Do comprehensive school teachers perceive themselves as active professional agents in school reforms?

This article focuses on exploring comprehensive school teachers’ professional agency in the context of the most recent school reforms in Finland (i.e., developing undivided basic education). In this article, the emphasis is on analyzing the premises on which teachers view themselves and their work in terms of developing their own school, catalyzed by the national school reform. Teachers’ perceptions and the relation between their perceptions of the development work and their educational backgrounds were empirically examined by means of essays entitled “Remembering the Future.” Results suggested that both teachers’ perceptions of undivided basic education and their perceptions of themselves in the development process varied considerably. Further investigation showed that teachers’ perceptions of the reform and of themselves within the reforms were interrelated. More specifically, perceiving oneself as an active subject in the development work seemed to promote a holistic and functional perception of the object of the development. On the basis of the results, it seems that as highly educated professionals, teachers were very capable of identifying and analyzing what should be changed in schools and/or the school districts. However, a challenge for the teachers’ active professional agency in educational reforms seems to be the lack of shared and informed assumptions of how change can be brought about.     

Constructing a professional development school: A model of one school‐university partnership

Abstract

A partnership between an elementary school and a university in the Midwest evolved into a professional development school. The authors describe this process, making analogies to the process of constructing a house. The steps are also related to Kagan's (1991) stages of organizational development. From laying the foundation of the partnership through adding the sill (the vision), constructing the frame (the goals and objectives), adding the sheathing (the formal structure), installing siding (the implementation), to maintaining through assessment, the parallels are explored and analyzed. Because the process relates to individuals as well as an institution, the authors also discuss ways in which the processes diverge.

The process is presented as a model that might be useful to others engaged in creating a professional development school or improving teacher education. A visual of the model is included.     

Being professional: accountability and authority in teachers’ responses to science curriculum reform

The science curriculum is a focus of repeated reform in many countries. However, the enactment of such reforms within schools rarely reflects the intended outcomes of curriculum designers. This review considers what we know about the experiences and reflections of teachers in the enactment of externally driven school science curriculum reform. ‘Externally driven’ signals a focus on studies of teachers who did not make a proactive choice to adopt a particular curriculum reform initiative. This is a very common experience for teachers in many school systems, and one likely to highlight issues of professionalism and authority that are central to the work of teachers. The review analyses 34 relevant studies. These include studies of teachers’ experiences of national curriculum reform, and also studies focusing on more regional or local curriculum reform activities. The studies examine individual teachers’ beliefs, practices and reflections associated with curriculum reform, the response of teacher communities to reform (e.g. within school departments), and teachers’ (and other stakeholders’) experiences across school systems. A wide range of factors influencing teachers’ responses are identified. These are characterised in terms of personal, internal and external contexts of teachers’ work. The review also highlights issues of authority, professionalism and the process of meaning-making in response to external curriculum reform. The discussion section identifies important areas for future research and gives recommendations for the design of curriculum policies that recognise and support the professionalism of science teachers.     

Chinese primary school mathematics teachers working in a centralised curriculum system: a case study of two primary schools in North‐East China

Mainland China has a highly centralised curriculum development system. A study of two schools in northeast China, one in a rural area and the other in an urban area, indicates that the primary mathematics curriculum has been widely adopted by teachers at the classroom level. Feeling the intense pressure generated by the national mathematics Olympiad,1 1. The mathematics Olympiad is a type of ‘extracurricular’ activity that aims to promote students' interest and improve their ability in mathematics. Students participating in the competition are required to complete some challenging and non‐routine mathematical operations. The international mathematics Olympiad is held every year. In Mainland China, this competition is commonly organised at city, provincial and national level. Students who perform exceptionally well are exempted from the highly competitive national university entrance examinations for entry to universities View all notes teachers in the urban school tended to give more difficult mathematics problems to their students in the hope that above‐average students would perform well in the competition. In the rural school, the ability of students was more varied and generally lower. Teachers there worked very hard to push their students to meet the national requirements. The driving force behind this was the county‐wide public examination in which students' performance was taken as an indicator of teachers' competence. Teachers in both schools also have not taken effective steps to adapt the curriculum for students' individual differences. A comparison of the practices between the teachers in the two schools suggests that teachers' beliefs, their professional knowledge and skills shape their inclination and ability in curriculum adaptation and differentiation.     

