In complex and often volatile environments, all those associated with the work of teaching are increasingly challenged to demonstrate the ways in which we impact positively upon the diverse students, families and carers who must be at the centre of our decision making. Demonstrating the value of our work (in all its many and varied forms) requires access to research and research data that is of the highest possible quality: research that is regarded internally and externally as credible, reliable and meaningful. This credibility rests, in large part, upon the rigorous review and critique of our scholarship through the processes of peer review.
As a result of the ongoing efforts of inspirational authors and literally dozens of committed reviewers, members of the teacher education community can take pride in the fact that the Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education maintains an international reputation for the quality of the research it publishes. Our appreciation of the work of our reviewers cannot be overstated. It is also important for us to acknowledge the vital leadership role that the members of our editorial board play in supporting the quality, and thus the impact, of the journal. 2017 marked the end of our outgoing editorial board’s two-year term. This edition of the journal gives us an opportunity to thank, most sincerely, all those who have served as board members over this period. Their generous support of the journal’s commitment to the pursuit of excellence has been remarkable and we hope that they will continue to be involved in the debates about teacher education into the future.
We would also like to take this opportunity to welcome our incoming board members, and to thank them for their inspiring commitment to, and ongoing support of, the very diverse members of the international teacher education community. The full list of current board members is outlined on the inside cover of the journal and on the Taylor and Francis website. We are sure our readers will agree that we are very fortunate indeed to have the support of scholars with so much depth of experience across such diverse areas of expertise. We very much look forward to working with them across the next two years in the publication of quality research that facilitates the ongoing pursuit of socially just education.
It is also timely to remind our readers that the journal offers a range of opportunities for members who would like to be more actively involved in the processes associated with the peer review of journal submissions. For example, members of ATEA who have completed a doctoral qualification are able to apply for the position of journal intern: a role which provides opportunities to review diverse articles and to participate fully in editorial meetings. In 2018 we will also be establishing a formal College of Reviewers. While we will continue to draw upon reviewers on an as-needed basis, the establishment of the more formal College will allow those with an interest in playing a regular role in reviewing manuscripts to receive more formal recognition of this invaluable leadership and service work.
Along with many other strategies put in place by the Australian Teacher Education Association (and related or allied organisations), these initiatives are designed to ensure that our focus on the dissemination of research of the highest possible quality, is coupled with initiatives that support the development and career advancement of individual academics and scholars: the people who are always at the front line of educational innovation, advancement and reform.
This edition of the journal demonstrates the wide range of issues that require ongoing analysis and reflection from this community of scholars. Individually, and in combination, the papers that follow demonstrate the importance of accessing diverse forms of data to analyse educational experiences; to critique the assumptions that often underpin educational decision making; and to focus, as always, on how the individuals at the heart of any educational project – be they students, teachers, community members of academics – make sense of, experience and respond to the environments of which they are part.
Reflecting on a topic of enduring public interest, Amanda McGraw and Tim Fish engage with the complex range of issues relating to the selection of teacher education students. They draw attention to the value of focusing on diverse measures of “suitability to teach” including qualities that might be linked to the notion of a teacher’s personal character.
Radha Iyer, Suzanne Carrington, Louise Mercer and Gitta Selva explore a related issue with their analysis of the links between values orientation, enterprise and preservice teacher education. Through this analysis they highlight the potential for critical service learning to create environments within which future teachers are able to develop deep understandings of concepts such as empathy, civic responsibility, social justice and equity.
Reflections on the factors that can be associated with a “good” or “suitable” teachers, how values can/should be developed and how our beliefs impact upon the experiences and outcomes of diverse learners, are features of the paper by Jihea (Kang) Maddamsetti, Terry Flennaugh and Cheryl Rosaen. Their paper asks important questions about the cultural and linguistic assumptions that underpin claims about what constitutes a “good teacher” and highlights the impact of these assumptions on the experience of pre-service teachers.
These questions are also considered within the paper by Lilach Marom. Mamon’s analysis demonstrates the way that beliefs about what it means to be a “good teacher” always reflects particular social, historical and political standpoints. The paper argues that although there are different conceptions of the “good teacher” circulating within British Columbia – conceptions that reflect Eastern and Western points of view – international teachers can experience Eastern conceptions of good teachers as “deficient”: a finding with clear implications for our global audience.
The importance of looking always at how expectations match up with outcomes experienced by particular learners – regardless of educational location or educational level – is further demonstrated by Esra Eret-Orhan, Ahmet Ok, and Yeşim Çapa-Aydın. Their paper explores teacher education students’ perspectives on the adequacy of teacher education in Turkey, reporting the strengths and weaknesses identified by the participants.
This is followed by a paper that illustrates the wide range of resources that are available to support teacher educators seeking to create educational experiences that are genuinely responsive to the needs of a diverse population. Looking at the practices of teacher education from diverse angles, Zane Ma Rhea investigates the potential of Buddhist pedagogy to inform teacher education and the teaching profession in a global economy where nations are experiencing rapidly changing demographics alongside cultural, social, economic, and political upheaval.
Each of these papers identify specific challenges associated with the pursuit of excellence and equity in teaching, teacher education, and education more broadly. The papers also highlight the diversity of the teacher education landscape and the rich assortment of theoretical and methodological resources that can be drawn upon as we work towards the creation of learning environments that genuinely value and celebrate the full diversity of our communities. Together, the papers represent the power that flows from undertaking quality research into all the various fields and endeavours that are brought together under the heading of teacher education: research where quality is determined not only by analysis of conceptualisation, process or method but by ongoing interrogation of the impact, relevance and outcomes of our work for diverse learners. We encourage all our readers to consider this measure of quality when outlining the significance and originality of future submissions to this journal: and we look forward very much to ongoing conversations on this topic into the future.