Academic literature on the topic 'Values Study and teaching Victoria Case studies'

There is increasing awareness of environmental issues in Australia (Victorian Government 1986, 1987). However, public participation in many such issues is typically limited to comment and submission on government policy, management plans and a range of other environmental statements. It is rare for the public to be involved in the scientific research upon which many environmental policies are based.Recent surveys for the rare and endangered Leadbeater's Possum, Gymnobelideus leadbeateri have been an exception to this trend (Lindenmayer et al. 1990a, 1990b, 1990c). These studies have used a new wildlife survey technique termed stagwatching (Lindenmayer, 1989; Lindenmayer & Press, 1989) involves observing and counting animals emerging from nest and den sites in very large living or dead trees with hollows (“stags”) at, or close to, dusk. Animals are observed and recognised in silhouette. Because many Australian animals regularly move between nest sites, stagwatching is dependent on simultaneously watching all stags in a known area (= 3 ha in this study) (Smith et al. 1989). This makes stagwatching extremely labour intensive and its success is dependent on substantial participation by the public. Our experience of this public support suggests that stagwatching has considerable value for use in public and environmental education to increase the awareness of methods of study and understanding of forest biology and conservation. The values of stagwatching in environmental education are identified in this paper, and a case study of the use of stagwatching in surveys for Leadbeater's Possum is also presented. The methods used to organise the stagwatching program are documented so they may be adopted and modified for teaching a range of topics about Australian forests.

This study investigated the developmental process of a dynamic geo-game, Gezgin, which was developed by the researcher based on the Four-Component Instructional Design (4C/ID) Model, and its benefits in the acquisitions, values and skills of the Global Connections learning area of the social studies curriculum applied in Turkey. It also determined Gezgin’s reflecting acquisitions, values, and skills, as well associal studies education experts’ opinions about Gezgin. A case study approach was adopted and five experts participated. The data collection lasted for approximately fourteen months due to the development process of Gezgin. Most of this process coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic period. The data were descriptively analysed and the experts’ evaluations were subjected to content analysis. Findings indicated that Gezgin mostly reflected the acquisitions, values, and skills of Global Connections learning area and could support the curriculum as a studying environment, create various experiences, materialise theoretical knowledge, and that it co uld be tested on students. It was also understood that values, primarily, and skills and acquisitions, subsequently, were mostly supported. Although the results of the study revealed similarities with the results of other studies in scientific literature, it differed from them as a large platform where the acquisitions, values, and skills of a learning field were reflected. The results indicated that geo-games should be used to support other learning areas, develop high-level skills, and create a level of awareness in accordance with spatial citizenship skills.

This study aims to investigate the role of social science subject teachers in instilling character values ​​in students through the process of teaching and learning activities. This study used a quantitative approach with a case study type conducted at SMP Muhammadiyah Indramayu. The results of the study show that teachers of the Social Sciences subject at SMP Muhammadiyah Indramayu have tried their best to carry out their duties, especially in instilling historical awareness as well as values ​​of nationalism, identity and character in their students. This is proven when the writer observes while teaching in class being able to use strategies, various methods and modes so that the classroom atmosphere is lively and full of enthusiasm and is able to develop students to think historically analytically with various assignments. Besides that, teachers outside the classroom always monitor the character and attitudes of students to measure the extent to which what has been taught has an effect.

Purpose - Internationalization of education has made it important to have not only a command of English as a global language, but also of Languages Other Than English (LOTEs), which can be a second, national or heritage language. This narrative inquiry explored LOTE teachers’ perspectives on their use of English and other pedagogical practices for teaching LOTE to international students. Methodology - Narratives of three language teachers from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, teaching French, Korean and Mandarin at a private university in Malaysia were recorded. Their discussion addressed key issues in teaching LOTE such as teaching strategies, use of technology and the importance of using English for teaching LOTEs. Data was analysed using Nvivo, applying Saldana’s (2016) coding technique, consisting of structural, descriptive and values coding. 48 codes emerged during the first cycle coding, which were placed under nine categories in the second and final coding process. Findings - Data revealed that for achieving practical outcomes, technologically integrated teaching is an alternative to traditional teaching practices. Further, teachers’ narratives also showed the importance of English in LOTE teaching, owing to the internationalization of education. Significance – The study explored LOTE pedagogy through the narratives of teachers, who are key stakeholders. The findings will help LOTE teachers reflect on their own teaching practices, and familiarize them with current pedagogy, including technology integration. They would also be useful in other contexts where LOTE is offered as a foreign language.

