Just in time and future-proofing? Policy,challenges and opportunities in the professional development of part-time teachers

Abstract

Part-time teachers form a growing proportion of the global Higher Education (HE) workforce. Their backgrounds can vary from Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) teaching for the first time, to practitioners bringing workplace experience into HE and sessional teachers, all with differing professional development needs. This paper builds on previous research to consider structures and practices promoting sustainable, effective professional development for part-timers, to propose proactive holistic professional development, and raise institutional awareness of the challenges of reaching part-timers. A case study exploring the lived experiences of part-time staff illustrates key features of part-timers’ preparation for their current work and future aspirations.     

‘Challenge and support’: the role of the critical friend in continuing professional development

Abstract

In this paper, the writer, a senior teacher in a comprehensive school, describes his role as a critical friend to two teachers who were undertaking self‐initiated action research projects as part of a school‐based, award‐bearing curriculum development scheme offered in conjunction with the local higher education institute (HEI). He concludes that such a relationship, in providing both challenge and support for colleagues who are attempting to improve practice, is a powerful vehicle for the professional development of teachers and has a positive impact on whole‐school development.     

Teachers’ professional development in special needs settings: creating ‘kid-cool’ schools in challenging times

This paper explores the nature of teachers’ professional development (PD) practices in special needs/special education settings in Australia under current neoliberal and managerial conditions. The research is based on individual interviews with teachers from a juvenile justice centre and a dedicated special needs school in a regional city in the state of New South Wales. Bourdieu’s conception of social practice as contested is applied to make sense of teachers’ understanding of the conflicted nature of PD practices in these schooling settings. The findings reveal teacher PD in these special needs settings is influenced by the increased commodification of education, broader accountability pressures which seek to individualise teachers’ PD experiences, and increased attention to a narrower range of educational outcomes, particularly students’ test scores. However, at the same time, these settings also enable more localised, collaborative inquiry focused upon specific students’ needs, and PD relevant to a multi-faceted conception of students’ learning. In this way, teacher PD contributes to a focus upon student learning in all its complexity, even as it is simultaneously confined by neoliberal and managerial pressures.     

Teachers’ professional development in Nanoscience and nanotechnology in the context of a Community of Learners

ABSTRACT

This case study focuses on teachers’ professional development in NanoScience and nanoTechnology (NST). In the context of a Community of Learners (CoL), in-service teachers in collaboration with science education researchers, nanoscience researchers and experts from science museums, developed a teaching module. This module integrates NST topics along with aspects of science communication, i.e. development of science exhibits and socio-scientific issues, e.g. ethics regarding the research in this field. The data were gathered over 1-year period by using video recordings and interviews. The Interconnected Model of Professional Growth was used to study the processes that support teachers’ professional change in this context, as they are elicited from their interactions in the CoL. Our findings indicate that the dynamic of teachers’ interactions with colleagues and the mediating processes that impact on their professional learning, are crafted on the basis of the emerged challenges in each phase of module’s design and development. These findings give an insight on teachers’ professional learning as they transfer their professional knowledge regarding scientific topics which are innovative to them, i.e. NST, into their teaching practice. In this respect, this study contributes to research literature relevant to teachers’ professionalisation in order to implement innovations in the classroom.     

Opportunities and challenges in the development of teachers’ knowledge: the development of narrative authority through knowledge communities

This work examines generative approaches to teacher professional development that pay attention to how personal, interpersonal, contextual and situational factors influence teacher knowledge developments over time. Using examples from our research programs, we show how critical it is to intentionally account for how teachers filter their professional development experiences through their personal practical knowledge expressed in community. By featuring Pat (the pre-service case) and Liz (the in-service case), we illustrate how teachers develop their narrative authority in knowledge communities and show why knowledge communities are critical to the sustained development of narrative authority. We argue that attending to these critical matters creates opportunities for understanding that can lead to confirmation of, refinement in, or transformation of present practices.     

Rethinking the hermit kingdom: US social studies teachers’ cross-cultural professional development in South Korea

This study explores the experiences of 34 US social studies teachers who participated in a cross-cultural professional development in South Korea, and the impact of the programme on the participant teachers’ perceptions and practices of global education. Drawing upon a postcolonial lens, this mixed-method study takes a critical look at (a) how social studies teachers who mostly had limited previous knowledge of and experiences with the host country experienced cross-cultural learning and (b) how the teachers’ experiences were applied to their perceptions on global education and actual curricular and pedagogical changes in the classroom. The findings of this study provide solid empirical evidence on the possibilities and limitations of such international professional development, particularly in non-Western contexts, and discuss the implications on global teacher education.     

