Exploring the link between experienced teachers’ learning outcomes and individual and professional learning community characteristics

The continuous professional development of teachers is crucial in our current knowledge-based society, yet empirical research on experienced teachers’ learning outcomes is scarce. In this study, we examine perceived changes in classroom practices and in competence as outcomes. By making these outcomes measurable, we can relate them to several individual teacher characteristics and professional learning community characteristics. A questionnaire was administered to 490 experienced teachers from 48 Flemish (Belgian) primary schools. Multilevel analyses show that of the professional learning community characteristics, only reflective dialogue is significant for perceived changes in practices. As for individual characteristics, self-efficacy relates positively to both perceived changes in practices and in competence. The relationship between teaching experience and both learning outcomes, however, is negative.     

The teacher educator’s role as enacted and experienced in school-based development

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on teacher educators’ role and how it was enacted and experienced by teachers and leaders in a school-based development project. The arena for the teachers’ professional development was the school, and teacher educators at one teacher-education institution and three schools took part in the research. Teacher educators, teachers and school leaders were interviewed two years and two months after they formally took part in the project, for one year in a pilot program and afterward for three semesters. The findings show that the teacher educators enacted their roles differently, and that they realise that they should have collaborated more and coordinated their experiences from collaborations with teachers and leaders to learn from their experiences in school. The leaders and teachers were satisfied with the teacher educators’ lectures, but the teachers wanted more dialogue with teacher educators and felt that teacher educators should have helped them transform their knowledge into teaching actions in practice. Teacher educators taking part as supporters in teachers’ practice truly could infiltrate instruction and learning. The study demonstrates that culture, structure and content need to be coordinated to enhance school-based development.     

Young students learning formal algebraic notation and solving linear equations: are commonly experienced difficulties avoidable?

This study looks at a mixed ability group of 21 Year 5 primary students (aged 9–10 years old) who had previously never had formal instruction using letters to stand for unknowns or variables in a mathematics context; nor had they been introduced to formal algebraic notation. Three lessons were taught using the computer software Grid Algebra where they began working with formal notation and were solving linear equations with some degree of success by the end of the lessons. The teaching was such that nothing was explained or justified by the teacher explicitly. The students appeared either not to meet, or to overcome quickly, some of the difficulties identified within previous research studies. They demonstrated remarkable confidence working with complicated linear algebraic expressions written in formal notation. A key feature of the software activities was that formal notation continually needed to be used and interpreted, and the software provided neutral feedback which enabled the students to educate their interpretation of the notation.     

No pain no gain? Social demographic correlates and identity consequences of interpreting experienced difficulty as importance

Community college students are less likely to graduate than university students, perhaps because their difficult life circumstances increase their vulnerability to misinterpreting the identity implications of experienced difficulty with schoolwork. Without guidance, they may fail to take a “no pain, no gain” perspective in which experienced difficulty with schoolwork implies the importance of succeeding in school. Two studies support this prediction: Study 1 (N = 1035) finds that education is associated with higher likelihood of interpreting experienced difficulty as signaling task importance among adults. This effect is pronounced for racial minorities. Study 2 (n = 293) finds that students who disagreed that experienced difficulty implies impossibility were more certain about attaining their academic possible identities and more willing to sacrifice to attain these identities. Moreover, community college students benefited more than university students from being guided to consider what experienced difficulty might imply or from considering that experienced difficulty implies importance, rather than impossibility.     

Relevance of student and contextual school variables in explaining a student’s severity of violence experienced

Teachers conceptualise and interpret violent behaviour of secondary students in different ways. They also differ in their estimates of the relevance of student and contextual school variables when explaining the severity of violence experienced by students. Research can assist here by explicating the role of different types of contextual school variables. The research question is twofold: (1) Do contextual school variables, in addition to a student’s personal, family and educational variables, explain a student’s violent behaviour? (2) If so, what is the role of student composition variables compared with variables indicating the social cohesion of the school? A hypothetical model was developed in which personal, family, educational and school variables of different types simultaneously explain the severity of violence experienced by a student. The method used to test the model empirically is secondary analysis of data collected in a Dutch national survey on school safety in secondary education (N students = 78,840; N schools = 219). Severity of violence experienced is assessed by the Mokken Scale on Severity of Violence Experienced (MSSVE). Multiple regression analyses reveal that a student who is older, a young male, born in the country of residence, feels at home in another country, does not have an intact family, is not religious, is enrolled in the highest educational track and is achieving lower marks in the school subjects of language and mathematics, experiences more severe violence than other students (explained variance 3.4%). Simultaneously, different types of contextual school variables are differently relevant. Mean severity of violence experienced by students at school indicates clearly more variance (2.3%) than the combination of student composition variables (.4%). The conclusion is that the theoretical model is empirically supported, which also underlines the validity of the MSSVE. The discussion focuses on a comprehensive multilevel approach to stimulate and check improvement of social cohesion at school.     