Business communication and technical writing students face a new workplace challenge: responding to problems that reflect a multicultural dimension and involve business- people whose perspectives, values, and traditions are not Western. Case studies are a good teaching strategy to introduce multicultural issues in business communication. Case studies involve students in group settings and demand both problem-solving and human-relations skills. Adding discussion questions to case-study problems prompts student responses, and assigning a follow-up progress report or memorandum ties the case-study reviews to course goals. This article includes both a description of the assignment and two timely case-study samples.

This study aims to find out the internalization of multiculturalism values through Arabic teaching at Islamic senior high schools in Palu city Indonesia. The integration of multiculturalism values in learning materials is considered very important to create students' moderate attitudes toward ethnicity and cultural differences in schools' daily life. This study was carried out using a case study qualitative approach. Data were gathered through field observation, and in-depth interviews with the school principal, teachers, and students. Our study found that multiculturalism values were integrated through the Arabic curriculum, lesson plans, learning material, and students' activities. The multiculturalism values were reflected in the students' daily life in the forms of ethnicity diversity tolerance, respect attitudes, and moderate behavior. Our study contributes to the body of knowledge in multiculturalism studies and practices by providing a new direction to multicultural integration strategies at the school level. Future studies should focus on how the broader context of studies such as by involving more than one case.

This descriptive and exploratory study with a qualitative design aimed to describe and analyze discussions in online chats about mental disorders in a psychiatric nursing course as part of an undergraduate nursing program. The sample consisted of 32 undergraduate students who attended the course. Data analysis showed that the discussions through online chat sessions permeated the acquisition of knowledge, procedures, attitudes and values and promoted students' active participation. The results reaffirm the discussions' importance for students' learning and showed the potential of technology resources, such as real-time communication tools, to support and improve teaching possibilities in psychiatric nursing.

The problem of visual pollution in the Philippines has been increasingly evident, and people are becoming aware of it. But to create effective solutions, a deep understanding of the problem should first be established. This paper was aimed to identify, analyze, and measure the visual pollution present in Intramuros, a heritage city in the Philippines that encapsulates the Philippine colonial architecture in the 1890s. The site is known for its preservation of its city image but also modern landscape changes. To achieve the goal, the application of the Indirect and Direct Method of Landscape Evaluation was executed. These methods led to two results: (1) the identification of components— which are landscape attributes and indicators, that make up a visual landscape; and (2) the understanding of how it is perceived by the observer through a survey and interviews, which are quantified by ratings. To further understand the relationship of indicators and ratings with each other, a series of correlational studies was done. This resulted to the establishment of Disturbance, Stewardship, and Image Rating as the primary descriptors of visual pollution. A weighted average formula was then established, which quantified the visual pollution of Intramuros through indicator values and response ratings. It was concluded that visual pollution in Intramuros, through research-based methodology, can be identified, analyzed, and measured. Specific viewpoints in the district were identified as unacceptably visually-polluted. Magallanes St. cor. Victoria St. in Intramuros had the highest VP Score at -4.886. Elements that contributed to visual pollution were also identified.

Previous research on teaching the Holocaust, notably case studies in the primary or the secondary sectors, suggests that Holocaust education can make a significant contribution to citizenship by developing pupils’ understandings of justice, tolerance, human rights issues, and the many forms of racism and discrimination. Yet, there have been no longitudinal studies into its impact on primary pupils. This paper, reports on the first stages of ongoing longitudinal research (sponsored by the Scottish Executive Education Department), and concentrates on the relevance of Holocaust education to citizenship, by comparing the attitudes of primary 7 pupils before and after Holocaust teaching using data from questionnaires. Results show an improvement in pupils’ values and attitudes after learning about the Holocaust in almost every category related to minority groups, ethnic or otherwise. One significant finding was a deep anti-English feeling and this in itself the need for further investigation.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of education for sustainable development (ESD) approaches in English as a foreign language (EFL) in Japanese higher education. Design/methodology/approach A content and language integrated learning (CLIL) University-level course was run over two separate semesters: the first as a lecture-based course and the second was a similar course that integrated ESD best-practice. A program effects case study was used to see if any significant changes could be measured between the separate semesters. A mixed-methods approach to data collection was used and student marks, survey results using values, beliefs and norms (VBN) model and reflection tasks were collected across the two courses. Findings A meaningful change in the ascription of responsibility and personal norms was present in the ESD best-practice course. This shows that ESD best-practice integration into language teaching has a positive impact on student environmental VBN and more research is necessary for this area. Practical implications ESD integrated into language teaching correlates positively with environmental behavior change according to the VBN-model. A new field of study is proposed, language education for sustainable development, to better integrate the disciplines of EFL and ESD. Originality/value This study is looking at the integration of ESD in language teaching and CLIL based courses in Higher Education and, at present, there are no other studies of this kind.

