Teacher Professional Learning Research Articles

Priorities and possibilities for teacher professional learning in a (post)COVID-19 era

ABSTRACT This paper aims to strengthen understandings of both the current status of and future directions around teacher professional learning in Canada. Bearing in mind the significant shifts in teacher professional learning as a result of the pandemic, the paper utilises an existing framework around the features of high-quality professional learning from a prior study to analyse recent trends in teacher learning needs and professional learning modalities to identify priorities and possibilities for the future of teacher learning in the (post) COVID-19 era. Particular attention is paid to what we refer to as the COVID conundrum. On the one hand, the proliferation of online learning opportunities necessitated by the pandemic resulted in an increase in access for educators who have not been served well by traditional face-to-face models of professional learning. By the same token, however, the sheer volume of learning opportunities, combined with the privatisation and globalisation of online teacher learning (Educational International 2020a), presents challenges around ensuring professional learning is relevant and contextualised to local teaching and learning contexts.

The Implementation of Bilingual Education in Taiwan: A Case Study of Two Junior High Schools with a Bilingual Curriculum in Taipei City Using the FERTILE Model

The development of bilingual education has rapidly grown in the past few decades, with v and ying implementations reflecting each country’s political, social and cultural contexts. In response, the Taiwanese government launched the Bilingual 2030 policy in Taiwan to improve international competitiveness and communication. Employing the FERTILE model as the theoretical framework, this case study focuses on (1) comprehending the role of the administrative team in implementing bilingual education within schools and (2) exploring the function of bilingual teacher professional learning communities. The results indicate that the involvement of school administrative teams, along with the support from BPLCs, are essential for implementing bilingual education in schools. More importantly, this research highlights the importance of administrative teams in providing a supportive environment. Also, the support from administrative teams is significant for enhancing the function of BPLCs, which play a key role in improving teachers’ instructional strategies. The findings of this study can generate both theoretical and practical contributions to bilingual education in Taiwan. First, the findings provide schools and policy makers in Taiwan with valuable insights for fostering bilingual teacher professional learning communities. Second, the findings from the two case studies, which utilised the FERTILE model to implement bilingual education, can serve as references for its nationwide promotion.

Exploring Shared Instructional Leadership Strategies to Improve Teacher Professional Learning: A Case Study in a Southeastern School System

ABSTRACT The present study aims to identify shared instructional leadership strategies administered by school principals and instructional coaches to enhance teacher professional learning within a southeastern school system. Using a qualitative case study approach, we collected data through semi-structured interviews with six principals and six instructional coaches from seven elementary schools. Qualitative content analysis was utilized to analyze the data. The results revealed various shared instructional leadership strategies across three key components: structuring the school environment to facilitate professional learning, fostering a culture of ongoing learning, and nurturing interpersonal relationships conducive to teacher development. We discuss implications for policy and practice.

“It actually helped”: students’ perceptions of feedback helpfulness prior to and following a teacher professional learning intervention

This study investigated the effects of a teacher professional learning intervention, underpinned by a student-centred model of feedback, on student perceptions of feedback helpfulness. The study was conducted in the context of primary education English writing in Queensland, Australia. No overall differences in feedback perceptions of students in 13 intervention and 9 comparison schools were identified following the intervention. However, more detailed analyses revealed significantly greater increases in perceived helpfulness among intervention group students for six feedback strategies. This suggests the intervention changed teachers’ feedback practices, enhancing student perceptions of feedback helpfulness. Student focus group data provided valuable qualitative insights into student feedback perceptions. Overall findings highlight the interrelatedness between feedback strategies across the feedback cycle for enhancing student learning.

“These two worlds are antithetical”: epistemic tensions in integrating computational thinking in K12 humanities and arts

ABSTRACT Background While advocates for integrating Computational Thinking (CT) into existing K12 classrooms have acknowledged and aimed to address various barriers to implementation, we contend that a more foundational issue – tensions between the epistemology of computing and those of existing disciplines – has largely been overlooked. Studies of contact between heterogeneous disciplinary perspectives in both pedagogical and real world professional settings point to other risks, and harms, that educators may need to consider as they attempt to integrate CT into their teaching. As such, designing for integrated CT pedagogies does not simply require addressing functional problems such as teacher professional learning and limited classroom time, but rather implicates complex epistemological navigations. Objective This manuscript explores epistemic tensions between Computational Thinking (CT) and K12 humanities and arts disciplines and possibilities for their resolution. Method Based on a Delphi study with 43 experts from three disciplines – language arts, social studies, and arts – as they engaged in 20 hours of focus group conversations exploring potential approaches to integrating CT these disciplines, analysis focused on identifying perceived epistemic tensions that can arise in the context of instruction and directions for their resolution. Findings We found 5 epistemic tensions that are explored in detail: contextual reductionism, procedural reductionism, epistemic chauvinism, threats to epistemic identities, and epistemic convergence, as well as a number of potential directions for navigating them. Implications The study’s findings provide insights that bear on both scholarship and pedagogical design aimed at promoting substantive interdisciplinary learning with CT, and, critically, navigating potential tensions that can arise within it.

