Marketing teacher quality: critical discourse analysis of OECD documents on effective teaching and TALIS

ABSTRACT

This study uses critical discourse analysis (CDA) to examine Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) texts on teacher quality and the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) framework. Specifically, it explores the forewords of documents written by OECD leaders, which we believe are charged with meanings related to the Global Education Reform Movement (GERM) discourse. We suggest that CDA of the texts sheds light on the manner in which OECD leaders attempt to gain normative control in the teacher quality discourse. Based on Fairclough’s three-dimensional framework for studying discourse, our analysis shows that the OECD (a) uses a discourse of fear to market teacher quality in light of global changes, implicitly framing teachers as ‘bad teachers’; (b) advocates reliance on the organization as a protector and (c) promises a remedy by regulating teachers in the name of effectiveness and the knowledge economy. The study offers a nuanced insight into OECD efforts to promote normative control in the teacher quality discourse, using three dimensions of discourse (i.e. the textual micro linguistic dimension, the meso-interdiscursive dimension, and the macro sociocultural dimension) that help gain ideational powers.     

Understanding OECD representations of teachers and teaching: a visual discourse analysis of covers in OECD documents

OECD dominance in the international educational policy discourse in the developed regions of the world, particularly in promoting teaching policy, has been long acknowledged. While many works have explored the organisation’s verbal discourse, no study has considered exploring its visual discourse. To close that gap, we employed a visual discourse analysis on the covers of OECD documents pertaining to teachers and teaching (i.e., TALIS and ISTP). The analysis found that OECD’s covers drew on two discourses, a conservative discourse and a liberal diversity discourse. However, the latter was entangled with constructions which serve to maintain a conservative order.     

提供高质量学前教育与保育:来自TALIS 2018“强势开端”项目的经验与启示

《提供高质量学前教育与保育:来自TALIS 2018"强势开端"调查》报告于2019年12月发布。经济合作与发展组织对影响儿童学习、发展和福祉的各项因素进行量化,发现各国学前教育发展领域面临的共同挑战:教师学历偏低,相关培训待普及;对儿童基础认知技能的培养重视不够;最迫切的教师专业发展需求领域是"支持特殊需求儿童";教师工作满意度普遍较高,但受社会尊重的程度不够,希望提高工作待遇。通过国际间的比较和借鉴,为加强我国学前教育的师资队伍建设,教育行政部门可适当加大政策调控力度和财政投入,提升学前教育师资队伍的专业性,研制健全的学前教育质量标准,同时构建家庭—幼儿园—社区的学前教育共同体,营造积极的育人环境。     

Divine Intervention

This paper focuses on teacher education policy in Portugal and Brazil over the last decade, and it discusses its implications for teacher professionalisation and professionalism. It identifies the emergence of competing discourses arising from policy texts and other formal documents related to teacher education, both initial and in-service, issued in both countries. It is argued that the intertwined concepts of professionalisation and professionalism, which play a central role in most recent policy documents, entail different meanings in different contexts. Although similar orientations can be identified, particularly in regard to a new rhetoric emerging in the educational field, it is also evident that different ways of operationalising the concepts of professionalisation and professionalism have been put into place.     

Problematizing global educational governance of OECD PISA: Student achievement,categorization, and social inclusion and exclusion

Abstract

This study problematizes the global educational governance of OECD PISA and its statistical data as a governing technology in contemporary discourses of education reforms. The study examines principles that order the discourses and practices of the international comparative assessment. The effort of analysing the impact of an education reform regime led by OECD PISA reveals how statistical reasoning defines problems in educational systems and forms social discourse surrounding educational reform to solve such problems. In doing so, this article focuses on standardization, classification, and normalization for measuring and comparing student achievement and national effectiveness. The study also offers an alternative way of considering the politics of inclusion and exclusion embedded in practices of education reforms propelled by the international comparative assessment.     

