Rethinking the Literacy Capabilities of Pre-Service Primary Teachers in Testing Times - Article 4

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jasmine

This paper shows how teacher accreditation requirements can be aligned with an academic agenda to embed digital literacies, enabling pre-service teachers to respond to changing educational needs and practices. It details and analyzes assessment initiatives in a newly built four-year Bachelor of Education program at an Australian university, considering debates about pre-service primary teachers’ literacy capabilities. Findings and discussion address literacy teacher educators, particularly regarding how standardized assessment shapes teachers’ professional futures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

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Introduction

Pre-Service Teachers’ Literacy Capabilities: Discourses of Deficit and Blame

Australian Journal of Teacher Education | Volume 38 | Issue 10 | Article 4 | | --- | --- | | 2013
Rethinking the Literacy Capabilities Primary Teachers in Testing Times
Eileen Honan
The University of Queensland, e.honan@uq.edu.au
Beryl Exley
Queensland University of Technology, [b.exley@qut.edu.au](b.exley@qut.edu.au)
Lisa Kervin
University of Wollongong, [lkervin@uow.edu.au](lkervin@uow.edu.au)
Alyson Simpson
The University of Sydney, alyson.simpson@sydney.edu.au
Muriel Wells
Deakin University, [muriel.wells@deakin.edu.au](muriel.wells@deakin.edu.au) | of Pre-Service | Recommended Citation Honan, E., Exley, B., Kervin, L., Simpson, A., & Wells, M. (2013). Rethinking the Literacy Capabilities of Pre-Service Primary Teachers in Testing Times. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38 (10). [http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2013v38n10.3](http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2013v38n10.3) This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol38/iss10/4](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol38/iss10/4) Australian Journal of Teacher Education Rethinking the Literacy Capabilities of Pre-Service Primary Teachers in Testing Times Eileen Honan The University of Queensland Beryl Exley Queensland University of Technology Lisa Kervin University of Wollongong Alyson Simpson The University of Sydney Muriel Wells Deakin University Abstract: This paper demonstrates how teacher accreditation requirements can be responsibly aligned with a scholarly impetus to incorporate digital literacies to prepare pre-service teachers to meet changing educational needs and practices. The assessment initiatives introduced in the newly constructed four year undergraduate Bachelor of Education program at one Australian university are described and analysed in light of the debates surrounding pre-service primary teachers’ literacy capabilities. The findings and subsequent discussion have implications for all literacy teacher educators concerned about the impact of standardised assessment practices on the professional future of teachers. Introduction As a group of committed literacy teacher educators from five universities across three Australian states, the authors bring professional critique to the problematic issue of what counts in current and possible future measures of pre-service teachers’ literacy capacity. In times when normalising models of literacy assessment ignore innovative developments in technologies, we provide an example of what is happening at the ‘chalk-face’ of literacy teacher education. This paper describes a study that demonstrates how responsible alignment of teacher accreditation requirements with a scholarly impetus to incorporate digital literaciesto prepare pre-service teachers will help address changing educational needs and practices (AITSL 2012; Gillen & Barton 2010; Hattie 2003; Johnson, Smith, Willis, Levine & Haywood 2011; Klein 2006; Masny & Cole 2012; OECD 2011) . Pre-Service Teachers’ Literacy Capabilities: Discourses of Deficit and Blame Much of the literature investigating pre-service primary teachers’ literacy capabilities employs a discourse of deficit, which places emphasis on their supposed inadequacies rather than their strengths (Fielding-Barnsley 2010; Fielding-Barnsley & Purdie 2005) . As Stephenson (2009) reminds us, unfounded concepts or ‘memes’ do not have to be based on any empirical validity to become commonplace and unquestioned (see, for example, Hattie 2003; Snyder 2008) . “Successful memes tend to be those that grab attention, trigger an Vol 38, 10, October 2013 48 Australian Journal of Teacher Education emotional response, help in the creation of new memes, fit in with existing memes and memeplexes, and those that provide an explanation of observations and experiences”(Stephenson 2009, p. 38) . The portrayal of the beginning teacher or pre-service teacher whois lacking in literacy compe

FAQs

How does the paper propose aligning teacher accreditation with digital literacies?

It presents a responsible alignment between accreditation requirements and a scholarly push to incorporate digital literacies so pre-service teachers can meet evolving educational needs and practices.

What assessment initiatives are analyzed?

The paper describes and analyzes assessment initiatives introduced in a newly constructed four-year undergraduate Bachelor of Education program at an Australian university.

What is the paper’s concern regarding standardized literacy assessment?

It highlights implications for literacy teacher educators about the impact of standardized assessment practices on teachers’ professional futures.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Jasmine