Drivers of Digital Realities for Ongoing Teacher Professional Learning

Drivers of Digital Realities for Ongoing Teacher Professional Learning

EXPLORING THE CONTRIBUTION OF MASTER’S ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM ON TEACHER PROFESSIONAL LEARNING

Teacher professional learning (TPL) has been considered a significant need to strengthen teachers’ professional growth, which in turn fosters high-quality teaching and enhances students’ learning experiences. It has become a prominent interest in education around the globe, including in Indonesia. However, little is known about the contribution of a university program, especially a Master's program, towards TPL in the Indonesian context. This study aims to investigate the contribution of the Master's English Language Education (MELE) Program towards TPL on graduate students who have become teachers at once. The data were collected from graduate students of the program. A focus group was conducted with nine representatives of two classes that were categorized into two different groups. Constant comparison analysis was used as the data analysis method. The findings revealed three important themes namely applying knowledge into practice; transforming teaching through teachers’ self-inquiry; and improving knowledge, skills, and attitudes toward academic publication. The paper also presents the empirical evidence that takes place during the program and how it contributes to their professionalism.

Moving from transmissive to transformative: Closing the policy‐practice gap in teacher professional learning in Scotland

Moving from transmissive to transformative: Closing the policy‐practice gap in teacher professional learning in Scotland

Using English as a Language of Instruction in Rural Schools in Thailand: Key Challenges for Teaching and Learning

Primary school teachers in Thailand are encouraged to use English as a language of instruction across all curriculum areas in their classrooms, not just in English lessons. However, many non-English major teacherswho teach in rural schools struggle to deliver lessons in English due to the lack of professional knowledge and ongoing support for English language usage. This paper considers the experiences of non-English major teachers working in rural schools in Thailand who participated in a coaching and mentoring program to support their motivation and confidence to use English as a language of instruction. A participatory case study research design was used for this study, which included classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with teacher–participants before, during and after the coaching and mentoring program. Some of the key challenges that arose included the use of Thai as a language of instruction, lack of resources and support for the use of English as a language of instruction, lack of clarity in school policies and the limited availability of professional learning for teachers in rural schools.There is an urgent need for additional professional learning support for teachers, especially those working in rural schools, to ensure success of the Thai government’s policy aim to make English available as a language of instruction in all primary schools.

“It shouldn’t be something you have to create on your own.” Personal practical knowledge construction and professional learning for teachers in Swedish school-age educare.

Teachers who work in school-age educare (SAEC) in Sweden possess a variety of educational qualifications. They hold a dual role working as teachers both within the compulsory program and school-age educare. This dual competence requirement means that their professional needs are unique and often different from that of their colleagues who only work in the compulsory school system (Berglund, Lager, Lundkvist and Gustavsson Nyckel, 2019). They reside in a complex context when it comes to opportunities for constructing their personal professional knowledge. Considering that already in 2021, the government announced the creation of a national professional learning program (Regeringen 2021), it is essential to understand what type of professional learning is deemed needed by the SAEC teachers themselves. Through narrative interviews with SAEC teachers, this study aims to map an understanding of how the teachers construct their personal professional knowledge as SAEC teachers. The main research question in this study is: How do SAEC teachers describe the role of professional learning as part of creating and developing their personal professional knowledge? The findings indicate a need for a systematic approach to recognize the qualification of experienced teachers and create a framework for professional learning opportunities for all teachers in SAEC.

