Teacher agency in professional learning communities

doi:10.1080/19415257.2019.1689523

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Teacher agency in professional learning communities

Journal Article•DOI•

Teacher agency in professional learning communities

Karin Brodie¹•Institutions (1)

University of the Witwatersrand¹

08 Aug 2021-Professional Development in Education (Informa UK Limited)-Vol. 47, Iss: 4, pp 560-573

TL;DR: The authors investigates how teachers' professional agency afforded and constrained their decisions to participate in or withdraw from professional learning communities (PLCs), while PLCs are often "often hostile" to teachers.

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Abstract: This paper investigates how teachers’ professional agency afforded and constrained their decisions to participate in or withdraw from professional learning communities (PLCs). While PLCs are often ...

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Book•

Language Teacher Agency

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Jian Tao¹, Xuesong Gao²•Institutions (2)

Shanghai University of Finance and Economics¹, University of New South Wales²

31 Oct 2021

TL;DR: In this article, a multilayered model based on an illustrative study is proposed to facilitate the professional development of language teachers, and a call for a trans-perspective on understanding language teacher agency is made.

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Abstract: This Element aims to elucidate the concept of language teacher agency by exploring the ‘what’ question, offering major conceptualisations of agency and explaining how they shape the way we approach teacher agency. The authors then continue with the ‘why’ question, and elaborate on the reasons language teacher agency matters, based on a discussion of the varied purposes of teacher agency at multiple levels. They also acknowledge that teacher agency does not operate alone, and examine how it intersects with such concepts as teacher identity, emotion, belief, and knowledge. Based on this, they identify ways to promote teacher agency through making changes to contexts and/or actors. They then introduce the concept of collective agency and propose a multilayered model based on an illustrative study. The Element ends with a call for a trans-perspective on understanding language teacher agency so as to facilitate the professional development of language teachers.

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38 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

A Typology of Professional Learning Communities (PLC) for Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case study of Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, and Nigeria

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Fernanda Soares¹, Kirsten Galisson², Mindel van de Laar³•Institutions (3)

Maastricht Graduate School of Governance¹, FHI 360², Maastricht University³

03 Nov 2020

TL;DR: In this paper, a typology of professional learning communities (PLCs) in Sub-Saharan Africa is presented, with a focus on the cases of Equatorial Guinea, Ghana and Nigeria.

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Abstract: In the bid to improve teaching quality and promote an approach to teacher development that is grounded in the context in which teachers are inserted, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have become a popular alternative model of teacher professional development in many countries. PLCs, however, have been more widely studied in high-resource contexts. In a recognition that existing conceptualizations from the Western literature may not reflect how PLCs are functioning in developing countries, this research aims to inductively create a typology of PLCs that incorporates elements that might be specific to these countries, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa in general and based on the cases of Equatorial Guinea, Ghana and Nigeria in particular. This study employs a multimethod approach, encompassing document analysis, semi-structured interviews with PLC experts and expert validation. The resulting typology categorizes PLCs into three models - autonomous, structured and scripted. This typology of PLCs is further integrated with dimensions previously proposed by the Western literature to form one cohesive conceptual framework. By acknowledging PLC variability, we are able to incorporate into a framework modes of PLC operation that are specific to our case countries, and possibly to Sub-Saharan African and low- and middle-income countries more generally.

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8 citations

Cites background from "Teacher agency in professional lear..."

...While recent research on PLCs in particular in South Africa is growing (Brodie, 2019; Feldman, 2020; Ndlovu, 2018, Mhakure, 2019) mainly contributions remain theoretical in nature, and largely absent for the...
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...Similarly, Brodie (2019) stresses the importance of having agency in choice to stay or leave the PLCs for mathematics teachers in South Africa....
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...Recent studies on South-Africa include a study on teacher collaboration by Abrahams (1997); teacher agency by Brodie (2019), professional learning in private higher education in South Africa (Conje and Blitzer, 2019), and pre-teacher professional learning experiences during rural teacher practice…...
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...While recent research on PLCs in particular in South Africa is growing (Brodie, 2019; Feldman, 2020; Ndlovu, 2018, Mhakure, 2019) mainly contributions remain theoretical in nature, and largely absent for the rest of Africa....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Exploring school leaders’ dilemmas in response to tensions related to teacher professional agency

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Monika Louws¹, Rosanne Zwart, I. Zuiker¹, Paulien C. Meijer², Helma Oolbekkink-Marchand³, Harmen Schaap², Anna C. van der Want³ - Show less +3 more•Institutions (3)

Utrecht University¹, Radboud University Nijmegen², HAN University of Applied Sciences³

02 Jul 2020-Professional Development in Education

TL;DR: This paper explored a school leaders' perspective on teacher professional agency and found that teachers may feel hindered in their professional agency when they try to negotiate their "space" with school leaders and administrators.

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Abstract: This study explores a school leaders’ perspective on teacher professional agency Tensions may arise when teachers feel hindered in their professional agency and try to negotiate their ‘space’ with

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7 citations

Cites background from "Teacher agency in professional lear..."

