How do university teachers combine different approaches to teaching in a specific course? A qualitative multi-case study

Teaching approaches in higher education are at the general level well researched and have identified not only the two broad categories of content-focused and learning-focused approaches to teaching but also consonance and dissonance between the aspects of teaching. Consonance means that theoretically coherent teaching practices are employed, but dissonance occurs when two broad approaches are combined. Previous studies researched teaching approaches at the general level, whereas the present study, researched approaches to teaching at the course level. Three university teachers were interviewed in depth about their teaching approach to one particular course. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. While previous studies have found that dissonance occurs between different aspects of teaching, this multi-case study revealed that dissonance can also be found within a single aspect. The present study suggests that neither content- nor learning-focused approaches to teaching are mutually exclusive and therefore may co-exist in individual teachers’ practices.     

How can I develop a theory of critical self‐reflection?

Although much of the literature on educational action research is rich in recommendations to self‐reflect, it is impoverished in examples of self‐reflective practice. This constitutes a theory‐practice gap; for how is it possible to recommend a particular form of practicewithout living up to that recommendation, and still claim that the practice has integrity? Such a contradiction is particularly serious when the issue is self‐reflection, since self‐reflection is put forward as the main constituent of moral practice, and its denial has deep implications for the practitioner's own moral standing.

In this paper I ask why there is such slippage between the theory and practice of self‐reflection? Iassume that many people either do not perceive such slippage,or choose to ignore it. Either way, this is a serious matter, and involves issues of legitimation—for by what right do we consider ourselves to be exempt from engaging in those self‐same practices that we require of others?

I challenge the separatist view that it is acceptable for some to say what others must do, without first doing it themselves. I apply the same critique to myself, and I aim to show the process of my own self‐reflection by critically analysing what I am doing as I do it. This, I hope, sets the scene for an emergent theory of critical self‐reflection.     

How education policy is made meaningful – a narrative exploration of how teachers show autonomy in the development of teaching and learning

This study addresses how the autonomy of teachers in higher education, in relation to education policy and reform, can be understood. By taking a narrative-in-action approach, we studied health profession teachers’ activities and reasoning within their ongoing practice during one year. The findings show how the teachers created their own policies and in what way these policies became meaningful. As teachers in this study continuously made changes, the joint creation of policies contributed to their sense of togetherness and the re-building of a community of practice. In parallel, they increased the evidence-based standards related to their discipline and experienced a shift in perspective concerning teaching and learning. The importance of their jointly made policies can be explained by how they learned a student-learning view together, and built on their own ideas of what educational matters needed to be developed. At the same time, their activities and reasoning mirror ‘a debated but yet prevailing view’ on the discourse of quality and a number of ideals thereof such as transparency and standardisation, effective teaching and increased academisation.     

Growth in mathematical understanding: How can we characterise it and how can we represent it?

There has been a variety of approaches to the study of mathematical understanding, and some of these are reviewed before outlining the background to the model we are proposing for the growth of such understanding. The model is explained in detail and illustrated with reference to the concept of fractions. Key features of the model include don't need boundaries, folding back, and the complementarities of acting and expressing that occur at each level of understanding. The theory is illustrated by examples of pupils' work from a variety of topics and stages. Finally one of the practical applications of the theory, mapping, is explained in some detail.     

How should the higher education workforce adapt to advancements in technology for teaching and learning?

In a time of change, higher education is in the position of having to adapt to external conditions created by widespread adoption of popular technologies such as social media, social networking services and mobile devices. For faculty members, there must be opportunities for concrete experiences capable of generating a personal conviction that a given technology is worth using and an understanding of the contexts in which it is best used. The paper examines approaches to educational professional development at The Open University, including recent initiatives related to faculty development in relation to mobile learning. The paper reflects on what can be learnt from these experiences and proposes a lifelong learning perspective which can help the higher education workforce to adapt. Faculty members have to commit to lifelong learning, remembering that ‘professional role model’ to students is one of the main roles of the teacher.     

Should teachers be colorblind? How multicultural and egalitarian beliefs differentially relate to aspects of teachers' professional competence for teaching in diverse classrooms

This study uses the framework of professional competence to investigate the relationship between two cultural beliefs, multiculturalism and colorblindness, and different aspects of professional competence for teaching immigrant students. Results from path model analyses with 433 beginning teachers showed that participants with multicultural beliefs reported higher motivational orientations (self-efficacy and enthusiasm for teaching, and more integrative career motives), more positive values (lower agreement with negative stereotypes), and more reported willingness to adapt their teaching. Colorblind beliefs showed no relationships to the former constructs and were negatively related to reported willingness to adapt teaching to culturally diverse students.     

How can a clinical research approach contribute to knowledge-building for the teaching profession?