Thesis (MEd) -- Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explored the views of thirteen youth at Victoria High School about what they regarded as achievement and how this influenced their lives and what they thought about their futures. The starting premise of the study was that all learners think about achievement. The goal of the study was thus to show how different learners connect this understanding of achievement with their respective aspirations and the kinds of social and schooling worlds they inhabit. The key contribution of the study is the ways it links the social, cultural, and economic worlds of each of the thirteen learners to what they say about what they do and what they want to do, who they are and who they want to be, and what they think they do and what they think they want to do. The study shows that the life-worlds of each of the learners are significantly different yet the ways they go about making sense of that world are fairly similar. In that regard it is shown that the school, and what learners, parents and educators think it is and does, plays a crucial role in the sense-making process. As Berkhout (2008) notes, the different contexts that shape the lives of individuals are not simply external forces but rather are integral parts of their identity-making process. The study used the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Arjun Appadurai to bring together a framework by which to understand what learners said about their worlds and their aspirations, as well to develop a narrative that showed the rich and complex ways in which learners engaged with their realities. The study followed an interpretive qualitative approach to explore the issue of achievement and based its arguments on interviews conducted with thirteen youth between the ages of fifteen and seventeen years old. In this regard, a key finding was that learners approached the notion of achievement in developmental, cumulative, and progressive ways. These views included wanting to be popular, gaining new knowledge, preparing for future material acquisition, developing skills to lead decent lives, acquiring happiness, developing the ability to overcome their challenges and circumstances, and gaining skills and recognition that set up their futures. Five staff members at Victoria High school were also interviewed for their views of the schooling context and the kinds of cultures and legacies that framed their practice.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die tesis is gefokus op die denke van dertien studente van Victoria Hoërskool aangaande die nosie van prestasie, en hoe hierdie denke hul lewens beïnvloed sowel as wat hulle dink van hul toekoms. Die vertrekpunt van die verbande studie was dat alle leerders oor prestasie dink. Die doel van die tesis (daaruitvoortspruitend) was dus om aan te toon hoe verskillende leerders ʼn verband aanlê tussen hul beskouing van prestasie, hul aspirasies en die maatskaplike- en skoolwêrelde wat hul beleef. Die kern bydrae van die tesis is die verbande wat gemaak is in die verbande studie tussen die sosiale, kulturele en ekonomiese wêrelde van elkeen van die dertien leerders ten opsigte van hul beskouing aangaande wat hulle doen en wil doen, wat hulle is en wil wees, en wat hulle dink hulle doen en wil doen. Die tesis toon aan dat die leefwêreld van elk van die leerders merkbaar verskillend is, maar dat die wyse waarop hulle betekenis gee aan hul leefwêreld tog redelik ooreenstem. In hierdie verband is dit getoon dat die skool, en wat leerders, ouers en onderwysers daaromtrent dink, ʼn kardinale rol speel in hul betekenisvormingsproses. Berkhout (2008) voer in hierdie verband aan dat die verskillende kontekste wat die lewens van individue vorm nie slegs eksterne magte is nie, maar eerder integrale dele van hul identiteitsvormings proses is. Die studie maak gebruik van die werk van Pierre Bourdieu en Arjun Appadurai om ʼn raamwerk te ontwikkel om leerders se beskouinge van hul wêrelde en aspirasies te verstaan, sowel as om ‘n narratief te ontwikkel wat die ryk en komplekse wyses waarop leerders met hul realiteite omgaan, aan te toon. Die tesis, en verbande studie, het ʼn interpretatiewe, kwalitatiewe benadering gevolg om die idee van prestasie te verken en het die tesis argumente baser op onderhoude met dertien leerders tussen vyftien tot sewentienjaar oud. ʼn Kernbevinding in hierdie verband was dat leerders die idée van prestasie op ontwikkelings-, kumulatiewe- en progressiewe wyses benader. Beskouinge van leerders in die verband sluit onder andere in, die behoefte om populêr te wees, die verkryging van nuwe kennis, voorbereiding om materiële goedere in die toekoms te bekom, die ontwikkeling van vaardighede noodsaaklik vir ʼn ordentlike lewe, die strewe na geluk, die ontwikkeling van die vermoë om hul uitdagings en omstandighede te oorkom, en die ontwikkeling vaardighede en erkenning noodsaaklik vir hul toekoms. Onderhoude is ook gevoer met vyf personeellede van Victoria hoërskool om hul beskouinge ten opsigte van die skoolkonteks en die soort kulture en erfenisse wat hul praktyk informeer te bepaal.