What factors affect teacher professional learning: a qualitative meta-analysis based on the Onion model

Purpose Current academic research on teacher learning is increasing in number and deepening in quality, but at the same time, the heterogeneity is growing significantly. Similar work is challenging to cross-check regarding conclusions due to the different research foci. This paper aims to provide a reliable theoretical framework and offers solid insights based on the existing research. Design/methodology/approach Based on the Onion model, 67 core literature in English and Chinese were coded through qualitative meta-analysis methods to explore environmental, behavioral, competence, belief, identity, mission and other factors that may impact teacher learning. Findings It was found that the quantitative structure of the current relevant studies was in an inverted triangular shape with three levels of steps, respectively, which can be summarized as structural environment, core behaviors and dominant mission. The heterogeneity between the findings mainly originated from two situations, oppositional and complementary and some structural adjustments were made to the Onion model according to the coding results to better represent the interaction of influences between the levels. It also analyzes current research trends and the centrality of learned behaviors based on the coding results. Social implications The design of teacher learning activities should combine theoretical, practical and inquiry learning to ensure that teachers are kept fresh and motivated by sustained and varied stimuli. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to analyze teacher learning influences through qualitative meta-analysis and create node saturation to analyze the results, resulting in highly credible and valuable research findings.

Research on the Construction of Teacher Professional Learning. Community in the Web 3.0 Era

China’s teacher education reform has always advocated the establishment of a teacher-professional learning community to promote teacher professional development and school progress. In the Web 3.0 era, the increasingly open, secure, and fair network has created conditions for the teacher professional learning community to conduct data confirmation. However, in China, the phenomenon of a “silent spiral” has emerged in the professional learning community of teachers, that is, the inferior opinions of teachers in the professional learning community turn to “silent”, and the superior opinions shout, which to a certain extent hinders the creation, protection, and sharing of teacher metadata, affects the development of data right confirmation in the field of education, and slows down the pace of teacher education practice. This study mainly focuses on the value of building a Chinese teacher professional learning community in the Web 3.0 era, the specific difficulties and reasons, and how to develop a Chinese teacher professional learning community in the future. This study mainly adopts the method of documentary review and draws on the “spiral of silence” theory, which regards the expression of opinions and the spread of “silence” as a spiral process of social communication, and influences and restricts public opinion by creating an “opinion environment”. It is found that under the background of the Web 3.0 era, there is an information cocoon in the professional learning community of teachers, and teachers are affected by the diversity of information. Teachers fear independence and generally produce a herd mentality. It is easy to ignore the disadvantageous climate in the professional learning community of teachers, resulting in the continuous silence of teachers. In addition, teacher groups tend to be too stressed and unable to resist the opinion environment. Therefore, the research draws the following conclusions, the construction of teacher professional learning community should adhere to positive guidance, cultivate the correct learning concept, and build the core value concept; Strengthen teachers’ group consciousness, establish a common vision, and make teachers have a sense of belonging to the community; Coordinate the “online + offline”, build a learning mechanism, and salvage the silent voice of the group in the professional learning community of teachers; Provide supporting conditions around the key development issues of the community to promote the growth of opinion climate.

Intellectual wellbeing: the pursuit of freedom in the professional learning of teachers

ABSTRACT In this article we advance a new way of theorising professional learning and development through the concept of intellectual wellbeing, or noetic syntonia, which we define as the positive sense of self derived from an authentic engagement with the ethical, theoretical, and practical challenges of one’s professional domain. Drawing on concepts from philosophy and social theory, and particularly on the work of Simone de Beauvoir, we suggest that prioritising intellectual wellbeing is nothing short of a challenge for schools to reconnect with the essence of what an ethical approach to education should be, and to move away from outdated practices and policies that promote a simplistic idea of personal ‘growth’ measured through assessment, audit, and foregone educational outcomes. We begin by setting the scene for research into teacher professional identity before describing the concept of intellectual wellbeing in detail, including questions of ecology and value. We then offer an example of how intellectual wellbeing may be nurtured through simple, practical steps at the school level.

Education practitioners’ epistemological beliefs and their understanding of evaluation: a preliminary study in Singapore

ABSTRACT In educational reform initiatives worldwide and in Singapore, educators are increasingly encouraged to take ownership of their work through involvement in practitioner inquiry and evaluation efforts to transform teaching and learning. Educators’ epistemological beliefs – their view of knowledge and knowing – play a critical role as they learn to become critical, reflective actors in the knowledge construction endeavour. This mixed-methods study investigates whether and how educators’ epistemological beliefs influence their understanding of programme evaluation as viewed through participants’ journey of learning to design a real-world evaluation study in the context of Masters-level coursework. Findings suggest that participants’ epistemological scale scores are associated with their learning outcomes as manifested in the quality of their evaluation plan. Specifically, participants with higher or lower scores show important differences in their view of evaluation and what a good evaluation requires, their relationship with knowledge about programme evaluation, the nature of challenges encountered in designing their evaluation plans, and how they navigate their challenges. Findings have implications for purposes and approaches of teacher professional learning and offer insights into the re-design of learning opportunities to transform educators’ epistemological beliefs in general and in relation to discipline-specific learning.

