Showing papers in "Journal of In-service Education in 2007"
TL;DR: In this paper, a triple-lens framework is proposed to analyse three specific examples of CPD initiatives in the context of teacher learning in which socio-cultural aspects are given due attention.
Abstract: Teachers' continuing professional development (CPD) is being given increasing importance in countries throughout the world. In Scotland, the changing professional and political context has resulted in unprecedented investment in CPD. However, analysis and evaluation of CPD policies, practice and impact is complex. In seeking to understand some of the complexities, this article proposes a triple-lens framework, drawing on three different accounts of teacher learning. The framework is then used to analyse three specific examples of CPD initiatives. Conclusions point to the need to consider a much wider conception of teacher learning in which socio-cultural aspects are given due attention.
321 citations
TL;DR: This article explored the experiences of newly qualified teachers of foreign languages in English secondary school contexts as they both seek opportunities and develop their abilities to use information and communications technologies (ICT) as a tool to support foreign language learning.
Abstract: This study explores the experiences of newly qualified teachers of foreign languages in English secondary school contexts as they both seek opportunities and develop their abilities to use information and communications technologies (ICT) as a tool to support foreign language learning. A cohort of newly qualified foreign language teachers from the University of Manchester was first surveyed to establish a picture of teacher experience and confidence in the use of ICT after their initial training year. Based on self‐declared interest in ICT as a development area, indicated in career entry profiles, six case‐study teachers were subsequently identified and their experiences in specific school environments were explored. Cross‐case analysis determined not only the impact of specific factors on opportunities for ICT use and personal development, but also an ecological dimension to the school contexts resulting in an interplay between factors with varying effects on newly qualified teachers.
77 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present case studies of grade six to grade eight science and mathematics teachers engaged in supported collaborative inquiry, focusing on teachers' growth trajectories related to their participation in professional learning communities supported through a professional development project.
Abstract: This article presents five case studies of grade six to grade eight science and mathematics teachers engaged in supported collaborative inquiry. The research focus is on teachers’ growth trajectories related to their participation in professional learning communities supported through a professional development project. There were noticeably different trajectories in the teachers’ progress through the inquiry cycle and a variation in the degree of collaboration in different professional learning communities. Some of the successes and challenges are attributed to the cross‐grade, cross‐disciplinary nature of the collaboration; others to teachers’ existing relationships with each other prior to the beginning of this professional development project. The case study data indicate that dialogic inquiry grounded in classroom‐based data is a key element in teachers’ professional growth.
59 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlight digitally literate, in-service teachers in leading edge 1 schools in Norway and focus on how they, in their professional development, adapt digital literacy, finding a consensus among policy makers, researchers, teacher-educators and teachers that digital literacy must be given high priority and needs to be explored more deeply in our upper secondary schools.
Abstract: This paper highlights digitally literate, in‐service teachers in leading edge 1 schools in Norway and focuses on how they, in their professional development, adapt digital literacy. Today we find a consensus among policy‐makers, researchers, teacher‐educators and teachers that digital literacy must be given high priority and needs to be explored more deeply in our upper secondary schools. Therefore, digital literacy has become the fifth basic competence in the new curriculum and obligatory for all subjects at all stages. Despite this consensus and the increased status of information and communication technologies (ICT), previous ICT efforts have revealed that implementation of ICT has been more strongly anchored rhetorically and ideologically than in practice. Consequently, this paper focuses on whether we, in the new educational reform The Knowledge Promotion (Undervisnings og forskningsdepartementet, 2006), are entering a time of upheaval within this area, at a time when in‐service teachers’ pedagogical...
53 citations
TL;DR: The interpretation of the data indicates that although the Primary Curriculum Support Programme provided schools and teachers with a good grounding in the revised curriculum, systemic and structural issues around primary schooling will potentially undermine any long‐term effects.
Abstract: In an attempt to manage within schools the introduction of a revised Primary School Curriculum in the Republic of Ireland, the Department of Education and Science instigated a seven‐year national support programme. Learning from the experiences of other national systems, there was recognition of the strong role of continuing professional development in providing a mechanism through which to embed these changes. Drawing on data gathered during the evaluation of the Primary Curriculum Support Programme, this paper discusses one aspect of the study that investigated the complex interaction between externally initiated professional development and the physical characteristics, working, teaching, learning and leadership environment within the school. Our interpretation of the data indicates that although the Primary Curriculum Support Programme provided schools and teachers with a good grounding in the revised curriculum, systemic and structural issues around primary schooling will potentially undermine any lo...