A critical evaluation of the National Curriculum Statement (NCS) was undertaken to uncover strategies for infusing values across the curricula – values that may facilitate the development of spiritual intelligence (SQ) in adolescents. A literature study was conducted to determine whether SQ may be harnessed to cultivate values within an educational context. In addition, moral and spiritual development in adolescence was explored and a case made for values-education. An empirical investigation was undertaken using both a qualitative research design and semi-structured interviews. A purposive sample was used comprising 14 education specialists, principals and Life Orientation teachers from six secondary schools in Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces. The most important finding was the fact that values-education in the NCS was problematic. The conclusion was thus drawn that teachers should be trained to incorporate values within curriculum activities − values that could engender SQ and, thus, address the moral dilemmas in our schools.
Psychology of Education
M. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Text in English
The study is a sociolinguistic exploration of the pedagogical value of Shona children’s oral art forms on a changing cultural terrain to situate them within contemporary classroom pedagogy. Critical Discourse Analysis, Afrocentricity and Constructivism are theories that informed the analysis of the Shona children’s oral art forms. The study is conducted within the qualitative paradigm as a descriptive study. Data was gathered through observartions, standardised open-ended interviews, focus group interviews, questionnaires and document analysis. The study established that Shona children’s oral art forms have responded positively to the changing environment in which they are performed in terms of form and content. While this is a positive development, this should be done with caution to ensure that indigenous knowledge systems that are the backbone of African societies are not abused on the global stage. The study has also affirmed that Shona children’s oral art forms are useful pedagogical tools for information dissemination and knowledge creation. It is also evident from the findings that the oral art forms are an embodiment of human factor values that enhance development education. Findings from this study established that Shona children’s oral art forms are reservoirs of values and norms cherished by the Shona as a people and can be reconstructed for teaching various concepts across the primary school curriculum. Evident from this study is that both teachers and learners are knowledgeable of the various traditional Shona children’s oral art forms although new creations are coined to adapt to the changing environment. This shows that the traditional forms are able to withstand the challenges of globalisation, and this resilience is a positive development since it creates an opportunity for researchers to document these in their unadulterated form for posterity. Since findings from the study highlighted threats to the children’s oral art forms due to the advent of technology and globalisation, there is need to act so that they are not pushed to the periphery as was the case during the colonial era. There is need for concerted efforts at packaging them and meaningful infusion of these into all aspects of children’s education for visibility within the changing environment to guard against their demise in an era of globalisation which may impact negatively on the Shona culture.
Linguistics and Modern Languages
Ph. D.(Languages, Linguistics and Literature)

