The affordances of teacher professional learning communities: A case study of a Chinese secondary school

This study investigates the learning experiences and the trajectories of EFL teachers' professional development in Chinese secondary schools under a socio-cultural framework. The findings indicate that social and individual affordances are both essential to individual teachers’ professional development, and to the sustainable growth of the teacher learning community (TLC). The former is prerequisite to the latter, whereas the latter determines the route and pace of development. This paper also demonstrates the usefulness of activity theory in analysing the affordances of TLC, and advocates that all parties involved should understand, identify and create positive affordances for teacher professional development.     

Moving beyond the barriers: supporting meaningful teacher collaboration to improve secondary school mathematics

The Collaborative Teacher Inquiry Project was a professional development initiative that sought to improve the teaching and learning of Grade 9 Applied mathematics by encouraging teachers to work collaboratively. The project brought together Grade 9 Applied mathematics teachers from 11 schools across four neighboring public school boards in the same geographic area of a large urban city in Southern Ontario, Canada. Teachers formed learning communities as a result of the Collaborative Teacher Inquiry Project through active collaboration to further teachers’ knowledge about teaching the Grade 9 Applied mathematics course and in developing teaching materials. Although it was reported that there were barriers to collaboration, teachers described various strategies that were (or could be) implemented to overcome these barriers. Teachers were enthusiastic in continuing to creatively find solutions to combat barriers as they saw the overall benefits of collaboration to their professional growth and noticed an increase in student engagement and achievement.     

Understanding the complexity of teacher interaction in a teacher professional learning community

In this study, we examine a professional learning community of primary school teachers developing a joint school-based curriculum for science and technology (S&T) education. Team meetings were observed over the course of one school year and the participating teachers and school head were interviewed. An essential factor in the team’s collaboration was its ability to achieve synthesis, that is, the extent to which the teachers were able to abstract from concrete experiences in S&T education in order to formulate and develop a shared vision and curriculum. They exchanged many examples and were able to create a shared idea highlighting critical elements in their approach to teaching this school subject. However, the teachers experienced difficulties in determining the level at which a school-based curriculum should be defined. The outcomes of this team’s collaboration are discussed in terms of leadership and the aims of the S&T innovation.     

Understanding how local actors implement teacher rotation policy in a Chinese context: a sensemaking perspective

ABSTRACT

The Teacher Rotation Policy (TRP) is a recent teacher policy developed in the context of China. TRP seeks to close China’s teacher quality disparities through rotating ‘high-quality’ urban schoolteachers to teach in hard-to-staff rural schools for a period of time. This qualitative case study examined how five policy actors carried out TRP in one rural county from 2012 to 2015. Guided by a sensemaking perspective, the study generated interview and observational data over three months of ethnographic fieldwork in 2016. The analysis of the data revealed high administrative expenses as well as unintended consequences of rotating teachers across schools. Three sensemaking strategies, namely using argumentation techniques, tailoring policy incentives, and leveraging cultural logics have emerged from the participants’ efforts at enacting this policy. These research findings suggest implications for the efficacy and effects of teacher rotation for equalising teacher workforce in China and internationally.     

A complex dynamic systems perspective on teacher learning and identity formation: an instrumental case

ABSTRACT

Scholars have called for new conceptualisations of teachers’ learning that capture the complex, contextualised, and dynamic nature of professional growth. In this article, we describe the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI) that portrays teacher learning as inseparable from the complex and dynamic processes by which teachers form their professional identities. The model depicts theoretical and procedural learning about teaching as integrated with other ontological and epistemological beliefs, self-perceptions and self-definitions, purpose and goals in teaching, and perceived action possibilities that constitute the teacher’s professional role identity. After describing the DSMRI, we demonstrate its application with an instrumental case of a science teacher who participated in a professional development (PD) institute designed to foster learning and motivation for implementing student-centred, inquiry-based instruction. DSMRI-guided analysis of pre-, mid-, and post-institute interviews highlighted the role of pre-PD role identities of learner and teacher in the teacher’s PD experiences, which, in turn, fostered both new alignments and new tensions in the teacher’s role identity that promoted an overall change towards a more student-centred teacher role identity. The article demonstrates the utility of the DSMRI for conceptualising teachers’ learning as contextualised and dynamic identity formation processes.     

Impact of distributed leadership on teacher job satisfaction in China: The mediating roles of teacher autonomy and teacher collaboration

Teacher job satisfaction is a heated topic worldwide. Among the possible factors influencing teacher job satisfaction, distributed leadership is very important one. Given very few studies have investigated the effects of distributed leadership on teacher job satisfaction through teacher autonomy and teacher collaboration, this paper is important. It is expected to provide international readers with a better understanding of how these variables are practised in the Chinese context. Specifically, we aim to achieve two goals. The first goal is to investigate the direct impact of distributed leadership on teacher job satisfaction and the second one is to explore how distributed leadership indirectly affects teacher job satisfaction through teacher autonomy and teacher collaboration. The data are from the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) (n = 3976). Structural equation modeling revealed statistically significant positive effects of distributed leadership on teacher autonomy, teacher collaboration, and teacher job satisfaction, respectively. The further analyses indicated that the indirect effects of distributed leadership on teacher job satisfaction through teacher autonomy and professional collaboration were statistically significant. However, distributed leadership had no indirect effect on job satisfaction via exchange and co-ordination. Based on the findings, we propose some suggestions to improve teacher job satisfaction, such as strengthening communications between school leaders and teachers, and providing adequate autonomy to teachers. The detailed relationships among these variables are discussed in connection with Chinese educational context.     

