In-service Training as a Factor in the Formation of the Teacher’s Individual Theory of Education

Dimitris P Sakkoulis,Anna Asimaki,Dimitris K Vergidis

doi:10.5539/ies.v11n3p48

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is the investigation of the prevailing forms of in-service training, the detection of the dominant pedagogical discourse they promote as well as their contribution to the shaping of the teacher’s individual theory of education (I.T.E.). The research was conducted using semi-structured interviews with a sample of 11 teachers who work in schools in Patras and the data were analysed using B. Bernstein’s theoretical framework. The results of the research revealed that in our case, the predominant form of in-service training is the lecture, while the scientific knowledge provided refers to the content and teaching of cognitive subjects, the diagnosis and handling of learning difficulties and the acquisition of skills in the use of teaching aids. It also became clear that the I.T.E. of the teachers who participated in the research is chiefly shaped by elements of the professional biography of each teacher, in which in-service training does not seem to hold a dominant position.

Highlights

In-service training, integrated within the framework of lifelong learning and the professional development of teachers, includes educational activities in which teachers participate – after completion of their initial studies – which do not lead to a recognized study title
The aim of this paper, once we have examined the prevailing forms of in-service training of primary school teachers in the greek educational field, and highlighted the content of the recontextualised pedagogical discourse that these promote, is to examine the contribution of the in-service training of teachers to the formation of an individual theory of education
The questions that concerned us in the present research were: a) What forms does the in-service training of primary school teachers take and what are the contents of the official pedagogical discourse that they promote?

Summary

Introduction

In-service training, integrated within the framework of lifelong learning and the professional development of teachers, includes educational activities in which teachers participate – after completion of their initial studies – which do not lead to a recognized study title. What’s more, as an element of the teachers’ personal and professional development, it is a primary factor in the qualitative improvement of education In this way, it can make up for the shortcomings in the teachers’ initial training or their potential decayed skills in the case where there is a long waiting period before they can enter the teaching profession – and reorganize the empirical knowledge they have accumulated during the exercise of their profession (Vergidis, 1991; Sakkoulis et al, 2017b). The practices applied and the approaches that are followed within the field of in-service training, contain views on education and the teacher and echo beliefs on the type of learning that is preferred, and on the professional role and work of the teachers (Katsarou & Dedouli, 2008)

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Methods

Conclusion