Improving Professional Practice through Practice-Based Research: VaKE (Values and Knowledge Education) in University-Based Teacher Education

Abstract

are currently a neglected topic in favor of the subject matter and knowledge. The constructivist instructional approach VaKE (Values and Knowledge Education) addresses this problem by combining the moral and epistemic goals through the discussion of moral dilemmas. The main research question of this practice-based study was whether teacher educators can improve their instructional practice by using VaKE. We describe an empirical study of a teacher educator who used VaKE in order to (i) facilitate pre-service teachers to solve moral conflicts which they are faced with in their workplace learning and to (ii) increase the moral climate in his course. 58 pre-service teachers who formed two classes participated in the study. The study consisted of three research phases: In the first research phase the types of the pre-service teachers' moral conflicts were examined. In the second research phase the most frequent types of moral conflicts were used as a basis for an explorative quasi-experimental pre-posttest study. This study investigated the effects of VaKE compared to a traditional case-analysis approach with regard to the pre-service teachers' application of discourse-oriented actions for conflict resolution. In the third phase, a case study method was used comprising a random sample of seven pre-service teachers chosen from each class to investigate the perceived learning climate during the intervention. The results indicate that VaKE provides the possibility to combine the moral and epistemic goals of the professional education of teachers.

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“…An important implication for teacher education is to not only use VaKE as a rigid method but to adapt it to the particularities of the learners by providing more opportunities of choices. This can be done, for example, by allowing the learners to grapple with their own moral dilemmas (e.g., Weinberger et al, 2016).…”

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“…In initiating entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs will devote themselves to constructing social networks that benefit the development of their new business and use these network relationships to elevate the probability of success in their business. Industry-specific experience accumulated in the entrepreneurial process will be very helpful to entrepreneurs in the continued discovery of business opportunities and in promoting the growth of the new business (Pfeifer, Šarlija, & Sušac, 2016;Uy et al,2015;Weinberger, 2016).…”

“…In terms of the content of entrepreneurship-embedded internships, the real content to be learned is the habits of entrepreneurs (Francisco, Moriano, & Jaén, 2016). Through school internship programs, students can cultivate the potential traits of entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial beliefs, and perceptions of entrepreneurial skills, thus enabling them to express entrepreneurial cognition (Cho, Robalino, & Watson, 2016;Fukuda, 2014;Weinberger, Patry, & Weyringer, 2016). Weinberger et al (2016) pointed out that in order to help student employment and the competitiveness of the employment market, teachers, educational institutions, and students need to establish a balanced structure with the employment market.…”

“…Through school internship programs, students can cultivate the potential traits of entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial beliefs, and perceptions of entrepreneurial skills, thus enabling them to express entrepreneurial cognition (Cho, Robalino, & Watson, 2016;Fukuda, 2014;Weinberger, Patry, & Weyringer, 2016). Weinberger et al (2016) pointed out that in order to help student employment and the competitiveness of the employment market, teachers, educational institutions, and students need to establish a balanced structure with the employment market. In order to satisfy the different demands of employers and employment, teachers need to use more methods in entrepreneurial instruction, in order to guide students to realize their adventurous spirits.…”

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“…Individual and collective reflection require mutual respect and trust, and a lot of patience with trial and error. For the learning to be meaningful and impactful, the best perceived learning climate models an openness to student experiences and goals, respect for others’ views, and a focus on supporting moral action (Weinberger, Patry, & Weyringer, 2016).…”