Relationship between developmentally appropriate beliefs and practices of pre‐service teachers

Abstract

This article explores the meaning of professionalism as it relates to early childhood teacher education. The poignant need for such professionalism is timely within the context of contemporary policies that have the potential to de‐skill educational professionalism as well as minimize the breadth and depth of early childhood education. After exploring problems/issues associated with a number of specific policies with such potential, an action plan and strategies for implementing such a plan are proposed. Now that early childhood teacher certification has been receiving increased attention in several states, the author concludes with what she feels is a problem worthy of immediate attention—greater school administrator preparation in early childhood curriculum.     

Is 'School Effectiveness' Anti-Democratic?

This paper explores the connections between School Effectiveness as a research paradigm and developments in policy and practice. With a particular focus on the English school system, 'effectiveness' is examined as a discourse which underpins the accountability regime, and in terms of its influence on the related field of School Improvement. Anti-democratic tendencies in areas such as school leadership, teacher professionalism, curriculum and pedagogy are related to a failure, at the heart of the 'effectiveness' concept, to give critical consideration to social and educational aims.     

Comparative analyses of discourse in specialized STEM school classes

ABSTRACT

The authors detail the discourse patterns observed within mathematics and science classes at specialized STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) high schools. Analyses reveal that teachers in mathematics classes tended to engage their students in authoritative discourse while teachers in science classes tended to engage students in dialogic discourse. The authors examined variations in the type of discourse in relationship to the discipline being taught, the educational level of the teacher, and course requirements were also explored.     

Professionalization of progress and expertise among teacher educators in Iceland: A Bourdieuean interpretation

This paper considers the use of the conceptual framework of Pierre Bourdieu to study curriculum reform and the professionalization of teacher educators in Iceland. It argues that it is theoretically productive to interpret professionalism as the production of expert knowledge and learned discourse. The learned discourse of the Icelandic teacher educators and other education reformers, based on child-centered perspectives, developmental psychology, and child-centered curriculum theory, has become their symbolic capital in the field of educational reform. The paper considers to what extent the discourse on teacher professionalism in Iceland in the 1980s has merely occupied the space (social field) wherein education reformers work. It argues that those who have become “professionalized” are first and foremost teacher educators, curriculum development “professionals,” and teacher leaders, and points out that this was possible in an intermediate social space with much room for a creative redefinition of what can count as capital.     

Teacher collaboration: 30 years of research on its nature,forms, limitations and effects

ABSTRACT

This article reprises and reflects on 30 years of the author’s work on teacher collaboration. The distinctive nature of this work has not been in making a case for teacher collaboration in terms of its benefits for students, teachers, or educational change. These arguments are widely available elsewhere. Rather it has examined ways of collaborating that are available to teachers, how formal or informal collaboration should be, how collaborative efforts can be misused or misdirected, and what factors must be considered when deliberately designing teacher collaboration so it will have the most beneficial effects. The article discusses the explanatory and strategic power of three concepts in particular—contrived collegiality, professional capital, and collaborative professionalism. Conclusions are drawn about next steps for educational research in terms of establishing clear typologies of teacher collaboration in relation to their impact and appropriateness in different circumstances.     

Responding to the challenge of providing stronger research base for teacher education: research discourses in the Norwegian national research school for teacher education