‘Feedback interpreters’: the role of learning development professionals in facilitating university students’ engagement with feedback

Understanding how students engage with assessment feedback is a key concern of higher education professionals. Research commonly represents the perspectives of students and academic staff, yet little consideration is given to the role of learning development staff, despite these individuals supporting students when interpreting and implementing feedback. We report the findings from interviews with learning developers working in a UK University, exploring their insights into the barriers students confront when engaging with feedback, and into the role of learning developers within the feedback landscape. This study suggests that, while many challenges exist for staff and students in the context of assessment feedback, learning development professionals are able to provide a meaningful source of guidance, in partnership with academic staff, and are able to promote students’ development through dialogic interactions. Hitherto these interactions have not been fully explored, yet they provide powerful insight into the hidden processes of feedback recipience.     

Reinforcing the ‘diminished’ subject? The implications of the ‘vulnerability zeitgeist’ for well-being in educational settings

Abstract

Pessimistic discourses about crises in youth and children's well-being, mental health and vulnerability permeate English educational policy and practice. These generate vague and slippery elisions of wellbeing and mental health, and the related rise of an ad hoc, confusing market of psycho-emotional interventions promoted by new types of 'pay-experts'. Revisiting earlier arguments that these developments depict a ‘diminished’ human subject, we propose that the incoherent state of policy, much research and practice in this area warrants robust challenge and critique. In particular, more precision about key concepts of social and emotional learning, mental health and wellbeing, a reining in of universal programmes, and serious interest in the types of curriculum that can offer richer, more meaningful alternatives to developing wellbeing in educational settings.     

A comparison of performance and attitudes in mathematics amongst the ‘gifted’. Are boys better at mathematics or do they just think they are?

This paper explores gender differential performance in ‘gifted and talented’ 9‐ and 13‐year‐olds in a mathematics assessment in England. Boys’ and girls’ attitudes to mathematics and their views about which gender is better at mathematics are also considered. The study employs the use of a matched sample of boys and girls so that school, age and previous achievement in mathematics can be controlled whilst exploring performance on World Class Test items. The main result of this research was that there was no significant gender difference in performance for the 9‐ or the 13‐year‐olds. However, attitudinal differences were found, including a seemingly commonly held stereotypical view of mathematics as a boys’ subject. These results are important since the uptake of higher level mathematically‐based courses by girls is poor. Further findings reveal that where ‘gifted’ girls perform as well as ‘gifted’ boys, their confidence in the subject is lower than their performance might suggest. This work is also discussed in the light of related research findings and in relation to stereotype threat theory.     

The role of the ‘professional community’ in action research

The article argues that collective learning plays an important role in the practice of teacher research, which has not yet been adequately dealt with in its theory. Lave & Wenger's (1991) theory of ‘Situated Learning’ is examined as an example for a conceptualisation of collective learning. In the concluding section, some provisions for ‘learning in communities’ in the practice of teacher research are discussed. Although the argument is made for the teaching profession, it is assumed that it also has some bearing on action research in other professions.     

‘The communities we live in’: providing meaningful contexts for the application and generation of knowledge through service in Uganda

Abstract

If service-learning is to fulfil its potential to contribute to meaningful social change, scholars and practitioners must consider how service might foster a dynamic relationship between knowledge, the learner and the community. This paper challenges modernist conceptions of knowledge as a ‘commodity’ that can be delivered and consumed, and instead identifies service to the community as a meaningful context for learners to interact with knowledge in a coherent framework for the explicit purpose of individual and social change. The Preparation for Social Action programme in Uganda is offered as an example in which relationships between knowledge, learners and the community can be examined. Findings from an analysis of curricular materials, participant observation and interview and focus-group data collected from its local instructors and administrators are discussed.     

Discomfort as a means of pre-service teachers’ professional development – an action research as part of the ‘Research Literacy’ course

This paper focus on defining a research question while conducting action research among third-year students attending a course on Research Literacy at a teacher education college. This paper discusses the process of preparing for and conducting action research among third-year students attending a course on Research Literacy at a teacher education college. The students were asked to conduct an action research on their classroom activities. The aim of this article is to present the process and pinpointing the discomfort of the students in formulating a research question suited to action research thanks to two prerequisite conditions: the ‘safe space’ and the ‘tender spot’. The research findings illustrate that the students had difficulty defining their ‘tender spot’. It was necessary to create a ‘safe space’. Furthermore, the findings show that the ‘tender spot’ issues were associated with disciplinary content far more than with generic lesson management or classroom management issues. The approach discussed here is leading to positive change and it may be that this professional development tool can facilitate the induction of novice teachers everywhere.     

