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The paper presents research from a Danish large-scale and collaborative initiative for systematically developing teacher education 'Teacher education as a laboratory for developing excellent teaching and education' (LULAB). Framed by this initiative, local teacher educators and student teachers are, in collaboration with teachers and students from partner-schools, experimenting with developing, analyzing, and sharing teaching approaches in teacher education. Hence, LULAB is an institutional strategic top-down initiative aimed to support the development of professional skills among student teachers and teacher educators, with supportive leadership for bottom-up changes from the microlevel projects. Inspired by design-based research, the findings are used iteratively to inform the organization of LULAB. Data are collected following a sequential mixed methods strategy, with questionnaires and multiple qualitative data. Findings from the first year of the LULAB initiative indicate a growing awareness among teacher educators about the co-developing role of student teachers being something distinctive for LULAB. Both teacher educators and student teachers emphasize their perceived professional outcomes. The student teachers refer in particular to insights from being invited into the machine room of teacher education and inspiration for their future work as teachers. However, there are also challenges involved in developing a culture of inquiry, and possibilities for support from the leadership looking forward are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of a mindfulness program including Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on the mental health of student teachers when offered at their educational institution in a real-life context. Methods: A parallel randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted among self-selected student teachers at a Danish undergraduate program for teacher education in the autumns of 2019 and 2020. Participation was not recommended in case of (1) clinical depression or a diagnosis of psychosis or schizophrenia, (2) abuse of alcohol, drugs, and/or medicine. Randomization was performed by a Statistician who was blinded to the identity of the students. Data was collected using self-reported questionnaires. The primary outcome was a change in perceived stress 3 months from baseline. Secondary outcome measures were symptoms of anxiety and depression, well-being, resilience, mindfulness, and thoughts and feelings during rest. The effects were analyzed according to the intention-to-treat principle using mixed-effect linear regression models. Mediating effects of mindfulness skills on the mental health outcomes were explored using structural equation modeling. Results: The study group included 67 student teachers with 34 allocated to the intervention group (median age: 25 years; women: n = 24, 71%); and 33 students (median age: 25 years; women: n = 25, 76%) allocated to a waiting list control group. At baseline, mean Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) scores were 18.88 (SD : 5.75) in the intervention group and 17.91 (SD : 6.36) in the waiting list control group. A total of 56 students completed the questionnaire at a 3-month follow-up (28 in both the intervention- and the control group). Statistically significant effects of the intervention were found on perceived stress, symptoms of anxiety and depression, well-being, and on three of seven resting-state dimensions. No effects were found on resilience or mindfulness. Statistically significant mediated effects via resting-state dimensions were found. Conclusion The findings suggested that offering a mindfulness program at an undergraduate program for teacher education could significantly improve the mental health among self-selected students within 3 months. Results of mediation analysis supported the hypothesis that some of the effects might be explained by reduced distracting thoughts. Clinical Trial Registration: [www.ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [NCT04558099]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I present a review of Paul DOWNES' (2020) book "Reconstructing Agency in Developmental and Educational Psychology--Inclusive Systems as Concentric Space." DOWNES describes the goal of this impressive work as the reconstruction of the foundations of developmental and educational psychology that fills in an important gap by arguing for a spatial turn. He proposes an innovative framework of agency seen as a movement between concentric and diametric spatial relations for a reconstruction of resilience. I present an overview of the structure and the content of the book followed by discussing in more detail the four themes: 1. key problems of agency, 2. the emotional-relational turn, 3. VYGOTSKY and the question about cultural conformity, and 4. the proposed spatial ecological systems framework, as both a domain of study and a methodology. In the discussion, I add perspectives from the field of teacher education and professional learning and agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Framed by the EU-project Hand in Hand focusing on Social, Emotional and Intercultural (SEI) competencies among students and school staff the paper discusses implementation and professional competencies based on a literature review. Five themes were identified: 1) Intercultural/transcultural competency is not often referred to in the same research as social-emotional learning, though socio-emotional aspects appear to be 'in the core´, 2) it is crucial to be aware of agency among school staff in a SEI-implementation, 3) successful implementation is about more than the activities in the specific program, it is rather about elements in synergy and professional learning over time, 4) the subtle balance between adaptation and fidelity might best be addressed in an adaptive curriculum emphasizing active ingredients, and 5) this is a field with many intervention studies, but it is urgent to consider if the psychometric measures are sufficiently sensitive to catch the subtle changes related to SEI-competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study follows a group of student teachers (STs) facilitated in collaboratively analysing video recordings of their school practice experiences, required for their bachelor projects. Their meaning-making is examined in terms of what they experienced as outcomes, how they constructed understanding and how their interpretation of classroom experiences developed. The findings reveal that the structured collaborative analysis supported the STs in a more nuanced consideration of concrete incidents and in reconstructing their experiences with a focus on student learning. They noted the benefit of the peer support and had a positive view of the structured approach. Additionally, they emphasised insights gained by starting from a fine-grained analysis of concrete problems encountered in their school practice before applying theory. They did, however, resort to more general abstractions in their reports. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An analytical framework for examining students' motivation was developed and used for analyses of video excerpts from science classrooms. The framework was developed in an iterative process involving theories on motivation and video excerpts from a 'motivational event' where students worked in groups. Subsequently, the framework was used for an analysis of students' motivation in the whole class situation. A cross-case analysis was carried out illustrating characteristics of students' motivation dependent on the context. This research showed that students' motivation to learn science is stimulated by a range of different factors, with autonomy, relatedness and belonging apparently being the main sources of motivation. The teacher's combined use of questions, uptake and high level evaluation was very important for students' learning processes and motivation, especially students' self-efficacy. By coding and analysing video excerpts from science classrooms, we were able to demonstrate that the analytical framework helped us gain new insights into the effect of teachers' communication and other elements on students' motivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]