“Regressed experts” as a new state in teachers’ professional development: lessons from Computer Science teachers’ adjustments to substantial changes in the curriculum

Due to a program reform in Israel, experienced CS high-school teachers faced the need to master and teach a new programming paradigm. This situation served as an opportunity to explore the relationship between teachers' content knowledge (CK) and their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). This article focuses on three case studies, with emphasis on one of them. Using observations and interviews, we examine how the teachers, we observed taught and what development of their teaching occurred as a result of their teaching experience, if at all. Our findings suggest that this situation creates a new hybrid state of teachers, which we term “regressed experts.” These teachers incorporate in their professional practice some elements typical of novices and some typical of experts. We also found that these teachers' experience, although established when teaching a different CK, serve as a leverage to improve their knowledge and understanding of aspects of the new content.     

Greek primary school teachers’ awareness of the special features of scientific language: implications for science curricula and teachers’ professional development

This exploratory study aims at investigating first the extent to which Greek primary school teachers recognize the features of scientific language (an archetype for the academic language employed in all school disciplines), and second and most importantly the functional role they attribute to these features in the construction of scientific discourse. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 teachers. Two versions of a one-page extract, varying in linguistic specialization, were used as stimuli-materials. Teachers correctly recognized the linguistically highly specialized version, but they were less able to spontaneously mention specific features (mainly syntactic complexity and terminology) contributing to this specialization. Worse still, they failed to recognize syntactic complexity as a feature of the specialized extract even after they were explicitly probed to do so. Moreover, teachers were found to only be partially aware of the functional role these features play in constructing the scientific world-view. Specifically, teachers seem to put emphasis on the communicative rather than the epistemological role of the corresponding linguistic features. These findings stress the need for certain interventions both at initial and in-service level of teacher education as well as at the level of science curricula.     

Comparing teachers’ non-teaching roles in curriculum reforms from an organization studies perspective: Cases from Botswana and South Africa

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the academic aims of curriculum reforms and the teaching roles related to them are similar, but non-teaching roles are likely to vary across countries. Taking an organization studies perspective, this article compares teachers’ roles in reform along the Botswana-South Africa border. Though these teachers share language and culture, they have divergent socio-political histories. The study draws on multiple data sources from schools during the 2009 school year. Teachers on both sides of the border face tensions over the time they spend teaching and engaged in non-teaching activities, like administrative meetings. But differences emerged, given the teachers’ distinctively different histories. Under apartheid, the South African teachers experienced fragmented organizational structures; they now have roles in multiple organizations, and reported more expansive and time-consuming non-teaching roles, including union participation. These roles were associated with lower curriculum coverage than was expected, with potentially negative implications for student achievement. To achieve curriculum reform aims, policymakers must carefully consider balancing teachers’ teaching and non-teaching roles.     

Connecting changes in secondary mathematics teachers’ knowledge to their experiences in a professional development workshop

This investigation describes secondary mathematics teachers’ learning and instructional change following their participation in a professional development workshop, the Enhancing Secondary Mathematics Teacher Preparation Project (ESP) (2004–2005), specifically focused on the selection and implementation of cognitively challenging mathematical tasks. Data consist of a pre/post-assessment of teachers’ knowledge of the cognitive demands of mathematical tasks and videotaped discussions and written artifacts from the professional development sessions. A mixed methods approach was used to identify connections between teachers’ learning and their experiences in the ESP workshop. Results indicate that ESP teachers developed new ideas about the influence of mathematical tasks on students’ learning. Increases in teachers’ knowledge of the cognitive demands of mathematical tasks were closely linked to ideas represented in frameworks and discussions from the ESP workshop and to teachers’ experiences in solving challenging mathematical tasks as learners.     

Adult learners and professional development: peer‐to‐peer learning in a networked community

This paper analyses how adult learners on a professional development course learn and develop through online dialogue. The research uses Wenger’s community of practice framework, and assesses whether the concept of ‘legitimate peripheral participation’ is useful in relation to this specific case study in which the students are practitioners and parents of individuals with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). The study focuses on peer‐to‐peer learning and analyses a sample of asynchronous online discussions from three separate online tutorial groups. The first part of the study combines quantitative analysis of distribution patterns, with qualitative discourse analysis that measures central concepts associated with communities of practice. The second part of the study addresses whether the concept of ‘legitimate peripheral participation’ is useful in this context. The contribution of one key individual in each group is analysed in order to provide a narrative about how that person communicates with the others, shares values and repertoires with them and gradually becomes a central member of the community. The data supports the notion that these forms of interaction and approaches to learning can favour the construction of knowledge and help to develop reflective skills and a sense of ‘togetherness’ in the group through sharing stories with one another, developing identity through the discussions and through this enabling the development of community. The findings indicate that the learners are provided with opportunities to consider the strengths and weaknesses of ideas from multiple perspectives and that key students play a role in enabling other students to move from a position of legitimate peripheral participation to becoming full members of the community.     