This article explains what clinical research is and why it is necessary. The term ‘clinical’ refers to an academic way of solving practical problems. Clinical research starts from a view of science that not only acknowledges the value of rational analysis and empirical research, but also acknowledges the need for human skills and connoisseurship. In education, skills and connoisseurship can be developed by being responsibly engaged in classrooms. The (tacit) knowledge acquired in classrooms enables researchers to perceive more relevant factors in practice and enables them to understand the problems of teaching better. Clinical research is a type of action research in the sense that it acknowledges the epistemic function of doing, thus emphasizing the need for integrating scholarship and craftsmanship.     

Student teachers’ responses to critical mentor feedback: A study of face-saving strategies in teaching placements

Despite much research on feedback in teaching placement, there is a limited number of interaction studies. Moreover, how student teachers respond to critical mentor feedback remains quite unmapped. This article aims to explore this interactional aspect through the analysis of 12 post-observation sessions.Critical feedback sequences are analysed by face-work theory (Goffman, 1967). Findings suggest that student teachers are deeply concerned about saving face when receiving critical feedback. Their strategies include “contradicting”, “withdrawing”, and “repairing” face, in addition to “emphasising a self-reflective and progressive face”. This article offers insights that may be helpful for communicating critical mentor feedback.     

How distributed leadership can make a difference in teachers' organizational commitment? A qualitative study

The present study explores the relation between distributed leadership and teachers' organizational commitment. Semi-structured interviews with teachers and school leaders of secondary schools were conducted. A comparative analysis of four schools with high and four schools with low committed teachers was carried out. Findings revealed differences in the leadership practices which influenced organizational commitment. The leadership practices include the quality and distribution of leadership functions, social interaction, cooperation of the leadership team, and participative decision-making. Teachers reported being more strongly committed to the school if the leaders were highly accessible, tackled problems efficiently or empowered teachers to participate, and frequently monitored teachers' daily practices.     

How can a dialogue support teachers’ professional identity development? Harmonising multiple teacher I-positions

The present study uses Dialogical Self Theory to explore the extent to which a dialogue supports teachers' professional identity development. Using a narrative approach that includes interviews, observations of educational activities and collective meetings, insight is gained into teachers’ I-positions, meta-positions and promoter positions. The findings suggest that a dialogue, in which teachers talk about boundary experiences and articulate I-positions, stimulates teachers to reflect on their teaching behaviour from a meta-position and enables them to harmonise their multiple I-positions. Moreover, it stimulates teachers to develop their identity as a teacher and to change their teaching behaviour.     

‘We can only change in a small way’: A study of secondary English teachers’ implementation of curriculum reform in China

This article reports on a study of English secondary teachers’ perceptions of and implementation of the new English curriculum reform in China. Triangulated data collection methods were employed to gather information about teachers’ perceptions of the new curriculum and their teaching behaviours. Implementation gap emerged between the new curriculum requirements and the teachers’ classroom practices despite the teachers’ common endorsement of the new curriculum goals and pedagogies due to a series of contextual constraints: the considerable professional and psychological challenges to teachers, the students’ resistance, and the lack of support school administrators and most importantly, the backwash effect of the prevalent examination culture. The study suggests the necessity to address teachers’ challenges and difficulties in the curriculum reform process to facilitate their implementation of the reform.     

A joyous lifeline in a target-driven job: teachers’ metaphors of teaching poetry writing

Drawing on Vygotsky’s notion, developed by Bruner, of learners growing into ‘the intellectual life of those around them’, this paper reports on a small-scale questionnaire survey of teachers’ thinking about poetry writing and their instructional practices of teaching it. Thirty-three teachers, with a range of teaching experience and service, took part in the study. This paper presents, analyses and evaluates the central metaphor of ‘freedom’ used by teachers. This presents poetry writing instruction in four contrasting ways: as freedom to explore personal creativity; as a site of integrated thinking; as a rejection of ‘formulaic writing’; and as freedom from curricular ‘directives’. The paper argues that these metaphors indicate considerable personal investment by teachers of poetry and that they consider the teaching of poetry writing to have impact as much on themselves as on pupils.     

Why do student teachers enrol for a teaching degree? A study of teacher recruitment in Portugal and Sweden

This paper reports on findings from an exploratory study carried out in Portugal and Sweden, concerning student teacher recruitment to Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes. It addresses issues such as the motivations and expectations of the student teachers regarding the teaching profession. Drawing upon existing related literature, a questionnaire was designed and sent to student teachers in Portugal and in Sweden. In total, 112 and 157 student teachers participated in the study, respectively. Data suggest a given profile of a student teacher making it possible to analyse some of key characteristics in both countries. The comparison between countries in combination with suggestions and recommendations from student teachers indicate that the recruitment process may be supported if the information about the design, content and the aims of ITE programmes are clarified and made explicit.     

How can PhD supervisors play a role in bridging academic cultures?