Understanding teacher learning in secondary education: The relations of teacher activities to changed beliefs about teaching and learning

In this study, relations between learning activities of teachers and changes in their beliefs were examined. Thirty-four teachers in Dutch secondary education were asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their beliefs about teaching and learning on two occasions. They were also asked to report on learning activities that they undertook. Teachers who had changed their beliefs in a direction congruent with the aims of recent educational reforms often reported experimentation with colleagues' teaching methods. Teachers who changed their beliefs in a direction that was not congruent with the reform often reported experimentation with alternative methods due to discontent with the effectiveness of current methods.     

The heart of school improvement: a multi-site case study of leadership for teacher learning in Vietnam

This study addressed the research question: How do Vietnamese principals lead the professional learning of teachers? The research was comprised of a multiple-site case study of leadership and teacher learning in four Vietnamese schools. Qualitative data analysis aimed at identifying modal practices adopted by these Vietnamese principals to lead teacher learning in their schools. The research identified four key leadership practices: moral purpose, collaboration, learning support, and motivational strategies. The findings support assertions for a broad set of globally-relevant school leadership practices as well as the need to adapt these to the cultural context of specific schools.     

Teacher collaboration and professional development in the workplace: a study of Portuguese teachers

This article reports on findings from research aimed at investigating teacher collaboration and professional development in the workplace. It draws upon a broader study carried out in a school in Northern Portugal. Data were collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and written reflective accounts. In total, 80 teachers participated in phase 1, 11 key informants participated in phase 2 and 10 teachers participated in an intervention/training project (phase 3). Findings suggest that problems and limitations in relation to collaborative work are situated at the organisational level, such as time and working conditions. Lack of training in collaboration, and issues such as motivation and personal difficulties, also emerged from the data. Teachers tend to stress the importance of interpersonal relationships at school, but they also identified formal meetings when they described the contexts and opportunities to work collaboratively in the workplace, namely department meetings and projects driven by central government or school administration initiatives. Implications for teacher collaboration and professional development are discussed.     

The challenge of sustaining change: contradictions within the development of teacher and librarian collaboration

Teacher and librarian collaboration has relatively low priority in schools and in educational research. This is a paradox, as teachers and librarians share a common social and educational mandate of literacy education. The purpose of this article is to examine this paradox through exploring systemic contradictions in teacher and librarian collaboration within literacy education. Our data consist of discursive interaction between project leaders in an educational intervention project in Norway. The aim of the intervention is to develop teacher and librarian collaboration in two primary schools. Our analytical starting point is a critical conflict that occurred in one of the project leader meetings. The conflict arises from differing discourses of literacy education held by the local education authority and by the intervention project. We analyze how the project leaders respond to the conflict, how the conflict triggers new tensions and dilemmas within the project leader group and how the conflict creates obstacles to sustaining teacher and librarian collaboration in the project schools. We argue that sustainable change can be achieved by tracing conflicts, dilemmas and tensions to systemic contradictions within and between activity systems.     

Collaborative teacher learning across foci of collaboration: Perceived activities and outcomes

This study compared teacher collaboration with differing foci, in terms of various learning activities and learning outcomes. A total of 411 teachers from 49 primary schools participated by completing a questionnaire. Foci of collaboration explained significant differences in the frequency with which teachers perceived learning activities and learning outcomes to occur in their collaboration with colleagues. Moreover, the focus of collaboration explained a considerable amount of between-schools differences in teachers' reported learning activities and learning outcomes. These results suggest that the school context and the focus of collaboration are related and that these both influence collaborative teacher learning.     

Transitioning from practicing teacher to teacher leader: a case study

Given US students’ lack of international competitiveness in mathematics and science, many states have adopted the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM). To help ensure that the Standards for Mathematical Practice within the CCSSM and effective teaching practices are implemented appropriately, many teachers are emerging as teacher leaders with the intent of supporting teachers with this implementation. Unfortunately, not all of these teachers are necessarily prepared in the field of teacher leadership. Recognizing the importance of having well-prepared teacher leaders, this article describes the case of Ms. Hodges, as she transitioned from mathematics teacher to teacher leader. Data revealed that several factors affected Ms. Hodges’ transition, some positively and others negatively. These results as well as implications for teacher leader development are provided.     