43 citations
TL;DR: The study found that teachers could articulate ways in which they were benefiting professionally, and how learning and teaching in their classrooms was developing, but there was weak evidence of perceived benefits for schools in a wider sense.
Abstract: This paper is based on a survey of teachers following the Chartered Teacher programme in two Scottish universities. The aim of the study was to gain a better understanding of the teachers' reasons for joining the programme, their impressions of the impact on themselves and their professional contexts, and their views about the role of a chartered teacher. The paper outlines the origins of Chartered Teacher, within a broader context of continuing professional development for experienced teachers and the formal recognition of excellence in the classroom. The demographic nature of the sample is consistent with enrolment in the programme across Scotland, except in age, with our respondents being somewhat older. The perceptions of the teachers are presented as coded responses to five questions. The study found that teachers could articulate ways in which they were benefiting professionally, and how learning and teaching in their classrooms was developing, but there was weak evidence of perceived benefits for s...
36 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an in-service education project, financed by the Belgium Technical Cooperation, to improve the quality of mathematics teaching in 138 primary and lower secondary schools in Cambodia was described and analyzed.
Abstract: This paper describes and analyses an in-service education project, financed by the Belgium Technical Cooperation, to improve the quality of mathematics teaching in 138 primary and lower secondary schools in Cambodia. The project design drew on recent research in developing countries and prior experience of training programmes in Cambodia. The research focused on the components of the in-service programme, which included direct instruction, classroom observation, training practice and self-evaluation. Data were collected from observations of the teacher trainers' participation in the project over a nine-month period. Additionally a sample of trainers kept diaries of their learning and were interviewed at regular intervals. The data collected were used to analyse which components the trainers perceived to make the greatest contribution to their learning.
21 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an exploratory study carried out during 2004/05 among members of the London Providers Mentoring Group (LPMG) was carried out to explore how the LPMG has worked towards a pedagogy of mentor education.
Abstract: This paper is based on findings from an exploratory study carried out during 2004/05 among members of the London Providers Mentoring Group. Qualitative data from nine teacher education partnerships working with a significant proportion of the schools in London was subjected to interpretative analysis. The paper explores how the London Providers Mentoring Group, a community of practice adopting an ‘inquiry as stance’ philosophy, has worked towards a pedagogy of mentor education. The paper outlines tensions the group has faced resulting from the changing nature of provision for initial teacher education in England. The main purpose here is to present an analysis of activities designed by mentor educators to enhance learning in mentors and to begin to describe a pedagogy of mentor education. Findings reveal that there are two main types of activities engaged in by London communities of mentoring practice, which are based on divergent principles. Both are necessary for successful mentor development and lead t...
18 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that critical practitioner inquiry (CPI) enables teachers and teacher educators to work towards making their students become conscious of where they are politically, socially, economically and structurally.
Abstract: This paper is an experience‐based reflection. Its aim is two‐fold. The first is to critique the technocratic model of developing teacher educators. The second is to speak in favour of the potential values of critical practitioner inquiry (CPI). I do this by presenting how I, together with a group of my colleagues, benefited from the project. Our experience shows that CPI emphasizes the possibility of transforming practitioners' personal, professional and social perspectives and encourages practitioners to sense and transform factors that perpetuate injustice and inequality in schools and wider society. The paper argues that CPI enables teachers and teacher educators to work towards making their students become conscious of where they are politically, socially, economically and structurally. However, CPI, like any other professional development project, cannot occur in a vacuum. The paper stresses that its transformative potential is constrained by various institutional and personal factors.
17 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the use of coaching as a means to enhance professional development of English-language teachers in a school involved in a partnership project in Hong Kong, which is characterised in terms of three phases.
Abstract: This paper describes the use of coaching as a means to enhance professional development of English‐language teachers in a school involved in a partnership project in Hong Kong, which is characterised in terms of three phases. While the rationale for bringing in coaches into the school is on creating effective professional development environments for teachers—that is, providing ongoing supports and forming a community of practice focused on instructional methods, curriculum innovation, and new formats for instructional delivery—after 18 months of the partnership project it was found that the teacher/coach relationship is more complicated than expected. The paper will end with suggestions on how the three key stakeholders, namely the teachers, principal and teacher educators, can co‐construct effective professional development environments.
16 citations
TL;DR: This paper explored factors affecting the progress of trainee teachers on the program, including prior work experience, expectations of the participants and levels of support provided by the schools, finding that those with prior classroom experience found the transition easier than those for whom this was a major career change, although schools often gave too much responsibility to those who had worked in schools before.
