Interviewing Aspiring Teachers: A Reflective Piece

This reflective piece summarizes the interview conducted with two interviewees who had been high school students and their experiences with the support system and progress assessment. It highlights the importance of inculcating morality and socializing students to be good human beings. The article also provides insights for pre-service teachers and policy makers.

Running head: INTERVIEWING ASPIRING TEACHERS
Interviewing Aspiring Teachers
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1INTERVIEWING ASPIRING TEACHERS
Introduction
Getting to know about the experiences of persons on relevant issues is not necessarily an
unsolicited, malicious intention of sneaking into the private sphere of an individual to denigrate
its sanctity and confidentiality (Hamilton-Jones and Vail 2014). The purpose of this reflective
piece of writing is to convey the valuable and striking inputs gathered from interviewing
individuals who had been high school students at some point of time in their lives and rectify the
current state of affairs accordingly. The following sections shall thus be conveying a summarized
version of the interview conducted with a reflective undertone to the informations gathered from
two interviewees.
Chosen Method
The best way to perhaps assess the needs of a system which I feel personally can be by
comparing accounts of past experiences and the present state of affairs, as per my readings on
interview methods for pre service teachers (Ralph and MacPhail 2015). It becomes very easy to
assess the changes that have occurred, determine whether it has been for the better or it has led to
depreciation or if things have not changed at all (Gill, Dalgarno and Carlson 2015). Thus, I have
in consultation with my colleagues had decided to conduct an interview in order to get to know
how schooling is today for secondary level students and how it was for the interviewees during
their days. We have planned on comparing the inputs taken from there with the current
prevailing situations and take decisions, as per the standard method of going about with the thing
correctly (Peters 2018).

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Central Theme of the Interview
The central theme focuses on the aspect of the responsiveness of the support system and
how that had laid influence on their learning experience. The focus of the interview shall be
thrusting upon the locational details of the school, the assessment of overall progress and the
functioning of the support system at school to help out the students in times of distress. The
premise from which this stems out is the belief that schools are places of learning, which cannot
be accomplished without a strong support system (Waters and Russell 2016).
Interview Report Summary
We had two interviewees who have passed out of their schools almost five years ago. The
first interviewee had completed his secondary level schooling from a not so affluent suburb of
Sydney, located in a mixed neighbourhood. Ethnic Australian nationals were however were a
majority both in the area and in the school. Students belonging to Turkish, Iranian, Syrian and
Egyptian origin formed the minority. The rate of diversity was not too much, but it was
substantial. He said,“It was nice to have them at school. I loved the traditional food-stuffs they
brought to school for tiffin. They were very hospitable and warm.” With regard to the monitoring
and assessment of the progress of students, the school was quite strict. Tests at regular intervals,
loads of assignments each month, and a little less focus on extra-curricular activities. Their
school principal was a lenient person as such but he had an aura of strictness in his demeanour.
He was particular about his stance on the aspect of decorum and good morals since the school
was diverse and he wanted to avoid any instance of the minorities being ill-treated which is
ubiquitous in Australia. The assistant teachers were very approachable and went out of their way
to help students beyond school hours when the need was dire. Even the fellow students were
quite helpful, owing to the fact that the school authorities used to instill the sentiment of

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fraternity and team-work quite often. Students who excelled in their studies helped out the
weaker students and that was encouraged and monitored by the teachers. That helped in building
up solidarity and philanthropy in them during their school days.
The second interviewee had pursued his secondary school level education at a relatively
affluent neighbourhood with a homogenous population consisting of only ethnic Australian
nationals. His experience at his school, in his own words,”It was full of challenges and
competition as we all wanted to excel than the others.” The school was lenient and they had a lot
of freedom, which some pupils misused. The facilities at school were quite sophisticated since
the students belonged to rich parents and it would have been difficult for students belonging to
economically humble backgrounds to adjust. The number of students being less the teachers
could devote better attention to the students. The assistant teachers were also helpful, and
perhaps as qualified and efficient as the senior subject teachers. They were however very
professional and lacked empathy to some extent. The weaker students felt left out sometimes,
since the spirit of excellence used to be so high that mediocres were almost nowhere in the scene.
Peers came to rescue, but rarely. All the students seemed focussed on their own lives.
Importance of the Interview
This interview is particularly important for Pre Service Teachers since they must focus
more attention on bridging the gaps between the students. The purpose of support system is to
help out students irrespective of whether they are excellent at studies or mediocre (Arnold and
Ducate 2015). The inculcation of morality among the students is extremely necessary as
education is supposed to nurture not just students with excellent academic records, but also good
human beings. Socializing them to be good human beings is very important, or else the future of
the society shall not be very bright (Izadinia 2015). Even if an institution is not very diverse