Coteaching as a model for preservice secondary science teacher education

This paper focuses on a 3-year, longitudinal study of the implementation of coteaching, as an innovative approach for preparing high school science teachers enrolled in an undergraduate science teacher education programme located in the United States. The coteaching|co-generative dialogue|co-respect|co-responsibility dialectic is introduced as a way to conceptualise coteaching practice and support successful implementation. We also discuss means to introduce coteaching into the preservice programs and report on findings from an evaluative study of the implementation process. Coteaching has the potential to re-conceptualise teacher preparation and professional development models for science teachers.     

One teacher's identity, emotions, and commitment to change: A case study into the cognitive–affective processes of a secondary school teacher in the context of reforms

This paper presents a cognitive social–psychological theoretical framework on emotions, derived from Richard Lazarus, to understand how teachers’ identity can be affected in a context of reforms. The emphasis of this approach is on the cognitive–affective processes of individual teachers, enabling us to gain a detailed understanding of what teachers have at stake or what their personal, moral, and social concerns are. To illustrate the usefulness of this approach, a case of a reform-enthusiast Dutch secondary school teacher of Dutch language and literature is presented. The analysis of his emotions of enthusiasm for the reforms, and his emotions of anxiety, anger, guilt, and shame related to the way the reforms unfold in his school and influence his work, show the many ways his identity and concerns are affected, resulting in a loss of reform enthusiasm. The paper ends with a reflection on the possible risks of current educational policies to the commitment and quality of the current and next generation of teachers.     

Understanding teacher technology integration from expectancy-value perspectives

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between teachers’ ability beliefs, expectancy beliefs, value beliefs, and technology integration based upon expectancy-value theory of motivation. The results of confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling show that teachers’ value and competence beliefs about technology integration are multidimensional constructs. Ability beliefs strongly predict expectancy and value beliefs. Most importantly, expectancy beliefs and value beliefs play differential roles in relation to teachers’ technology use in classrooms. The ways in which different aspects of teacher beliefs can be fostered are discussed.     

Understanding the link between professional learning communities and teacher collective efficacy

Research suggests effective professional learning communities (PLCs) enhance teacher collaboration and student achievement. Some studies indicate that these communities also predict greater collective efficacy, while others suggest teacher efficacy is predictive of teachers working together. Although studies have identified effective, research-based PLC practices, how these specific practices effect collective efficacy has not been thoroughly studied. This study, using structural equation modeling (SEM), investigated the relationship between PLCs and teachers’ collective efficacy drawing on 310 surveys from 16 schools in 1 district that had systematically implemented PLCs. Our findings showed that higher functioning PLCs predict higher levels of teacher collective efficacy (TCE). This suggests that engaging and supporting teachers in PLC work, as this district did, can lead to enhanced collective efficacy, which in turn can contribute to improved student achievement.     

From assistant teacher to teacher: challenges and pathways in situated pre-service teacher education

Vocational pathways to Higher Education have a key role in opening teacher education to under-represented groups but bring with them particular challenges. Teacher educators need to address the challenges faced by these learners, of not only connecting their learning but also challenging their knowledge, and doing so in an invested work environment. This paper shares my experiences as a teacher educator working with two groups of Indigenous and non-Indigenous para-professional pre-service teachers in remote and urban Central Australia. I identify four key role-shifting challenges individuals face in developing their professional practice and locate them in two interdependent areas: social sphere challenges arising out of the situated learning setting of professional experience, and those occurring in the personal sphere of professional identity. I suggest that the new ways of mentoring and the development of student’s reflexive capacity needed to address these challenges can best be mobilised by re-positioning the role of professional identity at the centre of both professional experience and academic learning.     

Facilitating social learning in teacher education: a case study

It is increasingly recognised that social learning by teachers can stimulate professional development. In this study, we search for the social behaviour patterns which can act as a catalyst for professional development, with an explicit focus on student teachers’ learning. Based on the ‘Dimensions of Social Learning (DSL) Framework’, including 4 dimensions and 11 indicators of social learning, the present study explores the social configuration of one network of primary teachers (n?=?12), student teachers (n?=?12) and teacher educators (n?=?2). Two research questions guide this exploration: (1) What patterns of social behaviour in teacher networks are likely to lead to professional learning? (2) What network facilitation guidelines can be discerned to assist teachers and teacher educators wishing to optimise student teachers’ professional development? Data collection consisted of video recordings, reflective notes and semi-structured interviews with network members. The findings paint a picture of how social learning in teacher networks is related to the group’s social configuration. Observation criteria and student facilitation guidelines are suggested to support professional development within teacher networks. For each dimension in the DSL Framework, one point of attention is discerned to optimise students’ learning in teacher networks.     

工作过程视域下中职英语教师的国际化角色

阐述了在工作过程导向的课程实施过程中,中职英语教师应起到培养国际技能人才的重要角色.分析了由于现代化的进程和自身职业特点,中职英语教师与学生形成平等、合作关系,在这种关系中,教师应以工作过程为导向,在国际化职业氛围建立、职业英语课程准备、实践、考核和反思等5个方面实施中职英语课程.