Teacher Agency in Curriculum Making: Agents of Change and Spaces for Manoeuvre
01 Mar 2012-Curriculum Inquiry (Wiley-Blackwell / Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto)-Vol. 42, Iss: 2, pp 191-214
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the extent to which teachers are able to achieve agency varies from context to context based upon certain environmental conditions of possibility and constraint, and that an important factor in this lies in the beliefs, values and attributes that teachers mobilise in relation to particular sit
Abstract: In the wake of new forms of curricular policy in many parts of the world, teachers are increasingly required to act as agents of change And yet, teacher agency is under‐theorised and often misconstrued in the educational change literature, wherein agency and change are seen as synonymous and positive This article addresses the issue of teacher agency in the context of an empirical study of curriculum making in schooling Drawing upon the existing literature, we outline an ecological view of agency These insights frame the analysis of a set of empirical data, derived from a research project about curriculum making in a school and further education college in Scotland Based upon the evidence, we argue that the extent to which teachers are able to achieve agency varies from context to context based upon certain environmental conditions of possibility and constraint, and that an important factor in this lies in the beliefs, values and attributes that teachers mobilise in relation to particular sit
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01 Nov 2012
TL;DR: Mundella's report on the progress of elementary education was received on Monday cannot but be gratifying to all who have at heart the highest welfare of the country as discussed by the authors. But it should be remembered that this is the result of many generations of universal education, and that in Scotland it has long been considered as great a disgrace to be uneducated as in England it is considered to be immoral.
Abstract: THE chorus of approval with which Mr. Mundella's report on the progress of elementary education was received on Monday cannot but be gratifying to all who have at heart the highest welfare of the country. With one or two unimportant exceptions—members whose vision is so bizarre as to discern communism in the education of the children of the working classes, and who connect the increase of weeds with the spread of education'what criticism there was referred to details of method. All the members whose opinions are of any weight agreed that vast good had resulted to the country by the working of the Code. As to the special subjects, among which science is included, the weight of opinion was decidedly in favour of their retention. The greatest friends of the Fourth Schedule will admit that there is still much room for improvement in the teaching of these subjects; it cannot be expected that so great a novelty in the system of elementary education in the country can all at once be taught to perfection. About the success of the compulsory system of education it may be said that the House was all but unanimous. The analogy between the treatment of paupers and the free education of the children of the working classes will not hold water. In the one case we are simply keeping from starvation people whose improvidence or misfortune have made them a dead burden on their fellows; in the other case we are feeding the minds of those who one day will have to bear the brunt of the work of the nation; The better these future workers are educated, the more intelligently and the more effectively are they likely to do their work, and the less likely are they to become inmates of our workhouses and prisons. As Serjeant Simon testified, even already is there a marked decrease of embryo criminals in our streets. The conclusion come to by Mr. Mimdella and those who,like him, have the interests of education at heart, is not that we have gone too far, but that we have not gone far enough; not that we have reached finality, but that we have only made a good beginning. The figures he adduced to prove the success of the existing Education Act were practically admitted to be irrefutable; and we only trust the progress in the next ten years will be at an equal ratio to that achieved during the past decade. “Many of us,” he truly said, “would pass away without seeing the full effect of the work we are doing.” As to the propriety of encouraging the retention of exceptionally clever boys in elementary schools beyond the regulation age, the figures showed that it would be cruel and unjust to forbid this. Until we have a State system of secondary education in England similar to that about to be sanctioned in Scotland, until air equally decisive step is taken with regard to educational endowments in the one country as in the other, the nation would be doing a gross injustice to force exceptionally clever boys to leave school just when their intellects were beginning to shoot into full vigour. Mr. Mundella showed by his figures that Scotland is still ahead of England in the matter of education; that extra or special subjects are more widely sought after and with greater success, and that a larger percentage of children in elementary schools proceed to secondary education. But it should be remembered that this is the result of many generations of universal education, and that in Scotland it has long been considered as great a disgrace to be uneducated as in England it is considered to be immoral. There among the great majority of the working classes compulsory education was scarcely needed, and this will no doubt be the case in England in the course of a century or so, when education will have become as great a necessity as decent clothing. Again during the debate was it shown by those who have the best means of knowing that where science is properly taught there the children are as a rule more intelligent and bright, and better up in the ordinary subjects than in schools where science is neglected. Sir John Lubbock gave a remarkable instance of the favour with which properly conducted science-teaching is received by the children themselves:—
701 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a two-year study into teacher agency against the backdrop of large-scale educational reform is presented, focusing on teachers' beliefs in order to understand the dynamics of teacher agency and factors that contribute to its promotion and enhancement.