Preparing teachers to remediate reading disabilities in high school: What is needed for effective professional development?

In this paper, we ask what constitutes effective professional development for teachers faced with struggling readers in high school. Metacognitive teacher training, instructional coaching, mentorship, and collaborative learning are considered. We describe a professional development model preparing high school teachers to teach PHAST PACES, a remedial reading program. A metacognitive teaching style and specific skills for teaching comprehension and decoding strategies were emphasized. Teachers provided high positive ratings regarding the usefulness of the training, and attributed to the training an increased sense of efficacy in improving student outcomes and understanding reading problems. A comparison of student outcomes for teachers’ first and subsequent classes suggested that the professional development model promotes better outcomes on more complex skills.     

Is changing teaching practice the mission impossible? A case study of continuing professional development for primary school teachers in Senegal

This paper reports on research into a continuing professional development (CPD) project, Projet de Renforcement de l’Enseignement des Mathématiques, des Sciences et de la Technologie (PREMST) [Strengthening Mathematics, Science, and Technologies in Education Project]. The literature review reveals few examples of CPD changing the teaching practices of teachers, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. By using the cases of five teachers, this research seeks to understand the complexities of pedagogical change. The research found that PREMST has helped teachers envision how teaching should be conducted, but it has not necessarily brought a positive change in the learning of pupils because it has not changed how teachers think about teaching. Given the difficulties involved in pedagogical change, emphasising specific skills may have been the necessary and practical first step, but changing these teaching practices is not enough. The research found that teachers still paid little attention to the learning of individual pupils. The research concludes that the recently initiated practice of lesson study shows considerable potential to build on what has already been achieved.     

Adapting the primary‐school curriculum for multigrade classes in developing countries: a five‐step plan and an agenda for change

This paper draws on the findings from an international programme of research that has demonstrated the need for teachers in many developing countries to be given more support in adapting monograded curricula to the needs of their multigrade classes. It describes four empirical models of multigrade practice and examines the models of curriculum construction and child learning that inform them. It then presents a five‐step process that can be used by curriculum planners to adapt monograded curricula, taking account of the different empirical models of multigrade practice. Finally, it outlines a strategy for implementing such a process by providing further support to strengthen curriculum units and improve teacher education.     

Can engineering education in South Africa afford to avoid problem-based learning as a didactic approach?

In this article, the authors support problem-based learning (PBL) based on its high level of alignment in addition to providing learners in engineering with an additional opportunity in learning process competencies, as contained within the South African National Critical Cross-field and Developmental Outcomes (COs). Constructive alignment describes a process in which the learning outcomes (LOs) become the objective for designing a curriculum that enables LOs to be achieved through appropriate activities and an assessment process that enables these LOs to be demonstrated. PBL applies problem-solving as a vehicle in achieving LOs. The degree to which a learner manages to achieve a given LO still serves as the authentic criteria for assessment. In addition, PBL provides learners an opportunity in acquiring non-subject-related skills, also referred to as process competencies, soft-skills, transferable skills, or graduate attributes. These skills are required especially for the management of human capital and are considered as crucial for successful practice in the engineering profession. It is therefore questioned why a PBL approach is not implemented by engineering faculties at South African Higher Education Institutions. The successful implementation of PBL, however, depends on a number of non-didactic issues that are highlighted in this paper. It is concluded that very few didactic methods can achieve the quality of learning we provide to engineering learners when using PBL, and therefore, it is proposed that South African Higher Education Institutions should also provide their academic staff with training opportunities in this regard.     

A case study of using an online community of practice for teachers’ professional development at a secondary school in China

In this case study, an online community was designed at a secondary school in China for the teachers to prepare their lessons collectively, reflect on their teaching practices, collect comments from peers, and share resources. A survey was administered to the teachers to investigate their perceptions on the online community for their professional development. Two hundred and eighty-three teachers responded to the survey and eight teachers were further interviewed by email. The result showed that most teachers liked using the online community as they could gain subject knowledge and could obtain support from peers, share experiences and get feedback, and exchange resources. Also, online entries confirmed that transformational changes in teaching pedagogy and students’ learning activities occurred along the time. However, certain teachers did not participate in the online community frequently. This paper describes the context of the case study, design dimensions of the online community, teachers’ positive perceptions on using the online community, and transformational changes. Also, strategies for promoting effective use of the online community are discussed and follow-up studies to address the challenges involved in this study are proposed.     

