Abstract :
The aim of this paper is to describe an international project aimed at building a knowledge base between Canada and China and beyond for cross-cultural educational understanding and harmonious relationships. The overall purpose of this work is to move beyond cross-cultural comparison and competition to collaborative reciprocity. Reciprocal learning is the guiding term for the Canada–China Partnership Project. The term is relatively commonplace and its deceptive simplicity veils important research and public discourse consequences. The Partnership Project, though not explicitly comparative in nature, draws heavily on the literature of comparative education, particularly with respect to methodology and understandings of Chinese and Canadian education. We describe four comparative education approaches which we think of as models of reciprocal learning across cultures. In the following remarks, we unpack these ideas of reciprocal learning as they apply to collaborative studies of Chinese and Canadian edu- cation. The models are assessed for their potential to generate collaborative teaching and learning situations with associated reciprocal learning.
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2019.1601077
To cite this article:
Connelly, F. M., & Xu, S. (2019). Reciprocal learning in the partnership project: From knowing to doing in comparative research models. Teachers and Teaching, 25(6), 627-646. doi: 10.1080/13540602.2019.1601077
Abstract :
This article is based on the empirical research involving Chinese exchange teacher candidates from Southwest University in China who participated in the Reciprocal Learning in Teacher Education and School Education between Canada and China (RLTESECC) project and studied at the University of Windsor. These teachers conducted classroom observation in Canadian schools from 2010 to 2016. The research study explores changes in Chinese teacher candidates’ beliefs about their professional life, which was promoted by the project, inspired by the Teachers’ Change Model proposed by F. A. J. Korthagen and based on the concept of Reciprocal Learning as collaborative partnerships between and among cultures. A two-stage research design was guided by the Grounded Theory approach (Charmaz, 2006). The findings reveal that the reciprocal learning project created an environment, which was conducive to exchange teacher candidates’ professional development and especially intro- duced new perspectives to teachers’ understanding of their profes- sion in four areas: 1) teaching, 2) learning, 3) researching and academic writing and 4) professional social life.
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2019.1666708
To cite this article:
Lee J. C., Liu, Y., & Wu, N. (2019). Changes of Chinese exchange teacher candidates’ professional beliefs in the ‘reciprocal learning in teacher education and school education between Canada and China’ project. Teachers and Teaching, 25(6), 664-683. doi: 10.1080/13540602.2019.1666708
Abstract:
This article reports the perceived learning of a group of Chinese teacher candidates who audited an ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) literacy course while participating in an exchange programme between Southwest University in China and the University of Windsor in Canada. Data were collected through 1) reflective notes written by visiting students and 2) semi- structured interviews conducted with them towards the end of their visit. The majority of participants stated that the learning experience helped them to realise the important role theory plays in the learning of ICT and to seek ideas of how to creatively integrate ICT in their future classrooms. Participants with limited ICT knowl- edge and skills reported that by being exposed to various functions of frequently used programmes and many free software pro- grammes, they felt more confident in using ICT in their own teach- ing. Furthermore, those with strong ICT backgrounds found that the course helped them to understand the relationship among ICT, society, and pedagogy. The teacher candidates’ perceived learning included aspects of culture and pedagogy in addition to ICT knowl- edge and skills. Coming to know in ways like this is critically important to international partnerships and foundational to recipro- cal learning where each learns from the other.
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2019.1662778
To cite this article:
Zhang, Z. (2019). Teacher candidates’ perceived learning in an international exchange program: An ICT course example. Teachers and Teaching. 25(6), 730-742. doi: 10.1080/13540602.2019.1662778
Abstract :
Teacher education exists today in a context of rapid globalization, which affects the systems in which future teachers will work, the governance of teachers’ work, the students teachers will be teach- ing, as well as the policies, programs, curricula and students in teacher education itself. Several ideas recently have gained traction internationally and are shaping the working landscape of teaching and teacher education in many countries. This essay critically exam- ines the circulation of what appear to be a small set of ‘core’ ideas that are influencing national and institutional policies of teacher education. I explore the emergence of new players in teacher education internationally, including individuals, corporations, and international bodies. Using policy documents, influential research studies, university program statements, and interviews, the essay provides a discursive analysis of the contradictory voices in what is becoming a global conversation of teacher education. In many ways, these ideas marginalize the voices of teachers and teacher educators. They tend to narrow the definitions of education and teaching. As a counterpoint to these widely circulating arguments, I explore how reciprocal teacher education exchange programs in China and the US create opportunities for alternative constructions of visions of teaching and teacher learning.
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2019.1643712
To cite this article:
Paine, L. W. (2019). Missing voices and possible dialogues: Problems and possibilities for teacher education. Teachers and Teaching, 25(6), 684-702. doi: 10.1080/13540602.2019.1643712
Abstract:
This paper focuses on the Reciprocal Learning Programmes between Western and Eastern educational systems through a Sister School project as well as, a Reciprocal Learning Programme through preservice programs between a Canadian university and a Chinese university. Benefits of the Reciprocal Learning Programs include reflective practice of content and pedagogical learning, cultural and societal learning, globalisation and emotional and social impact. Qualitative documentation demonstrates that educational, social and cultural dimensions are cultivated and nurtured through the Reciprocal Learning programs and have positively affected the students, educators and leaders involved in the project. Criteria for success in the programs included professional and personal commitment, educator inquiry, vulnerability, organisational commitment and multi-dimensional partnerships.