The purpose of the study was to explore the extent to which peace principles were incorporated into the two-year programme at the African Leadership Academy – a Pan-African school in Gauteng, whose mission is to develop young leaders who would contribute to making Africa a peaceful and prosperous continent. The study included investigating whether the formal and informal structures of the school promoted a culture of peace. A literature study outlined the causes of violence and violent conflicts in South Africa and on the African continent, and it also analysed the theoretical frameworks of peace education as put forward by Paulo Freire, Hossain Danesh and Maria Montessori. A qualitative case study methodology employing document analysis, observations and interviews was used. The findings showed that the two-year programme is not specifically designed as a peace education programme, but the teaching of peace principles are non-deliberately and uniquely embedded in the curriculum in the form of the particular skills, attitudes and values that learners acquire at this institution in the two years. The classroom environment and the culture of the school community inculcated in learners the qualities of unity and critical thinking and equip them with conflict resolution skills. Based on the findings, recommendations were made to the school and to all stakeholders in education.
Educational Foundations
M. Ed. (Socio-Education)

The main research question of the study was: How can spiritual intelligence (SQ) be developed in secondary school students? This was motivated out of concern for the moral degeneration that secondary school students experience in South Africa. The literature review focused on the nature of SQ and how it can foster adaptive functioning and transformation in adolescents and the complexity of Religion Education (RE) in South African secondary schools. A case was made for developing educational strategies that can develop SQ in adolescents and create educational environments that not only encourages students to engage in dialogue that involves a broader conversation about religion and spirituality, but also supports transformational learning. The empirical investigation to evaluate the approach and educational strategies that were used, implemented a qualitative case study design. Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence (MI) theory and the social constructivist theory were used as conceptual frameworks. Purposive and convenient sampling was employed to select ten Grade 11 students in a secondary school in Gauteng that reflected the demographics of the country’s population. Qualitative data collection included reflective activities and informal conversation interviews. Field notes were kept and all observations were documented in a self-reflective journal. This was followed by a focus group session and semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed that the educational strategies had the capacity to develop core traits and mental abilities of SQ, provide peak experiences and enhance virtuous behaviour in adolescents. It was concluded that education should include content around the nature of SQ in conjunction with reflective and experiential activities. SQ provided a platform for epistemic relativity. It was thus concluded that SQ can be deliberately developed in South African secondary school contexts. The recommendations focussed on the role of institutions of higher learning in sensitising stakeholders regarding the relevance of SQ in South African educational contexts; training of in-service teachers; the importance of Life Orientation (LO) as conveyer of SQ and the role of the LO teacher in cascading SQ down to school students. Finally, a SQ training workshop was proposed. The study concluded with recommendations for further research. The limitations of the study were also presented.
Psychology of Education
D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

AbstractUniversity Camilo José Cela (UCJC) is a private university located in Madrid (Spain) that belongs to the SEK Education Group, an institution with 125 years of tradition and a strong innovation identity. This case study presents the response that UCJC has given to facilitate the adaptation of the educational community (students, families, and teachers) to the situation arising from the pandemic caused by COVID-19. It will explain the coordination actions between students from the School of Education at UCJC and the impact derived from their interventions. Specifically, it will detail students’ participation as teacher assistants in online teaching within the IB pedagogical model to respond to the demands of primary and secondary teachers. This collaboration is the most outstanding due to the number of students and schools involved and the efficacy and efficiency of its implementation.On the other hand, there were other interventions of a smaller scale but a high social impact committed to disadvantaged sectors of the population. For example, our students’ support gave refugee students from Syria reinforcing their training or the psycho-emotional, educational, and legal assistance that volunteers from the bachelor’s degree of law provided to children and families in social exclusion. It is also significant to highlight the UCJC international actions: the teacher training program, EachTeach, provided educational methodologies, resources, and media to refugee teachers at the Kakuma refugee camp (Kenya), helping them to raise awareness about COVID-19, and the Cambodian program dedicated to training volunteers on how to combat the pandemic on these vulnerable contexts, where children live on the streets.Finally, to define broader collaborations and scale these initiatives in the future, this case study will reflect on the reasons for the success achieved, especially in training and pedagogical innovation and in the use of educational technology. The UCJC and SEK Schools collaboration allowed the use of a common technological language, sharing values. The development of training, support, and advice, between the university community (professors and faculty students) and the schools’ community (teachers, students, and families), enabled a wide range of relevant issues to be addressed in dealing with COVID-19 by schools and the broader education community.