Teachers’ professional development for differentiated instruction in mixed-ability classrooms: investigating the impact of a development program on teachers’ professional learning and on students’ achievement

The present article reports the results of a study performed to investigate and examine the characteristics of a teachers’ professional development program (Teachers’ Professional Development Program for Differentiated Instruction [PDD]) specially designed to support teachers in the design and application of differentiated instruction. Considering the characteristics of high-quality professional development programs (i.e. active learning, collective participation, closely related to the curriculum and the existing teaching realities, sufficient duration and continuance), the PDD aimed to facilitate change in both attitudes and practices of the participants. The study provides evidence of the success of the program, both in terms of teacher professional development and student achievement, and discusses the elements that made this program successful.     

Dutch children and their ‘God’: the development of the ‘God’ concept among indigenous and immigrant children in the Netherlands

In the 1980s and 1990s in the Netherlands, as a reaction to the growing number of non‐Christian pupils at Christian schools, religious education and religious development became issues for debate. At some schools, it was the exclusiveness of the Christian tradition that dominated, and at others it was the inclusiveness. Another group specialised in inter‐religious dialogue. Our research studied the religious development of pupils from two primary schools. One is the first and only inter‐religious primary school in the Netherlands, the Juliana van Stolberg primary school. The other is a Christian school, the Prinses Margriet primary school that educates pupils exclusively in the Christian tradition. The research questions focussed on the development of the ‘God’ concept of children confronted with stories from different religious traditions. The ‘God’ concept is seen in our research as a concept that develops in an inductive way from the data. This way of conceptualising ‘development’ is coined as the prospective perspective on development. The results of this comparative research led to the tentative conclusion that pupils in our research population who were involved in inter‐religious learning, demonstrate explorative behaviour concerning their own religion and that of others. Their ‘God’ concept shows hybrid characteristics. These pupils are rooted in their own tradition, and at the same time they are ‘on the move’. This offers points of departure for the development of citizens articulating their commitments and turning imminent conflicts into inter‐religious encounters.     

‘Going global’: conceptualization of the ‘other’ and interpretation of cross-cultural experience in an all-white,rural learning environment

Based on an ethnographic case study done in an all-white, rural middle school, this article examines the students’ experience with and interpretation of an international education program implemented with a hope of providing more global/international contents to the curriculum. The study shows that these students interpreted other cultures introduced by the program in relation to their own culture and their own identity formation. The process of local ‘othering’ within the student school community was analogous to that of the students’ collective ‘othering’ of unfamiliar non-US cultures. The idea of US-centrism based on US consumer culture became the main standard against which the ‘otherness’ of different cultures were measured. The findings show how prejudice and stereotyping of global others derive from both the everyday process of differentiation in local home cultures and defense of national culture.     

How is a professional development programme related to the development of university teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and teaching conceptions?

This study explores how the impact of a five ECTS professional development programme for university teachers affects their self-efficacy beliefs and teaching conceptions using a mixed methods approach. For the quantitative part of the study, participants completed pre-post surveys. From these surveys, we find that the programme led to an overall significant increase in reported self-efficacy beliefs. A sub-sample of ten participants participated in the qualitative part, which consists of four phases: three reflective assignments and an interview. Individual teachers demonstrate a dominant teaching conception in each phase and in almost half of the sub-sample it developed over time, moving from a teacher-centered to a more student-centered conception. When examining the development of self-efficacy and teaching conceptions collectively, three development groups are identified. Noteworthy is that teacher development is credited to the programme as a whole and not to a specific aspect.     

The Master’s in Teaching and Learning: expanding utilitarianism in the continuing professional development of teachers in England

The article focuses on the policy rhetoric of the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL). This is a new degree being launched in the summer of 2010 aimed, initially, at teachers who have just joined the profession. The degree presages the aspiration for a Master’s level teaching profession in England. Professional development as conceived in the MTL is continuous rather than continuing and permeating the vision is the language of ‘personalisation’. Teachers will be accompanied on the journey by an ‘in-school coach’. These notions suggest a highly tailored approach to continuing professional development (CPD), with careful attention to the identification of teachers’ needs and close support from a colleague. The article argues that, contrary to this impression, the MTL marks a new and significant step in expanding the utilitarianism of the English education system. The MTL represents a deepening hold on education by the state and a growing scepticism about the value of higher education in the CPD of teachers. It also aspires to a changing culture in schools as the workplace becomes the locus for the CPD of teachers. As other authors have described, the national character of education systems in Europe and in the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Asia reflect an increasing instrumentality. The MTL, then, can be seen as part of a global phenomenon; in this case the policy lever of CPD is employed to support performative and audit policy agendas via a rigid accountability system. The MTL also represents a particular form of neo-liberal governmentality where increasing centralisation is ‘masked’ by a ‘simulacra of care’.