...Until now, most research has focused on teachers’ perspectives on enacting professional agency (Priestley et al. 2015, Brodie 2019); however, the complex interplay between teachers and their school leaders in designing teachers’ professional space requires a focus on the perspective of school…...
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Journal Article•DOI•

An Analysis of Personal Learning Environments and Age-Related Psychosocial Factors of Unaccompanied Foreign Minors.

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María Tomé-Fernández¹, Marina García-Garnica¹, Asunción Martínez-Martínez¹, Eva María Olmedo-Moreno¹•Institutions (1)

University of Granada¹

24 May 2020-International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

TL;DR: Results show that the use of applications and social networks have a significant and favourable impact on personal learning environment construction as a function of age-related psychosocial factors as they pertain to unaccompanied foreign minors.

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Abstract: Spain is one of the countries with the greatest influx of immigrants and, specifically, of unaccompanied foreign minors (UFMs). The educational and social inclusion of unaccompanied foreign minors poses both a challenge and a threat to current policy. Nonetheless, studies linking educational aspects to the phenomenon of the integration of these children are scarce and do not specify the most influential educational tools and strategies. In this sense, a descriptive, quantitative and cross-sectional research study is presented. The aim of this study is to examine whether variables such as age and the use of applications and social networks determine the personal learning environments (PLE) of unaccompanied foreign minors. The sample of the present study was formed by 624 individuals (♂ = 92.1% (n = 575); ♀ = 7.9% (n = 49)) aged between 8 and 17 years old. The majority came from Morocco and resided in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. The “PLE and Social Integration of UFMs” questionnaire was used as the study instrument. Amongst the main findings, significant differences are highlighted in the personal learning environments as a function of age-related psychosocial factors as they pertain to unaccompanied foreign minors. Four factors were seen to exist in relation to the personal learning environments of unaccompanied foreign minors: self-concept of the learning process, planning and management of learning, use of resources and tools, and communication and social interaction. The same trend was observed in the four factors, with older age groups reporting better scores. On the other hand, results show that the use of applications and social networks have a significant and favourable impact on personal learning environment construction.

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7 citations

Cites background from "Teacher agency in professional lear..."

...This is seen to take place through interaction with the setting in which learning communities are denominated [72,73]....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Use of Mobile Technologies in Personal Learning Environments of Intercultural Contexts: Individual and Group Tasks

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María Tomé-Fernández, Elvira Curiel-Marín, Elisabet Caraballo

25 May 2020-Electronics

TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the results of the analysis of the personal learning environments (PLE) used individually and in groups by fifth grade primary education students, with a content validity index of 0.89.

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Abstract: This paper presents the results of the analysis of the personal learning environments (PLE) used individually and in groups by fifth grade primary education students. The main objective was to determine if the use of mobile technologies in the students’ PLEs encouraged their school integration and learning in intercultural communities. For this, a content analysis of the students’ responses to an ad hoc interview was carried out, with a content validity index of 0.89. The students represented their answers using 41 concept maps in the individual tasks and 5 in the group tasks, which were analyzed with the Nvivo software in its latest version. The results show the categorization of the students’ responses in three dimensions: read, make/reflection and relationship. Among the main conclusions, it was obtained that, in both types of tasks, the strategies and tools that fostered intercultural relationships, intercultural education and communication between the students, and therefore school integration, are mostly linked to the use of mobile technologies applications, such as Wikipedia, the internet, Word, PowerPoint, social networks and YouTube, although it is essential to develop more studies to have more data to understand the phenomenon in depth.

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7 citations

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References

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Book•

Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity

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Etienne Wenger

01 Jan 1998

TL;DR: Identity in practice, modes of belonging, participation and non-participation, and learning communities: a guide to understanding identity in practice.

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Abstract: This book presents a theory of learning that starts with the assumption that engagement in social practice is the fundamental process by which we get to know what we know and by which we become who we are. The primary unit of analysis of this process is neither the individual nor social institutions, but the informal 'communities of practice' that people form as they pursue shared enterprises over time. To give a social account of learning, the theory explores in a systematic way the intersection of issues of community, social practice, meaning, and identity. The result is a broad framework for thinking about learning as a process of social participation. This ambitious but thoroughly accessible framework has relevance for the practitioner as well as the theoretician, presented with all the breadth, depth, and rigor necessary to address such a complex and yet profoundly human topic.