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2019.1680358
To cite this article:
Howitt, C. (2019). Building a bridge between Western and Eastern worlds: Reciprocal learning programmes that create reflective practice, hope and prosperity in education. Teachers and Teaching, 25(6), 743-751. doi: 10.1080/13540602.2019.1680358
Abstract :
In this introduction we describe the purpose and structure of the Canada–China Reciprocal Learning in Teacher Education and School Education Partnership Grant Project sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada (SSHRC) in 2013−2020, and describe the project’s practice-based methodology along with a discussion of selected preliminary results. The papers presented in this special issue of Frontiers of Education in China animate our discussion by bringing forward important school-based activities and results. The heart of this work is the collaborative activity and voices of Chinese and Canadian educators. We illustrate our concept of reciprocal learning and how we apply this concept in our Partnership Grant Project. We believe that we have heavily benefited from the productive work and impact that has been made in the field of comparative education and we have put our emphasis on Reciprocal Learning as Collaborative Partnership throughout our project.
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11516-017-0013-6
To cite this article:
Connelly, F. M., & Xu, S. (2017). Reciprocal learning between Canada and China in teacher education and school education: Partnership studies of practice in cultural context. Frontiers of Education in China, 12(2), 135-150. doi: 10.1007/s11516-017-0013-6
Abstract :
This paper reports the impact of a new Canada and China school network on its participating teachers in the context of the Canada−China Partnership Grant Project. Eight schools formed four pairs of sister schools, and teachers in these schools created collaborations embedded in their practices. The data include interviews of teachers and principals in both countries and records of teachers’ cross-cultural collaborations. Informed by the literature on teacher learning and professional learning communities, this paper shows benefits of international teacher communities. Also, it explores a new approach to research that features spatiality considerations reflecting a new trend in the comparative education literature. Focusing on teacher knowledge and practice, it shows reciprocal effects of collaboration in the international school network. Finally, this paper links the research results to the literature in a way that highlights the potential of international teacher professional learning communities and contributions of this kind of practice and research.
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11516-017-0014-5
To cite this article:
Huang, X. (2017). How teachers learn and change in reciprocal learning space. Frontiers of Education in China, 12, 151–179. doi:10.1007/s11516-017-0014-5
Abstract:
In this paper, I demonstrate a way of conducting narrative inquiry that is oriented towards understanding and improving teachers’ experiences in a particular Toronto–Shanghai/West–East Sister School reciprocal learning partnership. I show how this narrative inquiry process is informed by a Deweyan way of thinking about experience and is enriched by the Confucian idea of being a good guest. I illustrate how this inquiry process involves teachers and researchers as collaborative and reciprocal learners on the Dao of further personal and professional growth and learning. I suggest that conducting narrative inquiry in a Canada–China interschool setting could give rise to West–East reciprocal learning communities that have the potential of bridging the cultural and historical narratives that underlie Chinese and North American education. It could also create the harmonious and democratic educational conditions for fostering global citizens as learners in our 21st century.
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11516-017-0015-4
To cite this article:
Khoo, Y. (2017). Regenerating narrative inquiry for teacher growth on a Toronto-Shanghai sister school partnership landscape. Frontiers of Education in China, 12(2), 180-199. doi: 10.1007/s11516-017-0015-4
Abstract:
This paper presents the case of one Sister School in the Canada–China Reciprocal Learning Project based on a belief that practice has significant value for the development of teachers’ intercultural awareness and schools’ intercultural communication experience. This paper focuses on one Shanghai school’s reciprocal learning experience, highlighting the content of intercultural communication, the areas of collaboration, the characteristics of collaboration, and the attitudes towards collaboration in the intercultural context. Against the backdrop of New Basic Education reform in China, I try to depict how a Sister School partnership guided by the principle of reciprocal learning motivates Chinese and Canadian teachers to work together across cultural differences in order to learn and develop in terms of theory and practice. I also discuss difficulties and challenges that have occurred in the process of intercultural communication. In the process, reciprocal learning is re-conceptualized and relived as part of our research endeavor.
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11516-017-0016-3
To cite this article:
Yang, Q. (2017). Intercultural communication in the context of a Canada−China sister school partnership: The experience of one new basic education school. Frontiers of Education in China, 12(2), 200-218. doi: 10.1007/s11516-017-0016-3
Abstract:
This paper is a personal narrative from the perspective of one teacher in Toronto who participated in the Canada–China Reciprocal Learning in Teacher Education and School Education Partnership Grant Project. I took part in a Sister School partnership between 2013 and 2017. Over the four years, I came to understand relationships in an international professional learning community. Participating in the project gave me the benefit of seeing my practice through an international lens. For my students, it offered a global citizenship experience. Although there are numerous professional development opportunities in Toronto, this partnership extends beyond a lunch and learn, or a full day professional learning. The commitment to my partners has fueled my desire to incorporate new teaching ideas and has required ongoing reflection on my own teaching practice. In this article, I will explain some of the challenges, stages of development, reciprocal learning, and implications for future international professional learning communities.
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11516-017-0017-2
To cite this article:
Rigler, A. (2017). Reciprocal learning: One teacher’s narrative. Frontiers of Education in China, 12(2), 219-232. doi: 10.1007/s11516-017-0017-2