Background and purpose: The purpose of this article is to shed light on how the research projects of 140 PhD candidates in the National Research School for Teacher Education in Norway (NAFOL) respond to the challenges faced by Norwegian teacher education regarding the demand for higher competence and a stronger research base. The concept of NAFOL is of interest from an international perspective because of its focus on facilitating teacher educators to achieve a PhD. Since 2001, Norwegian educational policy has had a strong focus on strengthening teacher education and making it more research-based than before. From 2017, all new teachers in Norway are expected to take a master’s degree. In order to accomplish this, there is a need for many new supervisors with a PhD in teacher education institutions. NAFOL is a unique project: a consortium of 23 participating network institutions within teacher education. The research school includes 140 research fellows, all of whom wish to achieve a PhD suitable for work in teacher education. The research school is funded by the Norwegian Research Council, originally for a project period from 2010 to 2016. The research school has had a positive external midway evaluation, and the project period has been extended with four cohorts of students to the end of 2021. However, this study is the first one looking into the research projects of this young generation of teacher education researchers. The research question posed in this article is: how do the research projects of the NAFOL PhD candidates contribute to the research base in teacher education? Main argument: The main argument in this article is that the potential impact of this research school is dependent on the quality of the large number of PhD projects connected to teacher education and education in general developed within the research school. The quality is likely to be good because, among other reasons, these projects are scrutinised by the research school community. The challenges these research projects face, located as they are between solidarity regarding grants from the funds financing the PhD candidates, solidarity with the aims of education, and the wish to contribute to innovation, might prove to be able to be met. These research projects have the potential to create innovation in teacher education research through ‘border crossing’ between different educational discourses, as well as through creating new knowledge in meta-studies based on the results from several projects. Sources of evidence and method: In this article, project abstracts from 140 PhD candidates participating in NAFOL are analysed in terms of their theme and problem formulation. The analysis is inspired by discourse analytical thinking – namely that in a certain situation, several conditions for action exist. In this study, these conditions for action are made apparent in the choice of theme and problem formulation in the research projects. The content analysis is focused on ‘signal words’, because these words might signal positioning in different educational discourses. Results: In the study, three main discourses can be seen as influencing the choice of topic and the problem formulation in the projects: a goal-oriented educational discourse, a ‘Bildung’ (i.e. character formation, or personal growth – ‘danning’ in Norwegian) and democracy discourse, and a critical knowledge-producing discourse. These discourses are constituted when the PhD candidates start their research projects but the conditions for action are ever-changing and, hence, the findings in this study cannot, of course, be considered as ‘final’. The development of these discourses within the research community of NAFOL is one way of scrutinising the research projects in order to make a contribution to qualified teacher education research. Conclusion: ‘Border crossing’ between discourses in research projects concerned with what might be, and what can make a difference in a knowledge society could be a key way of enhancing the future for a young generation of researchers in teacher education. The research projects carried out by the PhD candidates in NAFOL have the potential to develop both new knowledge and new discourses of importance for Norwegian teacher education, as well as for a broader international context regarding professional development in teacher education and education in general. The view of the teacher education profession – and on what a teacher educator can be – could become more fully informed than before the candidates’ participation in the research school.     

Which is more influential on teaching practice,classroom management efficacy or instruction efficacy? Evidence from TALIS 2018

Asia Pacific Education Review - This study aims to explore relationship between teacher self-efficacy and teacher teaching practice in junior high schools at Taiwan. TALIS (2018) survey database is...     

Implications of Research on Effective Learning Environments for Initial Teacher Education

As a result of multi-disciplinary research on learning, a consistent and comprehensive body of knowledge on effective learning environments is currently emerging (OECD 2010). While this evidence is increasingly influencing the academic and policy discourse on the improvement and innovation of schools, its impact on the design principles of effective initial teacher education has been limited so far. In this paper, the seven transversal learning principles published in the 2010 OECD publication The Nature of Learning: Using Research to Inspire Practice serve as a framework for systematic reflections on how learning research on effective learning environments can inform initial teacher education and how the seven transversal learning principles can contribute to greater coherence and alignment in initial teacher education programs. We consider the implications of The Nature of Learning and other research on teacher education, alongside international examples of next practice, concluding that initial teacher education should model effective student learning.     