AbstractUniversity Camilo José Cela (UCJC) is a private university located in Madrid (Spain) that belongs to the SEK Education Group, an institution with 125 years of tradition and a strong innovation identity. This case study presents the response that UCJC has given to facilitate the adaptation of the educational community (students, families, and teachers) to the situation arising from the pandemic caused by COVID-19. It will explain the coordination actions between students from the School of Education at UCJC and the impact derived from their interventions. Specifically, it will detail students’ participation as teacher assistants in online teaching within the IB pedagogical model to respond to the demands of primary and secondary teachers. This collaboration is the most outstanding due to the number of students and schools involved and the efficacy and efficiency of its implementation.On the other hand, there were other interventions of a smaller scale but a high social impact committed to disadvantaged sectors of the population. For example, our students’ support gave refugee students from Syria reinforcing their training or the psycho-emotional, educational, and legal assistance that volunteers from the bachelor’s degree of law provided to children and families in social exclusion. It is also significant to highlight the UCJC international actions: the teacher training program, EachTeach, provided educational methodologies, resources, and media to refugee teachers at the Kakuma refugee camp (Kenya), helping them to raise awareness about COVID-19, and the Cambodian program dedicated to training volunteers on how to combat the pandemic on these vulnerable contexts, where children live on the streets.Finally, to define broader collaborations and scale these initiatives in the future, this case study will reflect on the reasons for the success achieved, especially in training and pedagogical innovation and in the use of educational technology. The UCJC and SEK Schools collaboration allowed the use of a common technological language, sharing values. The development of training, support, and advice, between the university community (professors and faculty students) and the schools’ community (teachers, students, and families), enabled a wide range of relevant issues to be addressed in dealing with COVID-19 by schools and the broader education community.

The core of teaching is the serious obligation to ‘‘touch’’ students. Providing more than the mere rudiments of knowledge is essential. Involvement is critical. Case study and critical incident examination are means to that end. To become competent practitioners, students need to develop the ability to incorporate knowledge, and, more important, to apply it in their practice. At the end of the day, student/practitioners will have clients in front of them for whom they need to decide what action to take. Prerequisite know-how and skill involve understanding clients’ motivation, background, thinking, behavior, affects, and concerns, combined with external forces affecting their lives. It includes the disciplined ability to select strategies and techniques appropriate to clients’ conditions and circumstances. Lead by example. Students pick up what they observe you do. Just as you endeavor to provide a rationale for what you do with students, so students gather how to provide a rationale for what they do with clients. Disciplined practice demands that practitioners continually monitor and evaluate their efforts to assure consonance with professional values and ethics. The case method encompasses all of these facets. Before entering the workforce to face flesh-and-bone clients, the case method provides students with an impressionistic chunk of reality. They become stakeholders in credible dilemmas. While certainly not perfect recreations of true situations, case studies, compared to other methods, bring students closer to what they need to keep in mind when dealing with real people. The case can be the lesson. As mentioned throughout this book, a parallel exists between what happens in the classroom and what happens in clinical practice. Cases—particularly in the manner in which you draw upon them interactively—exemplifies for students how they might deal with similar client situations. To use it to its best advantage, consider that the very manner you respond and interact with students as you ponder cases demonstrates for them ways to respond and interact with clients. The case method is predicated on three key notions of instruction.

This chapter aims to provide guidelines to design, create, and develop a Community of Practice (CoP) on university library planning and project management courses, based on description of real experience within the framework of an educational innovation project on the Master course in “Documentation, Library, and Archive Management” (Complutense University). A combination of qualitative and quantitative methodology (document analysis, brainstorming, case studies, group discussion sessions, and creation of a Master Catalogue of Values) was used by different members of the CoP: professors, researchers, university librarians, and students. This case study was found to advance means of establishing alliances and mergers between such players in the field of Library and Information Science and also a manner to encourage an enterprising culture among students in our expertise field. Furthermore, CoP has improved quality of University Libraries at Complutense University with a teaching dynamic that can be implemented in additional university courses related to Management.

