Abstract
Numerous studies show positive effects of students’ malleable implicit theories of their abilities on their self-regulated learning and learning achievements (Yeager and Dweck, 2012;Burnette et al., 2013), especially when domain-specific implicit theories are assessed (Costa and Faria, 2018). Thinking of school improvement as a collective learning process for the teaching staff, it is reasonable to assume that this relationship also exists on the teacher level. Hence, this study aims to provide answers to the following overarching question: What role do teachers’ implicit theories of professional abilities play for school improvement? In a first step, a measurement instrument was developed to assess teachers’ implicit theories of professional abilities in the domain of school improvement. In a second step, we explored the link between these implicit theories and collective teacher learning in the area of further developing the school’s educational practices. In a sample ofN= 1,483 Swiss primary school teachers atN= 59 schools, we analyzed how teachers’ malleable (vs. fixed) implicit theories of professional abilities are related to collective metacognitive and emotional-motivational regulation activities and to the perception that the school is on the right track to improvement. Results show that teachers’ implicit theories of professional abilities can be assessed reliably. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that the more teachers view professional abilities as malleable and developable, the more positive their perceptions of the schools’ improvement were. This relation was mediated by collective emotional-motivational regulation activities. However, no significant effect of a malleable implicit theory on collective metacognitive regulation was found. It can be concluded that teachers have varying beliefs about the malleability of teachers’ professional abilities that are linked to their collective regulation. It therefore acknowledges the domain-specific effects of teachers’ implicit theories in the area of school improvement.
Highlights
Whether people implicitly believe that their abilities are innate and unchangeable or changeable through time and training is related to various motivational and cognitive effects (Dweck, 2017)
In this study we explore whether the concept of implicit theories can be transferred to research on collective professional development, such as school improvement
This study aims to provide answers to the following overarching question: What role do teachers’ implicit theories of professional abilities play for school improvement? The following research questions are central for this article: 1. Do teachers have varying implicit theories of professional abilities, and can these theories be measured reliably?
Summary
Whether people implicitly believe that their abilities are innate and unchangeable (fixed theory) or changeable through time and training (malleable theory) is related to various motivational and cognitive effects (Dweck, 2017). From a school improvement perspective, a teacher’s implicit theory that ‘being a good teacher’ is something that can be changed and learned seems crucial for professional development and improvement of the school organization. This is especially true, as schools and their actors are faced with constantly changing requirements and must be able to react competently to various challenges (within and outside the classroom). A teacher’s professional abilities are conceptualized broadly as a set of social and intellectual skills (e.g., different kinds of content and pedagogical knowledge or adaptive self-regulation strategies) that all have an impact on the teacher’s competencies in teaching and working cooperatively with other staff members (Kunter et al, 2013)
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