ABSTRACT

PhD supervision is generally deemed a rewarding experience as supervisors and students embark on an academic journey together. Pursuing a PhD in a ‘foreign’ context inevitably brings forth distinct opportunities and challenges for students and their supervisors. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, this qualitative study of supervisors and PhD students examines the cross-cultural facets of doctoral supervision in the light of Urie Bronfenbrenner’s bio-ecological theory of human development and its underpinning explanation for supervisory processes and learning orientations. Undertaken in the Danish context, our paper highlights exemplars of contrasting supervisors’ and PhD students’ experience in relation to academic and psychosocial adaptations. This research strongly endorses that supervisors’ appreciation of the intertwined link between academia and society combined with a positive view of their role in bridging academic cultures can powerfully complement students’ adjustments and subsequently make a qualitative difference towards a more fulfilling and meaningful academic journey together.     

How do primary pre‐service teachers in a regional Australian university plan for teaching,learning and acting in environmentally responsible ways?

Integrated unit plans with an environmental focus can provide opportunities for school students to develop critical thinking skills, and to act in responsible ways – that is, to develop ‘action competence’. In this study, environmentally focused integrated unit plans, developed and implemented by final year pre‐service teachers at an Australian regional university, were analysed to determine the extent to which they contained concepts that promoted action competence. Results here suggest that more work could be done in the area of pre‐service education to prepare teachers for teaching, learning and acting responsibly in relation to complex environmental issues. In particular, there could be more emphasis on developing integrated unit plans that empower school students and promote critical thinking, democratic processes and action‐oriented knowledge.     

A capital or capabilities education narrative in a world of staggering inequalities?

In a world of tremendous inequalities, this paper explores two contrasting normative models for education policy, and the relationship of each to policy, practices and outcomes that can improve lives by reducing injustice and building societies which value capabilities for all. The first model is that of human capital which currently dominates contemporary education policy globally, harnessing education policy to economic growth imperatives so that development through education is the means to the end of increased resources and income. The second model draws on the work of Amartya Sen to present a human capabilities model of education policy in which human lives are the end of development and the education focus is on promoting capabilities and functionings to choose a good life. An argument is advanced for capabilities as the superior approach. The paper closes by noting the problematic of social change and struggle demanded by a transformative view of education and how or if the capability approach is adequate to the task.     

How can an understanding of cognitive style enable trainee teachers to have a better understanding of differentiation in the classroom?

The relationship between cognitive style and trainee teacher conceptions of differentiation was studied to develop appropriate scaffolding of their learning. 149 trainee teachers enrolled on 1 year postgraduate initial teacher education (ITE) programmes at two UK universities completed the Cognitive Style Index (Allinson and Hayes, Journal of Management Studies, 33(1):119–135, 1996; Hodgkinson and Sadler-Smith, Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology, 76(2):243–268, 2003) and a questionnaire exploring their understanding of differentiation, conceptions of learning and learning preferences. A stratified sample of these trainees was also interviewed to assess their understanding and prior knowledge of differentiation and learning styles and how they would plan for these in the classroom. Responses were coded using content analysis procedures. Cognitive style was found to impact on trainees’ conceptions of differentiation; for example, trainees demonstrating higher levels of analysis and intuition had a more developed understanding of differentiation than other cognitive styles. In relation to the findings, the use of a constructivist pedagogical tool: a Personal Learning Styles Pedagogy (Evans and Waring, Zhang & Sternberg (Eds.), Perspectives on the nature of intellectual styles, 2009) is presented to inform the reconceptualisation of ITE programmes. In so doing, the use of this tool addresses key issues raised in recent international policy debates concerning the necessary development of ITE for twenty-first century learner needs.     

Does explicit teaching of critical thinking improve critical thinking skills of English language learners in higher education? A critical review of causal evidence

This paper presents the results of a systematic review of international studies to establish whether explicit teaching of critical thinking is effective in enhancing the critical thinking skills of English language learners in higher education and to identify the most promising approaches. A search of 12 electronic databases supplemented by other sources yielded more than 1794 studies. Only 36 met the pre-defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. A range of approaches were tested and almost all claimed to be effective, but only explicit instruction in general critical thinking skills was found to have the best evidence of effectiveness. However, because most of the studies were small-scale and/or methodologically flawed, the evidence is not strong enough to be conclusive. Evidence for the other approaches was even weaker. These findings suggest that research in this field is still rather immature and more large-scale, replicable robust studies are needed to advance the field.     

Tipping point for teachers? Changing working conditions and continuing learning in a ‘knowledge economy’

The basic argument of this paper is that, in the wake of austerity measures against public education accumulating since the early 1980s, professional teachers at all levels may have been losing control of their jobs and faced decreasing opportunities for continuing their own learning. Empirical evidence is drawn mainly from a unique time series of Canadian national surveys which provide data on the working conditions and continuing learning practices of both teachers and the entire labour force in Canada between 1982 and 2016. The main findings are that there have been major reductions in teachers’ participation in organisational decision-making, sharply declining recent incidence of participation in both continuing further education and job-related informal learning, as well as a strong association between decreasing job control and declining continuing learning trends. The major implication is that teachers’ work and learning may be reaching a tipping point after which established forms of effective teaching may no longer be sustainable. Further studies to confirm these findings and assess their potentially very serious implications are urgently needed.