Differences in novice and experienced teachers’ perceptions of planning activities in terms of primary instructional tasks

This study was aimed at investigating differences between novice and experienced teachers’ perceptions of planning activities for developing teacher education students’ professional skills by focusing on promoting of identified ill-developed skills. The teachers’ thinking about instructional planning was conceived as teachers’ decision-making for implementing primary teaching tasks in the planning, delivery, and reflective phases of instruction. This model served as a basis (or framework) for the identification of potential variables of planning skills and developing of items for a teachers’ questionnaire. Fifty-eight experienced and 55 novice teachers from Estonian schools of general education were surveyed. It was revealed that novice teachers did not apprehend events that may undermine reaching long-term instructional objectives and they focused more on the achievement of immediate objectives and the teaching of obligatory content in comparison with experienced teachers.     

Special education teachers’ experienced burnout and perceived fit with the professional community: A 5-year follow-up study

In many countries, including in Finland, promoting inclusive school practices supporting pupils’ equal rights for learning is the focus of school development. Special education teachers play a central intermediary role in developing inclusive school and classroom practices by providing support both for pupils and peer teachers. This may increase their risk of experiencing exhaustion, cynicism towards the teacher community and/or inadequacy in pupil–teacher relationships. However, the resources of a school's social working environment experienced as a functional teacher–working environment fit may buffer the risk of developing burnout. This study aims to gain a better understanding of the interrelation between, and development of, special education teachers’ experienced burnout symptoms and perceived teacher–working environment fit across time. The longitudinal study included two measurements (in year 2010, n = 760 and in year 2016, n = 485). The results show that special education teachers’ experienced inadequacy in pupil–teacher relationships predicted teacher exhaustion, cynicism towards the teacher community and inadequacy in pupil–teacher relationships 5 years later. Moreover, a perceived good teacher–working environment fit predicted lower cynicism towards the teacher community 5 years later.     

Exercising a bounded autonomy: novice and experienced teachers’ adaptations to curriculum materials in an age of accountability

This study explores teachers’ first enactments of a set of theory-based curriculum materials designed to support academic language instruction. Specifically, this multiple case study looks at how six middle school English teachers in three US schools adapted the materials; each case includes a pair of teachers, one novice and one more experienced. All schools were located in the same district where a school performance measurement system was being used to publicly rank schools’ academic performance and growth. Multiple measures were used to look for evidence of adaptations and why teachers made adaptations. We found that all teachers adapted the curriculum, most often in response to either perceived student needs or district reform pressures. In two cases, patterns of adaptation differed by teacher experience; experienced teachers appeared better able to adapt curriculum materials to meet instructional goals. This pattern did not hold up at the third school, where teachers faced greater reform pressures. Taken together, these findings suggest that researchers should pay more attention to the role of school and district policy on teachers’ enactments of theory-based reforms. We conclude with guidance to researchers, instructional leaders and others interested in the potential of theory-based curricula as a lever for improving classroom instruction.     

Enabling the journey from experienced practitioner to para‐professional: using reflective dialogue in action learning triads

This article explores whether using reflective dialogue in action learning sets on a foundation degree (FD) in educational support can develop the capacity for reflective practice of the students. Developing a reflective stance in relation to professional practice is a central theme of the programme, which is reinforced by the work‐based learning module providing a space for reflective dialogue and the inclusion of an employer's perspective for establishing links between university and work. By adopting a case‐study approach, this study focuses on 24 female students who work as teaching assistants or higher level teaching assistants (TAs/HLTAs) in state primary and secondary schools, and reports findings from their and their tutors' perspectives. In view of the rapidly changing educational landscape, apparent in the implementation and development of Integrated Children's Services, the Schools Remodelling Agenda and Workforce Agreement are in effect one policy. Such a programme is essential in creating appropriate opportunities for the continuing professional development of the new workforce. Given the non‐traditional background of the majority of the students and the perceived ambiguity surrounding their roles as teaching assistants within schools, such a programme poses considerable challenges to higher education institutions in terms of appropriateness of content and mode of delivery.     

Looking back on experienced teachers’ reflections: how did pre-service school practice support the development of self-efficacy?

