The project aims to contribute to establishing effective strategies and practices that enable the development of the capacity to use research among early childhood and primary education teachers, while increasing the use of and commitment to research among future teachers. Specifically, it proposes to:
- OG1. Establish the principles of a research-based initial teacher education model.
- OG2. Define effective strategies and practices for implementing the research-based initial teacher education model.
- OG3. Validate a research-based initial teacher education model.
For data collection, a mixed procedural approach will be employed to incorporate at all times the perspectives of various actors involved in the teaching profession and teacher education: pre-service and in-service teachers, university faculty, academic leaders, policymakers, national and international experts, professional associations, among others. The project will be carried out over 24 months, divided into three phases:
- Phase I. Exploratory and Projective (8 months). On the one hand, we will analyze research-based initial teacher education models at both international and local levels to identify their guiding principles. On the other hand, we will examine the current state of initial teacher education and its links to research through questionnaires (administered to final-year early childhood and primary education student teachers and faculty involved in initial teacher education) and in-depth interviews (with policymakers, academic leaders, and in-service early childhood and primary teachers).
Based on the analysis of the information obtained, we will hold participatory seminars, following the principles of active methodologies through the ambition loop method and applying Design Thinking principles, involving in-service early childhood and primary teachers, university faculty engaged in initial teacher education, and experts. The goal is to establish the foundational principles that should guide a research-based teacher education model adapted to the Catalan training context, ensuring a vision of the teaching profession informed by research. - Phase II. Design and Experimentation (8 months). (12 months). Based on the analysis of the data obtained in the previous phase, we will hold several participatory and collaborative working sessions with the entire team, also inviting experts in the field, to design strategies and practices for applying the model at the level of initial teacher education, ensuring coherence and adaptation to different levels of research-teaching integration. These will be tested in courses within the Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, and dual-degree programs, covering various types of subjects (basic training, compulsory, practicum, and final degree projects) from first to fourth year. To assess their impact, a pre-post questionnaire will be administered to student teachers involved in the courses where the experimentation takes place, and the participating faculty will be asked to prepare a narrative of the process of experimenting with the strategies and practices for applying the model. Using all the collected data, the working team will organize a workshop for discussion and validation of the experimentation of the strategies and practices for applying the model.
- Phase III. Validation and Dissemination of the Model. (4 months). In this phase, the research-based initial teacher education model will be finalized. It will incorporate the guiding principles from Phase I and the strategies tested in Phase II. Additionally, it will include recommendations for Faculties of Education, as well as a set of tools aimed at faculty involved in the initial training of future early childhood and primary teachers, to promote the integration of the research-based model at both curricular and methodological levels. The experts participating in the working group will validate the model, which will then be edited for dissemination among Faculties of Education and faculty engaged in initial teacher education.
The ultimate purpose of the proposal is, therefore, to provide tools and recommendations aimed at all actors involved in initial teacher education for early childhood, primary, and dual-degree programs, and especially at academic leaders and faculty members, to establish the guidelines for a research-based initial teacher education model, thereby advancing toward a teaching profession informed by research.