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demography-wise, they must be sensitized about the diversity of Australian society. The spirit of
tolerance and helpfulness must be inculcated in students for the sake of being good and
responsible citizens. Studies are not the only thing students go to school for, hence a balanced
approach towards both studies and extra-curricular activities must be adopted at all schools
across the country (Fry and O’Brien 2015). These are the areas which the aspiring teachers keep
in mind so that Australia could have teachers who can deal with the changing circumstances and
respond to it effectively. Pre-service teachers should read the article, ‘Preparing Special
Educators for Collaboration in the Classroom: Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs and Perspectives’
written by Hamilton-Jones and Vail (2014). They highlight the issue of how to deal with students
in the classroom, the approach, body-language and the degree of sensitivity with which teachers
should treat their students. The most striking point in the article is that it harps on the aspect of
necessitating the shaping of ones values and perceptions as per the requirements of grooming a
diverse range of students. For the purpose of grooming students to be good citizens, this
particular reading, ‘Cultivating a justice orientation toward citizenship in pre-service elementary
teachers’ by Fry and O’Brien (2015) should be referred to. It has all the relevant guidelines for
teachers to help students become dutiful citizens and help in nation building. The Phd thesis of
Peters (2018), ‘Inclusion of Indigenous Education: Examining Pre-service Teachers' Knowledge
and Attitudes towards the Integration of Indigenous Education’ should also be given a reading to
understand the importance of diversity and sensitivity towards people belonging to difference
ethnic and cultural backgrounds. These are the few basic readings which aspiring teachers must
give a reading for enhancing their acumen.

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Implications on Policy Making
This section shall focus on the aspect of policy making of the Government towards
education. The differences in the two instances show that Australia needs some form of studies
that shall help build a sense of strong national culture focusing on the diversity of the country
(Simoncini, Lasen and Rocco 2014). The stark difference in the infrastructural facilities of the
schools is evident. Hence the government must ensure that they make policies for upliftment of
the schools which lag behind because of lack of funds. Policy making must focus on the proper
allocation of funds for bridging the gaps between the schools in economic terms. It is the
fundamental right of all students of Australia to be able to enjoy a good educational experience
(Lai, Gu and Hu 2015).
Conclusion
I shall conclude by saying that in an open and free society, there should not be any space
for differences which are detrimental to the growth and future of the country. A good education
system not just produces good students but good citizens as well. For an overall development of
an individual it is necessary that he or she gets sound education, and those conditions should be
ensured to them.

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References
Arnold, N. and Ducate, L., 2015. Contextualized views of practices and competencies in CALL
teacher education research. Language Learning and Technology.
Fry, S.W. and O’Brien, J., 2015. Cultivating a justice orientation toward citizenship in preservice
elementary teachers. Theory & Research in Social Education, 43(3), pp.405-434.
Gill, L., Dalgarno, B. and Carlson, L., 2015. How does pre-service teacher preparedness to use
icts for learning and teaching develop through their degree program?. Australian Journal of
Teacher Education (Online), 40(1), p.36.
Hamilton-Jones, B.M. and Vail, C.O., 2014. Preparing Special Educators for Collaboration in the
Classroom: Pre-Service Teachers' Beliefs and Perspectives. International Journal of Special
Education, 29(1), pp.76-86.
Izadinia, M., 2015. Talking the talk and walking the walk: Pre-service teachers’ evaluation of
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Knowledge and Attitudes Towards the Integration of Indigenous Education (Doctoral
dissertation).

7INTERVIEWING ASPIRING TEACHERS
Ralph, A.M. and MacPhail, A., 2015. Pre-service teachers’ entry onto a physical education
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Simoncini, K.M., Lasen, M. and Rocco, S., 2014. Professional dialogue, reflective practice and
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