Abstract
The present article investigates the potentialities of photo-elicitation as a technique in teacher professional development. This study analyses the process of eliciting dilemmas in four primary teachers, whose solution has proved to contribute to the teachers’ education. To this end, the effect of different types of external observers’ intervention in dilemma generation, participating in sessions developed with a specific photo-elicitation procedure, is explored. The knowledge pursued in order to meet the study objectives concerned inconsistencies between goals and practices and teachers’ dilemmas. These inconsistencies and dilemmas are tacit and with multiple possible interpretations, and are therefore not measurable. They consequently require an interpretative research approach using a qualitative method of inquiry based on collective case studies. The results show that the inconsistencies introduced to the teachers, by questioning their teaching practice, are enough but not necessary to pose professional dilemmas. Solving these dilemmas led the teachers to change their conceptual and processual beliefs, as well as their teaching activities.
Highlights
IntroductionOur study was based on the notion that when teachers are required to solve a dilemma regarding the relationship between their teaching goals and practices, this will lead to changes in their theoretical knowledge and/or practice and facilitate their professional development
Our study was based on the notion that when teachers are required to solve a dilemma regarding the relationship between their teaching goals and practices, this will lead to changes in their theoretical knowledge and/or practice and facilitate their professional development.Terry (2007) and French-Lee and Dooley (2015), namely when there are at least two possible explanations for a situation that has arisen in a school and the teacher must choose one of them
The first of these, Annex 1 (Supplementary Material) details all the photo-elicitation sessions arranged by the four teachers in which the external observers requested more information, asked about the information provided or questioned the work of the teacher participating in the session
Summary
Our study was based on the notion that when teachers are required to solve a dilemma regarding the relationship between their teaching goals and practices, this will lead to changes in their theoretical knowledge and/or practice and facilitate their professional development. Terry (2007) and French-Lee and Dooley (2015), namely when there are at least two possible explanations for a situation that has arisen in a school and the teacher must choose one of them. Besides exploring the beliefs on which each of the possible explanations for a situation are based, we examined the dilemmas that arise when teachers must choose between different teaching practices to achieve an educational goal. Use of Photoelicitation to evoke and solve Dilemmas that prompt changes Primary School Teachers' visions.
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