Abstract: There is an ongoing tension within educational policy worldwide between countries that seek to reduce the opportunities for teachers to exert judgement and control over their own work, and those who seek to promote it. Some see teacher agency as a weakness within the operation of schools and seek to replace it with evidence-based and data-driven approaches, whereas others argue that because of the complexities of situated educational practices, teacher agency is an indispensable element of good and meaningful education. While the ideological debate about the shape and form of teacher professionalism is important, it is equally important to understand the dynamics of teacher agency and the factors that contribute to its promotion and enhancement. In this paper, we draw from a two-year study into teacher agency against the backdrop of large-scale educational reform – the implementation of Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence – in order to explore these questions. We focus on teachers’ beliefs in order to ge...
639 citations
Cites background from "Teacher Agency in Curriculum Making..."
...See Priestley et al. (2012) for further discussion of the mechanisms (or lack of) for sense-making to occur in schools....
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TL;DR: The Invisibility of Departments Historical Background - From Realm to Realms The Departmental Plan The New Organisation of the High School Subject Divisions Specialist Divisions The Study Context and Design of the Study The Schools Oak Valley High School Rancho High School Highlander High School Boundaries and Barriers Boundary Strengths Breaking Barriers at Rancho Drawing Boundaries - Communication Cliques Social Worlds Looking for Community The Individuals Involved Departments as Social Worlds Different Kinds of Community Power and Politics Norms of Silence and Political Language Privileged Position of Academic Subjects Relative Privilege Among Academic S
Abstract: The Invisibility of Departments Historical Background - From Realm to Realms The Departmental Plan The New Organisation of the High School Subject Divisions Specialist Divisions The Study Context and Design of the Study The Schools Oak Valley High School Rancho High School Highlander High School Boundaries and Barriers Boundary Strengths Breaking Barriers at Rancho Drawing Boundaries - Communication Cliques Social Worlds Looking for Community The Individuals Involved Departments as Social Worlds Different Kinds of Community Power and Politics Norms of Silence and Political Language Privileged Position of Academic Subjects Relative Privilege Among Academic Subejcts Micro-politics Inside Departments How the Subject Matters Subject Cultures Subject Differences Social Studies English Math Science Underlining Differences Departmental Differences implications for Policy.
427 citations
26 Jun 2015
TL;DR: Biesta and Robinson as discussed by the authors propose an alternative view of teacher agency, developing an ecological conceptualisation of agency that emphasises the importance of both agentic capacity and agentic spaces in shaping agency, and moreover views the achievement of agency as a temporal process.
Abstract: In this chapter, Mark Biesta and Gert Robinson outline the conception of agency, developing a conceptual model for teacher agency that emphasises the temporal and relational dimension of the achievement of agency. The authors illustrate how a detailed understanding of teacher agency and the conditions under which it is achieved offer considerable potential in enabling teachers to engage with curricular policy in more meaningful ways. They offer an alternative view of teacher agency, developing an ecological conceptualisation of agency that emphasises the importance of both agentic capacity and agentic spaces in shaping agency, and moreover views the achievement of agency as a temporal process. Professional experience out with education is another significant and interesting pointer to the sorts of agency achieved by teachers. The practical-evaluative dimension forms a major influence on agency, powerfully shaping decision making and action, both offering possibilities for agency and inhibiting it.
388 citations
Cites background from "Teacher Agency in Curriculum Making..."
...For instance, recent research (Priestley et al., 2012) suggests that teachers with significant experience of working in other professions might have a wider repertoire for manoeuvre when faced with the challenges and ambiguities of the teacher’s day to day work....
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that teaching and teachers have recently become the centre of attention of policy makers and researchers, and that the question that is either not asked or is only answered implicitly is why teaching matters.