Students as ‘catalysts’ in the classroom: the impact of co‐teaching between science student teachers and primary classroom teachers on children's enjoyment and learning of science

This study is an investigation of the impact of collaborative teaching by student‐teachers and classroom teachers on children’s enjoyment and learning of science. The paper describes findings from a project in which undergraduate science specialist student‐teachers were placed in primary schools where they ‘co‐taught’ investigative science and technology with primary teachers. Almost six months after the student placement, a survey of children’s attitudes to school science revealed that these children enjoyed science lessons more and showed fewer gender or age differences in their attitudes to science than children who had not been involved in the project. The authors discuss how this model of collaborative planning, teaching and evaluation can both enhance teacher education and improve children’s experience of science.     

Pupils’ attitudes towards school science as they transfer from an ICT-rich primary school to a secondary school with fewer ICT resources: Does ICT matter?

The first part of this study was carried out in a primary school in a rural part of Wales in the United Kingdom. All classrooms were equipped with interactive whiteboards (IWBs) linked to a teacher’s computer and six PCs for pupil use. Teaching through ICT was the prevalent culture in the school. Thirty year six pupils [aged 10–11 years] were selected at random from the final year cohort and were interviewed to determine their views about school science and their views about the teaching methods employed. The pupils moved to a medium sized secondary school where the teachers were beginning to develop their ICT skills and the availability of the computers was limited. The group was re-interviewed after 3 months, once they had settled in to their new school, and were again asked their views about school science and the way it was taught. While in the primary school, pupils expected to use ICT in every lesson, they enjoyed the way information was presented and they were interested in finding things out for themselves when given the opportunity. The lack of ICT in the secondary school caused some frustration, but this was mostly with the teaching of ICT, and the group remained predominantly enthusiastic about science. Those who were less keen on science indicated that it was a teacher factor rather than anything to do with the resources being used. In general the pupils particularly enjoyed the practical aspects of science lessons, something that they had not experienced in the primary school, which compensated for the relative lack of ICT in science teaching.     

Action research as a bridge between pre‐service teacher education and in‐service professional development for students and teacher educators

The first part of this paper describes the rationale for and process of engaging student teachers in action research during the fourth and final year of their teacher education, which is also their first year as teachers (induction year). During this year the novice teachers are engaged in an action research project as a compulsory assignment in the course ‘Teacher as researcher’. The objective of the course is to provide novice teachers with reflective tools for systematic examination of their work as teachers. The second part of the paper documents the learning process of the teachers of the course (which can also be viewed as action research), since we jointly planned the course, engaged in reflective dialogues with the students and among ourselves and systematically examined our work by personal diary writing and inviting informal and more formal (questionnaire) feedback from the students. The process of our action research is documented in this paper, whereas the product is hopefully implemented in teaching a better course and in more effective support of our students.

La première partie de cet article explique la logique d'une recherche basée sur l'action menée pendant la quatrième et dernière année de formation éducative, qui par ailleurs est aussi la première année de pratique comme enseignant (année d'essai). Pendant l'année, les novices doivent s'adonner à un projet de recherche pour le cours ‘Enseignant comme chercheur’ dont le but est de leur procurer des outils de réflexion pour pouvoir examiner systématiquement leur travail comme enseignant. La seconde partie de l'article illustre ce que nous, les professeurs du cours, apprenons, ce qui peut être considéré comme recherche basée sur l'action puisque nous avons pensé le cours conjointement, et avons établi des dialogues de réflexion avec les étudiants et entre nous, avons systématiquement examiné notre travail en tenant un journal, avons requis des commentaries critiques formels (sous forme d'un questionnaire) et informels des étudiants. Le processus de notre recherche basée sur l'action est illustré dans cet article et nous espérons que son fruit se fera sentir dans un cours meilleur et un soutien plus efficace des étudiants.

La primera parte de este trabajo describe el racional y el proceso de involucramiento de estudiantes de marcos de formación docente en la investigación en acción, durante el cuarto y último año de su formación, el cual a su vez constituye el primer año como docentes (año de prueba). Durante este año los jóvenes docentes se involucrarán en el proyecto de investigación en acción como una tarea obligatoria en el marco del curso ‘El docente como investigador’. El objetivo del curso es de proveer a los jóvenes docentes de herramientas reflexivas para lograr un análisis sistemático de su labor como docentes. La segunda parte del trabajo documenta el proceso de enseñanza de los docentes del curso, nosotros, que a su vez puede ser visto como una investigación en acción ya que hemos planificado el curso en conjunto, nos sumergimos en diálogos reflexivos con los estudiantes y entre nosotros, y hemos analizado sistemáticamente nuestra tarea a través de la escritura de un diario personal, además de solicitar en forma informal y más formal (cuestionario) una retroalimentación de parte de los estudiantes. El proceso de investigación en acción se documenta en este trabajo, esperamos que el producto del mismo sea implementado en el mejoramiento del curso y un apoyo más eficaz para nuestros estudiantes.