Abstract: In this article, experiences of beginning primary teachers on an English employment‐based route into teaching, called the Graduate Teacher Programme, are presented and evaluated. Factors affecting the progress of trainee teachers on the programme are explored, including prior work experience, expectations of the participants and levels of support provided by the schools. In general, those with prior classroom experience found the transition easier than those for whom this was a major career change, although schools often gave too much responsibility to those who had worked in schools before. Personal, informal support was regarded as vital in boosting trainees' often low self‐confidence, while formal support was valued more in retrospect. Contextual features such as the culture of the school made a significant difference to how the beginning teachers perceived their progress. Findings are analysed with reference to studies of the Graduate Teacher Programme, mature students and workplace learning.
TL;DR: In the United States, an estimated 30% of new teachers leave the profession within three years (Darling-Hammond, 2003), and one way to increase the retention rate is to train constituents inv...
Abstract: Currently in the United States, an estimated 30% of new teachers leave the profession within three years (Darling‐Hammond, 2003). One way to increase the retention rate is to train constituents inv...
TL;DR: This article investigated secondary school teachers' and students' conceptions of assessment and feedback and developed and implemented a tool that could provide them with greater insight into their student's conceptions of assessing and feedback, and documented their growing understanding of formative assessment through engagement in teacher research.
Abstract: Sponsored by the New Zealand Ministry of Education, the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative has sought to develop teachers’ research capability and to build knowledge about teaching and learning with the intention of improving outcomes for learners. Fortunate to receive a two‐year grant, our research collaboration investigated secondary school teachers’ and students’ conceptions of assessment and feedback. In addition to the ongoing collection and discussion of student achievement data, during the first year a key task for the teacher‐researchers was to develop and implement a tool that could provide them with greater insight into their students’ conceptions of assessment and feedback. This paper reports on how the teacher‐researchers were supported in a continuing manner to achieve this task, and documents their growing understanding of formative assessment through engagement in teacher research. While there was considerable learning for teachers, it is argued that teacher research, even when suppo...
TL;DR: A qualitative investigation into the e‐learning experiences of educational practitioners in England studying for accredited Continuing Professional Development identified opportunities for meta‐learning as central to teachers' successful adaptation to collaborative e‐ learning processes within such programmes.
Abstract: This article reports the findings of a qualitative investigation into the e‐learning experiences of educational practitioners in England studying for accredited Continuing Professional Development. The research was conducted with a cohort of participants studying on a mixed‐mode professional learning masters programme for teachers. It focused on the subjective and perceptual aspects of the e‐learners' experiences, and aimed to investigate how they can be gauged as part of an evaluation strategy which is built into course design. An innovative methodology was devised based on the collection of learner narratives which required a continuous process of meta‐level engagement with their experiences by the participants. Both novices and experienced e‐learners experienced unforeseen challenges in e‐learning activities related to professional development. The study identified opportunities for meta‐learning as central to the teachers' successful adaptation to collaborative e‐learning processes within such programmes.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse changes affecting the in-service training of adult literacy, numeracy and teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages in England, and argue that the present standards-led model does not and cannot take sufficient account of the diversity of learning contexts, and that simply immersing inservice trainees in existing practice does not prepare trainees for a changing role, to improve quality and to innovate.
Abstract: Drawing upon two research projects, this paper analyses changes affecting the in‐service training of adult literacy, numeracy and teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages in England. There are many issues raised in this paper, particularly how in‐service teacher education programmes in England can meet the diversity of learner need, how to give trainees support in the workplace in order to experience of a range of levels and learning contexts, and the balance to be found between subject and pedagogical knowledge. The analysis of this paper is that in England the growing regulation through national standards and specifications is leading to a standards‐led model of in‐service teacher education. It argues that present standards‐led model does not and cannot take sufficient account of the diversity of learning contexts, and that simply immersing in‐service trainees in existing practice does not prepare trainees for a changing role, to improve quality and to innovate. The paper concludes by discuss...
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study of an in-service teacher-training program for Greek philology teachers, from 2002 to 2003, which was designed to develop the use of information and communications technologies in their teaching, is presented.
Abstract: This paper reports on a case study of an in-service teacher-training programme for Greek philology teachers, from 2002 to 2003, which was designed to develop the use of information and communications technologies in their teaching. It draws on questionnaires and interviews with 34 teachers who took part in the training. In addition, the three trainers who led the sessions, 10 head teachers from the schools in which the teachers worked and three programme designers were also interviewed. A holistic picture of the programme was formed by comparing and contrasting the views of different "stakeholders" in the programme. It was found that the programme had some impact on developing teachers' information technology skills and knowledge of information and communications technologies as a curricular tool, but the programme had very limited impact on classroom practice. The reasons for this lack of impact included curriculum constraints, lack of time, lack of support and inadequate access to technology. The programme is discussed in the context of the structural difficulties in promoting change in highly centralised educational systems. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the existing teacher professional development programs in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan and identified related issues of qualitatively poor teacher education in the country, which resulted in deteriorating quality education.