Abstract: Teaching and teachers have recently become the centre of attention of policy makers and researchers. The general idea here is that teaching matters. Yet the question that is either not asked or is only answered implicitly is why teaching matters. In this article I engage with this question in the context of a wider discussion about the role, status and significance of the question of purpose in education. I suggest that this is the most fundamental question in all educational endeavours. It is a normative question which poses itself as a multi-dimensional question, since education always functions in relation to three domains of purpose: qualification, socialisation and subjectification. Against this background I analyse the specific nature of teacher judgement in education and show how the space for teacher judgement is being threatened by recent developments in educational policy and practice that concern the status of the student, the impact of accountability and the role of evidence. I indicate how, where and why these are problematic and what this implies for regaining a space for teachers’ professional judgement.
383 citations
Cites background from "Teacher Agency in Curriculum Making..."
...The fact that this ‘factor’ is a human being and, more importantly an educational professional who should have scope for judgement and discretion is all too often forgotten (Ball, 2003; Cowie, Taylor & Croxford, 2007; Keddie, Mills, & Pendergast, 2011; Wilkins, 2011; Priestley et al., 2012)....
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...This is, of course, a complex area about which much has been written (Gleeson & Gunter, 2001; Gewirtz, 2002; Leander & Osborne, 2008; Priestley et al., 2012; Leat, 2014; Pyhältö, Pietarinen, & Soini 2014)....
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References
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01 Jan 1980
TL;DR: Bourdieu as mentioned in this paper develops a theory of practice which is simultaneously a critique of the methods and postures of social science and a general account of how human action should be understood.
Abstract: Outline of a Theory of Practice is recognized as a major theoretical text on the foundations of anthropology and sociology. Pierre Bourdieu, a distinguished French anthropologist, develops a theory of practice which is simultaneously a critique of the methods and postures of social science and a general account of how human action should be understood. With his central concept of the habitus, the principle which negotiates between objective structures and practices, Bourdieu is able to transcend the dichotomies which have shaped theoretical thinking about the social world. The author draws on his fieldwork in Kabylia (Algeria) to illustrate his theoretical propositions. With detailed study of matrimonial strategies and the role of rite and myth, he analyses the dialectical process of the 'incorporation of structures' and the objectification of habitus, whereby social formations tend to reproduce themselves. A rigorous consistent materialist approach lays the foundations for a theory of symbolic capital and, through analysis of the different modes of domination, a theory of symbolic power.
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TL;DR: Giddens as mentioned in this paper has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade and outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form.
Abstract: Anthony Giddens has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade. In "The Constitution of Society" he outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form. A particular feature is Giddens' concern to connect abstract problems of theory to an interpretation of the nature of empirical method in the social sciences. In presenting his own ideas, Giddens mounts a critical attack on some of the more orthodox sociological views. "The Constitution of Society" is an invaluable reference book for all those concerned with the basic issues in contemporary social theory.
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TL;DR: Giddens as discussed by the authors has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade and outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form.
Abstract: Anthony Giddens has been in the forefront of developments in social theory for the past decade. In "The Constitution of Society" he outlines the distinctive position he has evolved during that period and offers a full statement of a major new perspective in social thought, a synthesis and elaboration of ideas touched on in previous works but described here for the first time in an integrated and comprehensive form. A particular feature is Giddens' concern to connect abstract problems of theory to an interpretation of the nature of empirical method in the social sciences. In presenting his own ideas, Giddens mounts a critical attack on some of the more orthodox sociological views. "The Constitution of Society" is an invaluable reference book for all those concerned with the basic issues in contemporary social theory.
13,552 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1972TL;DR: Pierre Bourdieu develops a theory of practice which is simultaneously a critique of the methods and postures of social science and a general account of how human action should be understood, able to transcend the dichotomies which have shaped theoretical thinking about the social world.
Abstract: Outline of a Theory of Practice is recognized as a major theoretical text on the foundations of anthropology and sociology. Pierre Bourdieu, a distinguished French anthropologist, develops a theory of practice which is simultaneously a critique of the methods and postures of social science and a general account of how human action should be understood. With his central concept of the habitus, the principle which negotiates between objective structures and practices, Bourdieu is able to transcend the dichotomies which have shaped theoretical thinking about the social world. The author draws on his fieldwork in Kabylia (Algeria) to illustrate his theoretical propositions. With detailed study of matrimonial strategies and the role of rite and myth, he analyses the dialectical process of the 'incorporation of structures' and the objectification of habitus, whereby social formations tend to reproduce themselves. A rigorous consistent materialist approach lays the foundations for a theory of symbolic capital and, through analysis of the different modes of domination, a theory of symbolic power.
6,423 citations