The Australian Catholic University (ACU National at www.acu.edu.au) is a public university funded by the Australian Government. There are six campuses across the country, located in Brisbane, Queensland; North Sydney, New South Wales; Strathfield, New South Wales; Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT); Ballarat, Victoria; and Melbourne, Victoria. The university serves a total of approximately 27,000 students, including both full- and part-time students, and those enrolled in undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Through fostering and advancing knowledge in education, health, commerce, the humanities, science and technology, and the creative arts, ACU National seeks to make specific and targeted contributions to its local, national, and international communities. The university explicitly engages the social, ethical, and religious dimensions of the questions it faces in teaching, research, and service. In its endeavors, it is guided by a fundamental concern for social justice, equity, and inclusivity. The university is open to all, irrespective of religious belief or background. ACU National opened its doors in 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia. The institutions that merged to form the university had their origins in the mid-17th century when religious orders and institutes became involved in the preparation of teachers for Catholic schools and, later, nurses for Catholic hospitals. As a result of a series of amalgamations, relocations, transfers of responsibilities, and diocesan initiatives, more than twenty historical entities have contributed to the creation of ACU National. Today, ACU National operates within a rapidly changing educational and industrial context. Student numbers are increasing, areas of teaching and learning have changed and expanded, e-learning plays an important role, and there is greater emphasis on research. In its 2005–2009 Strategic Plan, the university commits to the adoption of quality teaching, an internationalized curriculum, as well as the cultivation of generic skills in students, to meet the challenges of the dynamic university and information environment (ACU National, 2008). The Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) Program at ACU Canberra Situated in Australia’s capital city, the Canberra campus is one of the smallest campuses of ACU National, where there are approximately 800 undergraduate and 200 postgraduate students studying to be primary or secondary school teachers through the School of Education (ACT). Other programs offered at this campus include nursing, theology, social work, arts, and religious education. A new model of pre-service secondary teacher education commenced with the introduction of the Graduate Diploma of Education (Secondary) program at this campus in 2005. It marked an innovative collaboration between the university and a cohort of experienced secondary school teachers in the ACT and its surrounding region. This partnership was forged to allow student teachers undertaking the program to be inducted into the teaching profession with the cooperation of leading practitioners from schools in and around the ACT. In the preparation of novices for the teaching profession, an enduring challenge is to create learning experiences capable of transforming practice, and to instill in the novices an array of professional skills, attributes, and competencies (Putnam & Borko, 2000). Another dimension of the beginning teacher experience is the need to bridge theory and practice, and to apply pedagogical content knowledge in real-life classroom practice. During the one-year Graduate Diploma program, the student teachers undertake two four-week block practicum placements, during which they have the opportunity to observe exemplary lessons, as well as to commence teaching. The goals of the practicum include improving participants’ access to innovative pedagogy and educational theory, helping them situate their own prior knowledge regarding pedagogy, and assisting them in reflecting on and evaluating their own practice. Each student teacher is paired with a more experienced teacher based at the school where he/she is placed, who serves as a supervisor and mentor. In 2007, a new dimension to the teaching practicum was added to facilitate online peer mentoring among the pre-service teachers at the Canberra campus of ACU National, and provide them with opportunities to reflect on teaching prior to entering full-time employment at a school. The creation of an online community to facilitate this mentorship and professional development process forms the context for the present case study. While on their practicum, students used social software in the form of collaborative web logging (blogging) and threaded voice discussion tools that were integrated into the university’s course management system (CMS), to share and reflect on their experiences, identify critical incidents, and invite comment on their responses and reactions from peers.