Abstract: After the collapse of the USSR, Kyrgyzstan became an independent Central Asian state in 1991. Since its independence, there have been enormous changes in the political, social and economic life of the young state, which strives to become a democratic and aspiring market‐oriented economy. Its education system has also begun experiencing changes. However, most of the reforms brought in this area continue to be short‐term and ever‐changing. Economic hardship does not allow the continuation of the previously state‐funded teacher retraining system, which further creates deteriorating quality education in the schools. On one hand, the country continues to follow the Soviet in‐service teacher education system and procedures that became hard to accomplish. On the other hand, ‘lip service’ reforms continue to irritate teachers who are left in uncertainty and despair. This paper examines the existing continuing teacher professional development programs in post‐Soviet Kyrgyzstan and identifies related issues of qual...
TL;DR: In this paper, survey results discussed in this research brief are part of the first part of a survey about the shift from a humanistic to a pedagogical viewpoint in induction practices.
Abstract: Educators in New Zealand (NZ) stand poised to shift from a humanistic to a pedagogical viewpoint in their induction practices. Survey results discussed in this research brief are part of the first ...
TL;DR: In this article, a study was conducted to increase knowledge about, and describe how, participants consider their own learning process and development during in-service education, and to consider how they attempt to implement their new knowledge in pre-school after completing the training programme.
Abstract: The aim of this study is to increase knowledge about, and describe how, participants consider their own learning process and development during in‐service education, and to consider how they attempt to implement their new knowledge in pre‐school after completing the training programme. The sample consists of nine newly qualified pre‐school teachers who participated in interviews twice. The first interview was conducted directly after completing their studies, and the second interview was conducted one year later, when the pre‐school teachers once again were active in pre‐schools. The findings indicate that pre‐school teachers perceive that they have gained strength in their profession. The theoretical bases including developmental pedagogy and a changed view of the child have been crucial for the implementation process. This kind of in‐service education is significant in increasing pre‐school quality.
TL;DR: In this article, a case study into reciprocal learning in tutor groups in a research-based master's program, run jointly by Roehampton University, London, UK and Fontys OSO, The Netherlands, was conducted.
Abstract: This article reports findings from a case study into reciprocal learning in tutor groups in a research‐based master's programme, run jointly by Roehampton University, London, UK and Fontys OSO, The Netherlands. The research was designed to investigate to what extent, and how, forms of reciprocal learning arose in tutor groups for experienced professionals in special and inclusive education without reciprocal learning being an explicit aim of the course. From the first‐year cohort, two units of analysis were chosen—each consisting of three students and their tutor. Triangulation was used in the form of a combination of data‐gathering methods and sources and there was a member check with the whole cohort. The results show that students and tutors had clear expectations of their learning process and that those expectations strongly influenced that process. The students, in particular, expected they would learn a lot from each other, and they did learn more than the tutors. These findings indicate that it wou...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report on the work of 55 police officers who work full-time with pupils aged 5-16 to promote aspects of the Personal and Social Education curriculum in Wales, and argue that the concept of situated practice provides an explanatory tool for understanding how officers have made the transition from "presen...
Abstract: The use of portfolios in the professional development of teachers and other professionals working in education has become widespread in the United Kingdom. There is an assumption that such an approach to assessment for graduate award‐bearing programmes will support the learning and development of teaching professionals and allow them to demonstrate the critical reflection and critical thinking required for accreditation. This study reports on the work of 55 police officers who work full‐time with pupils aged 5–16 to promote aspects of the Personal and Social Education curriculum in Wales. Portfolios submitted for assessment for a Graduate Diploma have been analysed for evidence of critical reflection and thinking, and factors that enabled such reflection and thinking to take place are identified. Drawing on our research diaries and qualitative questionnaire data, we argue that the concept of situated practice provides an explanatory tool for understanding how officers have made the transition from ‘presen...
TL;DR: The authors argue that most variants of professional development in information and communications technologies are merely "in-between" processes, the design of which does not pay sufficient attention to important antecedent and post-engagement activities.