Golden relics & historical standards: how the OECD is expanding global education governance through PISA for Development

ABSTRACT

Setting this paper against the backdrop of scholarly research on recent changes in the OECD’s approach and workings in education, I analyse how the OECD has reinforced its infrastructural and epistemological global governance through the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) for Development (PISA-D). Drawing on qualitative data, this paper makes three arguments. First, there has been a reinforced effort at the OECD to align national and international large-scale assessments; second, the OECD-ensured PISA-D was enhanced only in so far as it remained comparable with PISA, with a view to joining up lower- and middle-income data infrastructures with the global PISA infrastructure; and third, the OECD has bound together the aims of PISA, PISA-D, the Education and Skills Directorate, the Organisation’s Strategy on Development and the global education agenda (Sustainable Development Goals), thus strengthening its global education governance potential. With a note of concern, I suggest these recent changes in the OECD’s work in education may be spreading a very narrow framework of educational values, which does not sufficiently recognise the complexity of learning and teaching.     

Teachers and teaching in China: a critical reflection

ABSTRACT

This article offers a critical review of the impact of policy-induced changes on school teachers in the Chinese Mainland where educational reform has been an ongoing project for four decades. It addresses three aspects of the current state of teaching and the teaching profession: the contextual factors that have influenced their development; the state policies that effected the teachers; and the lessons that can be drawn from the reform experiences of the teachers. By examining the changes that have occurred in curriculum and teaching, teacher preparation and training, and teacher professionalism and leadership, this paper argues for a more inclusive approach to policy formulation and implementation that can accommodate the needs of frontline teachers serving in the diverse educational settings of Chinese schooling.     

教师专业化:传统智慧与现代实践

教师专业化包括教师职业专业化和教师教育专业化两方面内容,既是过程也是结果。从结果看,教师专业知识(素养)结构应由通识性知识、本体性知识、素养性知识、条件性知识、行为性知识、实践性知识等几方面知识所组成。从过程看,教师教育专业化是个包括理论与实践两方面和职前教育、上岗培训、在职训练、职后进修四个环节以及脱产和不脱产两种形式的终身一体化过程。中国教育发展史上具有丰富的教师专业化思想。当前,必须借鉴传统教师智慧,进行理论和制度双重创新,才能推进教师专业化。     

Teacher education and its reform in contemporary Japan

This article aims to describe the general framework of the teacher training system and its recent reform in Japan. As elsewhere, Japanese society is moving into an era of mass higher education provision. Since initial teacher training is provided by universities, the reform of teacher training is a part of the higher education restructuring that is also under way. At the same time, Japan is facing educational problems in compulsory education. The Educational Personnel Training Council of Japan is recommending reforms, which attempt to create a new type of teacher to cope with these educational problems. This opens the way for the Japanese state to develop more direct control over the curriculum and assessment of teaching staff in universities. The Ministry of Education is attempting to develop new control methods of 'Evaluative State' strategies. The reform of teacher education system exemplifies this shift.     

Contesting educational assessment policies in Australia

ABSTRACT

Assessment is a major component of education, significant in directing what is identified as valued student learning. This paper is framed within an understanding of imperative and exhortative policy. Two paradigmatically different, and potentially contesting, assessment policy directions in Australian education – educational accountability to monitor school and teacher performance, and teacher assessment practices to improve learning (assessment for learning [AfL] or formative assessment) – are examined for their impact on teacher professionalism. Both approaches have official endorsement in Australian policy. Mandated participation in national tests is indicative of educational accountability assessments under national direction. While also endorsed nationally, AfL implementation is reliant on state and territory direction. Our examination reveals tensions in the alignment of both policies. This is evident in the impact of accountability assessment on AfL implementation, in particular, teachers’ understandings of valued assessment evidence. We conclude that a paradigmatic shift to support student learning in Australian schools is a policy imperative that includes the need for professional development and learning support for teachers.     

What Did We Learn About Our Teachers and Principals? Results of the TALIS-2013 International Comparative Study

The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) is a large-scale and authoritative international study of teachers. It is conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to collect and compare information about teachers and principals in different countries in such key areas as the training and professional development of teachers, performance appraisals, school management and educational goals and practices, job satisfaction, and confidence in one’s professional abilities.