Der erste Teil dieses Artikels beschreibt die Leitgedanken und Vorgehensweise eines Aktionsforschungsprojekts mit Lehramtsstudenten im vierten (somit letzten) Jahr ihrer Ausbildung, das zugleich ihr erstes Jahr als Lehrer ist (‘Bewährungsjahr’). Im Laufe dieses Jahrs sind die Neulehrer verpflichtet, an einem Aktionsforschungsprojekt im Rahmen einer Pflichtlehrveranstaltung, ‘Lehrende als Forschende’ teilzunehmen. Ziel dieser Lehrveranstaltung ist es, Neulehrer mit reflektiven Instrumenten für die systematische Untersuchung ihrer eigenen Arbeit als Lehrer auszurüsten. Im zweiten Teil dieses Artikels wird der Lernprozess der Lehrpersonen dokumentiert, die diese Pflichtlehrveranstaltung gemeinsam entwickelten und abhalten. In kritsch‐reflektivem Dialog mit den Studierenden und miteinander, durch Führen eines perseonlichen Tagebuchs und Auseinandersetzung mit formalen und informalen Reaktionen der Studierenden auf die Lehrveranstaltung, fand somit ein Aktionsforschungsprojekt der Lehrerausbilder selbst statt. Der Lernprozess, der sich in diesem Artikel niederschlägt, wird in einer verbesserten Lehrveranstaltung und einer effektiveren Unterstützung der Studierenden beim Übergang in die Berufswirklichkeit umgesetzt.     

Teaching one thing at a time or several things together? – teachers changing their way of handling the object of learning by being engaged in a theory-based professional learning community in mathematics and science

Twelve lower secondary schoolteachers in mathematics and science were asked to teach a topic of their choice during a lesson that was video-recorded. We were able to analyse 10 of the cases and we found that all of them were similar in one respect: concepts and principles were introduced one at a time, each one followed by examples of the concept or principle in question, apparently to highlight its essential meaning. All the teachers participated in three modified lesson studies with three cycles in four different groups during three semesters. The modified lesson studies were built on a theoretical idea supported by a large number of recent studies. The theory states that new meanings (of concepts and principles, for instance) are learned through engaging with instances of contrasting concepts and principles. The core idea is that new meanings derive from differences, not from sameness. After the three modified lesson studies, the teachers were asked to once again teach the same topic as in the recorded lessons before the lesson studies. The new lessons were also recorded and the analysis showed that there was one thing in common in all cases: all of the 10 teachers dealt with the relevant concepts and principles in relation to each other (i.e. simultaneously) and not one at a time. By thus bringing out the differences between them, their meaning was made possible to grasp for the students. The study lends support to the conjecture that the modified lesson study is a powerful tool for enabling teachers to structure the content of their teaching in accordance with a principle that is more powerful in making learning possible, even if this contradicts their taken-for-granted practice.     

Stirring it up or stirring it in? Perspectives on the development of sexualities equality in a faith‐based primary school

This article examines what happened within one Church of England primary school during an action research project concerning sexualities. No Outsiders aimed at exploring how teachers developed classroom practices that promoted greater inclusion of sexual minorities, at the same time as working to eradicate homophobic bullying and heterosexism. This examination engages current research methodologies, including post‐structural analytics and narrative ethnography, to consider the viewpoints of headteacher and researcher, with a particular reference to faith issues. Various intersections are considered – between different faith positions and between different theoretical approaches – to conclude that while there are risks involved in straddling critical boundaries, there are also benefits in terms of creativity and motivation.     

Coteaching with senior students – a way to refine teachers’ PCK for teaching chemical bonding in upper secondary school

During the last decade there has been on-going discussions about students’ declining interest and low achievement in science. One of the reasons suggested for this decline is that teachers and students have different frames of reference, whereby teachers sometimes communicate science in the classroom in a way that is not accessible to the students. There is a lack of research investigating the effects of coteaching with senior students in science in upper secondary schools. To improve teaching and to narrow the gap between teachers’ and students’ different frames of references, this study investigates how an experienced chemistry teacher gains and refines her pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) by cooperating with two grade 12 students (age 18) as coteachers. The teacher and the two coteachers coplanned, cotaught and coevaluated lessons in chemical bonding in a grade 10 upper secondary class. Findings indicate that the coteachers contributed with their own learning experiences to help the teacher understand how students perceive difficult concepts. In such way, the coteachers were mediating between the teacher and the students, thus bridging the gap between the teacher and the students’ frames of references. The teachers’ PCK was refined which in turn lead to improved teaching strategies.