This research focuses on experienced Estonian teachers’ pre-service school practice. Each one of the 19 teachers interviewed in this study had over 25?years of professional experience. We were interested in their recollections of their pre-service school practice and the impact that their experience had on them professionally. The results indicate the importance of support systems and a cooperative atmosphere in the school, both of which enable a beginning teacher’s self-efficacy. Despite the lack of explicit support structures from the 1960s to the 1980s, implicit support existed and played an important role in facilitating the development of student teachers’ self-efficacy.     

An exploration of the interactions among the components of an experienced elementary science teacher’s pedagogical content knowledge

This study had two purposes: to explore the components of the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of an experienced elementary science teacher and to reveal the presumed interactions among these components. A naturalistic inquiry was conducted as a single case study in which in-depth qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interview questions. After the theory-based and data-driven analysis of the qualitative data, the verbal communication was quantitated into numerical data for the enumerative analysis. The results revealed that the teacher’s knowledge of students’ understanding and difficulties, knowledge of the elementary science curriculum and knowledge of instructional strategies and representations were found to be mostly intersected PCK components, whereas orientations towards teaching science and knowledge of assessment in science had limited connections to the other components. Further discussions and context-based suggestions are given regarding professional development programmes.     

An evaluative case study of the dilemmas experienced in designing a self‐assessment strategy for Community Nursing students

The Dearing Report’s (1997 Dearing, R. 1997. Higher education in the learning society: report of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education, London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office. (Chair) [Google Scholar]) radical proposals challenged lecturers in higher education to develop innovative assessment strategies. This paper explores the dilemmas experienced by one teaching team in designing and implementing a student self‐assessment strategy within a community nursing degree programme. The paper reviews the impact on students’ sense of autonomy and critical thinking skills. In addition, it considers, in depth, the risks associated with developing and implementing a strategy involving self‐assessment. Drawing on a range of sources it examines the drivers for the initiative, the response from the range of stakeholders involved and the impact on the student experience. The academic team found that developing such a creative initiative is time consuming, provokes anxiety and requires extensive negotiation and collaboration between academic and practice colleagues. However, the adoption of a self‐assessment initiative has a significant effect on students’ critical thinking skills and warrants the effort.     

School books or wedding dresses? Examining the cultural dissonance experienced by young Gypsy/Traveller women in secondary education

Although considerable attention has been given to issues impacting on the educational experiences of Gypsy/Traveller learners in the UK, most of the literature is oriented towards ethnicity rather than gender. This paper illuminates the experiences of young Gypsy/Traveller women who are engaging with secondary education, and functioning in a dual cultural framework, in a time of increased gender equality. The intersectionality of culture, class and religion frequently conflicts with the notions of gender equality and education, requiring young women to make difficult choices. It is suggested there is an urgent need to problematise and deconstruct stereotypes typically held about Gypsy/Traveller girls, as not all young women feel disengaged, restricted, excluded and in conflict. While some young women, as is their right, wish to conform to cultural-gendered norms, this study has revealed some strong, resilient women who critically challenge values and norms within their community, which negate their right to a full education, to bring about positive change.     

Leaving or staying in teaching: a ‘vignette’ of an experienced urban teacher ‘leaver’ of a London primary school

In the field of teacher attrition, there is a significant body of literature on why teachers leave high-needs urban schools and particularly why beginning teachers leave their schools and the profession. However, there is little research on the reasons why experienced teachers leave the teaching profession. This paper examines this subject by considering whether teachers experience an ‘identity crisis’ in their careers which prompts them to leave. Drawing on identity theory, data from a single case study of an experienced urban teacher are taken from a wider qualitative research study carried out in London, England. The case is made that decisions to leave or stay in a school are contingent on a number of personal, professional and situational factors related to the teacher’s identity. The article concludes that one way to understand why long-serving teachers leave the profession is to examine aspects of their teacher identity and explore how a crisis in professional identity can contribute towards teacher attrition. In the light of this alternative approach towards understanding attrition, at the very least, supportive structures can be put in place to encourage more teachers to stay and contribute to the success and well-being of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.     

‘But I’ve been teaching for 20 years…’: encouraging teaching accreditation for experienced staff working in higher education

The status of teaching and learning is an issue those providing and supporting higher education grapple with. The UK Higher Education Academy offers accreditation aligned to the professional standards framework (PSF). The PSF contextualises the role of teaching and supporting learning, and offers a mechanism for individuals’ commitment to be recognised. Here, we present a case-study of 19 established academics who reflected on their experiences of gaining recognition through their university’s accreditation scheme. Respondents prioritised institutional structures and outcomes such as student recruitment, job security, and status as drivers for engagement. Institutional leadership was significant in driving the accreditation agenda.