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30,397 citations

"Teacher agency in professional lear..." refers background in this paper

...PLCs can be seen as a special case of communities of practice (Wenger 1998), where members engage in professional learning (author ref, 2016), which entails: becoming competent in and confident with the knowledge base of the profession; using the knowledge base to make and justify decisions; and developing professional agency and identities (Darling-Hammond and Sykes 1999)....
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...PLCs can be seen as a special case of communities of practice (Wenger 1998), where members engage in professional learning (author ref, 2016), which entails: becoming competent in and confident with the knowledge base of the profession; using the knowledge base to make and justify decisions; and…...
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Journal Article•DOI•

Professional Development and Teacher Learning: Mapping the Terrain

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Hilda Borko¹•Institutions (1)

University of Colorado Boulder¹

01 Nov 2004-Educational Researcher

TL;DR: Teacher professional development is essential to efforts to improve our schools and as discussed by the authors provides an overview of what we have learned as a field, about effective professional development programs and their impact on teacher learning and suggests some important directions and strategies for extending our knowledge into new territory of questions not yet explored.

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Abstract: Teacher professional development is essential to efforts to improve our schools. This article maps the terrain of research on this important topic. It first provides an overview of what we have learned as a field, about effective professional development programs and their impact on teacher learning. It then suggests some important directions and strategies for extending our knowledge into new territory of questions not yet explored.

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3,861 citations

"Teacher agency in professional lear..." refers background in this paper

...PLCs can create spaces for ongoing, sustained professional development (Vangrieken et al. 2017), different from the often fragmented professional development programmes that many teachers are exposed to (Borko 2004, Cobb et al. 2018)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning

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Vicki Vescio¹, Dorene D. Ross¹, Alyson Adams¹•Institutions (1)

University of Florida¹

01 Jan 2008-Teaching and Teacher Education

TL;DR: In this paper, a review of 10 American studies and one English study on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practices and student learning is presented, and the collective results of these studies suggest that well-developed PLCs have positive impact on both teaching practice and student achievement.

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1,940 citations

"Teacher agency in professional lear..." refers background in this paper

...A review of the literature, including two systematic literature reviews, converges on five key characteristics of successful PLCs: focus, long-term inquiry, collaboration, leadership support and trust (Vescio et al. 2008, Stoll and Louis 2008a, Katz et al. 2009, Vangrieken et al. 2017)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Professional Learning Communities: A Review of the Literature

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Louise Stoll¹, R Bolam¹, Agnes McMahon¹, Mike Wallace¹, Sally M Thomas¹ - Show less +1 more•Institutions (1)

University of London¹

06 Nov 2006-Journal of Educational Change

TL;DR: The capacity is a complex blend of motivation, skill, positive learning, organizational conditions and culture, and infrastructure of support as mentioned in this paper, which gives individuals, groups, whole school communities and school systems the power to get involved in and sustain learning over time.

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Abstract: International evidence suggests that educational reform’s progress depends on teachers’ individual and collective capacity and its link with schoolwide capacity for promoting pupils’ learning. Building capacity is therefore critical. Capacity is a complex blend of motivation, skill, positive learning, organisational conditions and culture, and infrastructure of support. Put together, it gives individuals, groups, whole school communities and school systems the power to get involved in and sustain learning over time. Developing professional learning communities appears to hold considerable promise for capacity building for sustainable improvement. As such, it has become a ‘hot topic’ in many countries.

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1,897 citations

"Teacher agency in professional lear..." refers background in this paper

...Collaboration is important not only because teachers learn through collaborating but because a key aim of PLCs is to produce collectively generated shifts in practice (Stoll et al. 2006, Hairon et al. 2017)....
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...PLCs are groups of teachers who come together to engage in regular, systematic and sustained cycles of inquiry-based learning, with the intention to develop their individual and collective capacity for teaching to improve student outcomes (Stoll et al. 2006, Katz et al. 2009, Hairon et al. 2017)....
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...Leadership support includes providing space and time for the communities to function, and other resources where necessary (Stoll et al. 2006, Katz et al. 2009, Stephan et al. 2012)....
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...While the central idea of PLCs is ongoing, sustained inquiry, integrated into the life of the school (Stoll et al. 2006), and since time is a scarce resource for teachers, particularly those who teach large classes and have big workloads, prioritising their own learning may not be easy for many…...
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...Ongoing enquiry also integrates the work of the communities into the life of the school, with discussions continuing in various school spaces, and feeding back into the PLC conversations (Stoll et al. 2006)....
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Journal Article•

The persistence of privacy: autonomy and initiative in teachers professional relationships.

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Judith Warren Little

01 Jan 1990-Teachers College Record

TL;DR: This paper examined formas destacadas de colegialidad and analiza sus perspectivas de alterar las condiciones fundamentales de privacidad in la ensenanza.

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Abstract: La ensenanza ha perdurado en gran medida como un conjunto de individuos emprendedores cuya autonomia se basa en normas de privacidad y no interferencia y se sustenta en la organizacion misma del trabajo docente. Este articulo examina formas destacadas de colegialidad y analiza sus perspectivas de alterar las condiciones fundamentales de privacidad en la ensenanza.

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1,628 citations

"Teacher agency in professional lear..." refers background in this paper

...In addition, there is a long-established and widespread culture of privatised practice in schools, which is not conducive to professional collaboration and learning (Little 1990, Lomos et al. 2011)....
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