows that tandem work has a future role in the context of teacher training
and migration.
Becoming a teacher in the United Kingdom in the 21st century
In this article I seek to explore how teacher education policy has been shaped and influenced by
political interventions. The main focus is on the UK, but I argue that this approach to teacher
education as a ‘policy problem’ is part of a wider global phenomenon. Part of this discussion
necessarily needs to differentiate between what has been happening in different parts of the UK,
for in spite of the globalising influences, there appears to have been some divergence between the
trajectories of the four jurisdictions in relation to developments in teacher education. In drawing
on recent developments in ‘clinical practice’ within teacher education, I draw attention to the
importance of a research oriented approach to teacher education.
Forming general cultural competences of future teachers when implementing an innovative model of teacher education
The relevance of the problem under investigation is due to the transition of universities to the GEF HPE, thus expanding the academic freedom of educational institutions and carrying out training on the basis of innovative educational programs (on the objectives, content, organizational forms and technologies).
In order to improve the quality of university graduates, the new model of teacher – the teacher of the XXI century, teaches, mobilizes, creates and is able to use the most modern educational technology. Kazan (Volga) Federal University joined in the development of CAE design as well as development and implementation of professional standards based on European and national qualifications frameworks. Conceptual model of the nucleus of a new type of teacher involves competence approach to the expected results of higher education and qualification orientation according to the requirements of different groups of consumers (people, the employer, the state, society). The model is based on the principle of variability, modularity, mobility, unity, continuity, adaptability and includes different trajectories of teacher training: variative trajectory, distributed trajectory, training bachelors of subject training, retraining of teachers to other disciplines, the center of training and retraining of educators, teaching internship, pedagogical magistracy. Formation of general cultural competences in this model should be a priority, as their importance in the process of becoming a new type of teacher is related to the fact that it is the general cultural competence that creates the harmony of the inner world and the relationship with society and can be considered as the basis for the formation of professional competence of future teachers. Analysis of the GEF HPE, theory and practice of bachelors training, revealed that the formation of general cultural competence of future teachers is provided, but a large set of competencies makes it difficult to identify the competence framework as provided by the European education system. The most important task for the system of higher education in the field of training of teachers of the new formation is the need to determine the theoretical and methodological foundations for the formation of general cultural competence of bachelors in the modernization of pedagogical education.
B
eing one of the most important areas of public knowledge, morality nevertheless has not become an educational field at any school or university. The pedagogical community is increasingly aware of the fact that the goals, values and purports, which are now set in modern knowledge-centrist and even competence model of modern higher education, are far from ideal and do not meet the prognostic expectations, which would correspond to the real challenges of the contemporary socio-cultural situation in the world and in the Russian society.
The crisis has aggravated, identified, highlighted and allowed us to formulate accurately and pre-cisely not imaginary and farfetched problems, but real and urgent ones, as well as the identification of priorities to address these problems. The professors of Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University see the solution of these issues in the development of the model of the XXI century teacher.
Distributed model of teacher education at Kazan Federal University
There is a need to modernize higher pedagogic education. The requirements for the content of schooling and higher education is changing quickly as scientific knowledge accumulate. Preparing a teacher for XXI century is an essential task for the present day. The authors aimed to develop the educational standard in pedagogical education at Kazan federal university. The article describes the projectization process. The leading methods for the research were theoretical study, modeling, questionnaire survey and others. SFU is able to educate future teachers of physics within the distributed model and even advance it now as every institute at KFU has a pedagogical department. In the article we present bibliography analysis on the issue, the results of questioning the students of the Institute of Physics in non-pedagogical major, gradual formulation of the Standard, Enclosure to the Standard, educational paths, one of which a student can select, curriculum versions, conceptual framework of methodic preparing. The materials of the article demonstrate the reasoning and sequence of the author on the work on Educational Standard in specialization 44.03.01 Pedagogical education, profile: teacher (subject).
The model of teacher education as a form of implementation of the strategic academic unit
A teacher education study was conducted in the framework of SAE (Strategic Academic Unit). The aim of the study was to develop a model for bachelors (future mathematicians, physicists, biologists, and others) undertaking concurrent vocational teaching training (a teacher of mathematics, physics or biology). To design an effective model of teacher education in the Federal University under conditions of socio-political, pedagogical and methodical for the training of teachers in different countries. The model of teacher education in Kazan Federal University includes several trajectories – distributed, variability, integrative, etc. The novelty of this model is determined by the processability of building the content of teacher education. The technology has an integrative, variability, modular, and task-oriented nature. The modular structure of the training process enables the pre-set training activities as holistic thematic sections or blocks, that is, restructuring of the organization (structure) of training. Focusing on problem-oriented technology (from communicative core and critical thinking to a modular, problem-based learning and expert seminars) allows implementing the content of disciplines in educational psychology, didactics, teaching methods and teaching practice as a practice-oriented system which also ensures the formation of professional pedagogical skills. The quality of training of future teachers is ensured by the fact that students are offered publicly available “library” with educational training modules, each of which: precisely formulates verifiable educational outcomes focused on teacher standards; describes the forms of organization of the educational process to ensure the achievement of these results; offers assessment tools for intermediate and final control of the level of achievement of the future teacher.