A mature teacher who continuously seeks improvement should be recognised as a professional who has autonomy in conducting their job and has the autonomy to engage in a professional community of practice (Hyslop-Margison and Sears, 2010). In other words, teachers’ engagement in professional development activities should be driven by their own determination rather than extrinsic sources of motivation. In this context, teachers’ self-determination can be defined as a feeling of connectedness with their own aspirations or personal values, confidence in their ability to master new skills, and a sense of autonomy in planning their own professional development path (Stupnisky et al., 2018; Eyal and Roth, 2011; Ryan and Deci, 2000). Previous studies have shown the advantages of providing teachers with autonomy to determine personal and professional improvement. Bergmark (2020) found that giving teachers the opportunity to identify areas of improvement based on teaching experience expanded the ways they think and understand themselves as teachers and how they can improve their teaching. Teachers who plan their own improvement showed a higher level of curiosity in learning and trying out new things. Bergmark (2020) also shows that a continuous cycle of reflection and teaching improvement allows teachers to recognise that the perfect lesson does not exist. Hence, continuous reflection and improvement are needed to shape the lesson to meet various classroom contexts. Moreover, Cheon et al. (2018) found that increased teacher autonomy led to greater teaching efficacy and a greater tendency to adopt intrinsic (relative to extrinsic) instructional goals. In developed countries, teacher autonomy is present and has become part of teachers’ professional life and schools’ development plans. In Finland, for example, the government is responsible for providing resources and services that schools request, while school development and teachers’ professional learning are integrated into a day-to-day “experiment” performed collaboratively by teachers and principals (Niemi, 2015). This kind of experience gives teachers a sense of mastery and boosts their determination to continuously learn (Ryan and Deci, 2000). In low-performing countries, distributing autonomy of education quality improvement to schools and teachers negatively correlates with the countries’ education outcomes (Hanushek et al., 2011). This study also suggests that education outcome accountability and teacher capacity are necessary to ensure the provision of autonomy to improve education quality. However, to have teachers who can meet dynamic educational challenges through continuous learning, de Klerk & Barnett (2020) suggest that developing countries include programmes that could nurture teachers’ agency to learn in addition to the regular content and pedagogical-focused teacher training materials. Giving autonomy to teachers can be challenging in an environment where accountability or performance is measured by narrow considerations (teacher exam score, administrative completion, etc.). As is the case in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia, teachers tend to attend training to meet performance evaluation administrative criteria rather than to address specific professional development needs (Dymoke and Harrison, 2006). Generally, the focus of the training relies on what the government believes will benefit their teaching workforce. Teacher professional development (TPD) is merely an assignment for Jakarta teachers. Most teachers attend the training only to obtain attendance certificates that can be credited towards their additional performance allowance. Consequently, those teachers will only reproduce teaching practices that they have experienced or observed from their seniors. As in other similar professional development systems, improvement in teaching quality at schools is less likely to happen (Hargreaves, 2000). Most of the trainings were led by external experts or academics who did not interact with teachers on a day-to-day basis. This approach to professional development represents a top-down mechanism where teacher training was designed independently from teaching context and therefore appears to be overly abstract, unpractical, and not useful for teachers (Timperley, 2011). Moreover, the lack of relevancy between teacher training and teaching practice leads to teachers’ low ownership of the professional development process (Bergmark, 2020). More broadly, in the Jakarta education system, especially the public school system, autonomy was never given to schools and teachers prior to establishing the new TPD system in 2021. The system employed a top-down relationship between the local education agency, teacher training centres, principals, and teachers. Professional development plans were usually motivated by a low teacher competency score or budgeted teacher professional development programme. Guided by the scores, the training centres organised training that could address knowledge areas that most of Jakarta's teachers lack. In many cases, to fulfil the quota as planned in the budget, the local education agency and the training centres would instruct principals to assign two teachers to certain training without knowing their needs. Realizing that the system was not functioning, Jakarta’s local education agency decided to create a reform that gives more autonomy toward schools and teachers in determining teacher professional development plan. The new system has been piloted since November 2021. To maintain the balance between administrative evaluation and addressing professional development needs, the new initiative highlights the key role played by head teachers or principals. This is based on assumption that principals who have the opportunity to observe teaching practice closely could help teachers reflect and develop their professionalism. (Dymoke and Harrison, 2006). As explained by the professional development case in Finland, leadership and collegial collaboration are also critical to shaping a school culture that could support the development of professional autonomy. The collective energies among teachers and the principal will also direct the teacher toward improving teaching, learning, and caring for students and parents (Hyslop-Margison and Sears, 2010; Hargreaves, 2000). Thus, the new TPD system in Jakarta adopts the feature of collegial collaboration. This is considered as imperative in Jakarta where teachers used to be controlled and join a professional development activity due to external forces. Learning autonomy did not exist within themselves. Hence, teachers need a leader who can turn the "professional development regulation" into a culture at schools. The process will shape teachers to do professional development quite autonomously (Deci et al., 2001). In this case, a controlling leadership style will hinder teachers’ autonomous motivation. Instead, principals should articulate a clear vision, consider teachers' individual needs and aspirations, inspire, and support professional development activities (Eyal and Roth, 2011). This can also be called creating a professional culture at schools (Fullan, 1996). In this Note, we aim to understand how the schools and teachers respond to the new teacher professional development system. We compare experience and motivation of different characteristics of teachers.