Abstract: This article argues that most variants of professional development in information and communications technologies are merely ‘in‐between’ processes, the design of which does not pay sufficient attention to important antecedent and post‐engagement activities These we identify as preparing the ground before the main engagement with the teachers begins, and enabling teachers to make and sustain their own progress after it is complete Using two empirical case studies, this article sets out to explore, from a primarily UK perspective, the two‐fold process of ‘striking the chord’ of teachers' interest and commitment as precursors to change, and pursuing sustainability once the face‐to‐face role of conventional professional development has ended Men must be taught as if you taught them not, And things unknown proposed as things forgot (Pope, An Essay on Criticism, 1711)
TL;DR: In this article, a group of thirteen teachers, each accompanied by a small group of their students, attended a mathematics masterclass at their local university led by a professor of mathematics education.
Abstract: This article provides an exploration and evaluation of teachers’ experiences of participating in a Postgraduate Professional Development opportunity where they learnt alongside their students, thus allowing teacher expertise to grow within a complex web of distributed knowing and collaborative learning. A group of thirteen teachers, each accompanied by a small group of their students, attended a mathematics masterclass at their local university led by a professor of mathematics education. Both students and teachers were supported in working as mathematicians together, but were debriefed separately. The students reflected together on what they had learned about how mathematicians see the world, whilst the teachers critically reflected on how the expert mathematician supported the learning of novices, comparing this to learning in their classrooms and devising implications for their future practice. The teachers’ views of this process were recorded in an ongoing reflective journal, as were their contributio...
TL;DR: In India, the best students were those who silently and without disturbing listened to the sermons given by the lecturer, and the best lecturers were those teachers who could make their students sit and listen throughout the session as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In India, like in most other countries in the East, lecturing used to be the predominant method of classroom instruction. This practice was rooted in the cultural values that posit a teacher as one who is venerable, flawless and unquestionable (Basu, 1944). According to this scheme of things, the best students were those who silently and without disturbing listened to the sermons given by the lecturer, and the best lecturers were those who could make their students sit and listen throughout the session. Asking a question of the lecturer was felt to be a discourteous act and interactive teaching remained something restricted to a few elite institutions. When students construct knowledge from active participation in a course, real learning and critical thinking occurs—but this is a relatively new idea in Indian educational philosophy and practice (Jangira, 1995). However, since the late 1990s, thanks to the many empirical studies that have established beyond doubt the overarching merits of participatory learning coupled with the compulsions of a globalizing educational environment, there has been a significant shift away from the conventional lecturing style to the more interactive learning styles (Chand, 2004). This change has also had ramifications for in-service teacher training programs. In the new educational context in India, two of the supposedly vital values that are intended to be imparted to teacher-participants through in-service teacher training programs are ‘student-centred learning’ and ‘teacher-as-facilitator’ (Castle et al.,
TL;DR: In this article, the issues associated with the emergence of a framework of teacher standards and how some primary teachers engaged in professional development and learning in information and communications technologies relate to the aims and objectives of this framework in the context of their own and their students' needs are considered.
Abstract: Teacher professional learning and development has recently come to the fore in Scotland as the government and bodies representing teachers view professional development and learning as important ingredients in the renewal of the profession in the context of the post‐McCrone Report arrangements for teacher conditions of service and remuneration. This paper considers the issues associated with the emergence of a framework of teacher standards and how some primary teachers engaged in professional development and learning in information and communications technologies relate to the aims and objectives of this framework in the context of their own and their students' needs.
TL;DR: This paper found that novice teachers often feel insecure about their chosen profession and this influences their perspectives on teaching and their whether they wish (or not) to continue in the field, which can affect their perceptions on teaching.
Abstract: Changing from being a student to being a professional teacher means considerable adjustment. Novice teachers face unpredictable situations, particularly as they are likely to be regularly judged and evaluated. Lack of knowledge and tools to handle the complexity of teachers’ work mean that new teachers often feel insecure about their chosen profession. This influences their perspectives on teaching and their whether they wish (or not) to continue in the field.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present an Australian case study of the experiences of curriculum workers involved in professional development for primary school teachers in the New Social Studies and their perceptions of the curricular and pedagogical challenges facing those teachers.
Abstract: This article presents an Australian case study of the experiences of curriculum workers involved in professional development for primary school teachers in the New Social Studies and their perceptions of the curricular and pedagogical challenges facing those teachers in the 1970s and 1980s. It draws on data gathered primarily through ‘oral histories’ of curriculum workers and corroborated by analyses of documentary evidence (syllabuses, correspondence and reports) archived by the state educational authority in Queensland, Australia. In their oral histories, curriculum workers identify and reflect upon two distinct and contrasting eras of professional development for teachers, with both eras being characterized by inherent, systemic weaknesses. It is argued that state‐wide efforts failed to provide a sustained commitment to professional development for teachers, which ultimately proved to be counter‐productive to the implementation of the New Social Studies.