Creating and Validating a Digital Leadership Model for University Teachers, Liaoning Province

Background and Aims: In the era of digital transformation, digital leadership has emerged as a critical component of educators' ability to navigate and utilize data literacy in increasingly digitalized environments. University teachers, in particular, need digital leadership to adapt to advancements in technology and enhance their teaching and administrative skills. This study focuses on constructing and validating a digital leadership model specifically for university teachers in Liaoning Province. The research aims to identify the key components of digital leadership and develop a model that addresses the current and future needs of educators in this evolving landscape. Methodology: The study employs a grounded theory approach to build a theoretical structure of digital leadership for university teachers. Field interviews with a diverse group of university educators were conducted to gather qualitative data. This data was then analyzed through a series of open, axial, and selective coding processes, allowing the identification of six key categories that form the foundation of digital leadership. These categories were then subjected to quantitative analysis using structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the fit of the proposed model. Validation was achieved through iterative model testing and refinement, ensuring that the final model accurately represents the digital leadership characteristics of university teachers. Results: The analysis revealed six key dimensions of digital leadership for university teachers: Digital Leading Insight: The ability to foresee digital trends and incorporate them into teaching strategies. Intelligent Teaching Organization: Effective integration of technology in teaching methods to enhance learning outcomes. Industry-Education Integration Promotion: Fostering collaborations between academia and industry to align educational practices with industry needs. Teacher Professional Development Learning: Ongoing self-improvement and learning to stay updated with technological advancements. Digital Cooperation and Communication Influence: Facilitating effective digital communication and collaboration within and across institutions. Digital Education Policy Decision-Making: Engaging in the formulation and implementation of digital policies in education. The model demonstrated a high degree of fit across all indices, confirming its validity as a framework for understanding digital leadership in the context of university educators. Conclusion: The study provides a validated model of digital leadership for university teachers, highlighting six core competencies that educators must develop to succeed in the digital era. Recommendations for fostering digital leadership include offering leadership development training, optimizing blended learning environments, enhancing collaboration, driving organizational change, establishing incentive mechanisms, and promoting an integrated culture of industry-education collaboration. The results suggest that addressing these areas will significantly enhance the digital leadership capacity of university teachers in Liaoning Province, thereby improving educational outcomes in the digital age.

Student self-regulated learning in teacher professional vision: Results from combining student self-reports, teacher ratings, and mobile eye tracking in the high school classroom

Teacher professional vision as a concept is gaining importance in research on teaching, and recently models for studying teacher professional vision and student self-regulated learning (SRL) have been proposed. There are interview and video intervention studies investigating teacher professional vision for SRL, but no real-life classroom research so far. This study investigated the role of student SRL behaviour, as it was reported by students themselves and teachers, in teacher attention distribution as part of teacher professional vision. Ten teachers and their 158 students at high school level in Lithuania took part in the research. The first step of the study resulted in identifying four student SRL-profiles, which differed based on student level of SRL and the extent to which teacher and student assessments coincided: mixed lower-regulated, mixed higher-regulated, systematic lower-regulated, systematic higher-regulated. The profiles demonstrated only a partial overlap in teacher and student judgement of student SRL. The second step of the study explored whether scores of students’ SRL from student and teacher reports were related to teachers’ distribution of visual attention in one lesson. The results showed that only one teacher rating scale of student information-seeking behaviour had a slight correlation with teacher attention. The results imply rather bottom-up trends in teacher attention to students in the classroom when it comes to SRL. Besides, the study results highlight the not directly observable nature of SRL processes and imply a difficulty for teachers to assess student SRL.

Professional Learning for ESL Teachers: A Randomized Controlled Trial to Examine the Impact on Instruction, Collaboration, and Cultural Wealth

Using a randomized controlled trial, we examined the impact of a teacher professional learning (PL) program on English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers’ use of evidence-based instructional strategies for multilingual learners, collaboration with classroom teachers, and incorporation of Latino multilingual learners’ cultural wealth into their classrooms. The analyses included 29 ESL teachers from 29 elementary schools in three school districts. The teachers completed pre–post surveys, and trained observers rated classroom instruction and cultural wealth for two cohorts of teachers in the yearlong program. The results showed that the PL program had a significant effect on the ESL teachers’ use of evidence-based instructional strategies. We also found a significant effect on the ESL teachers’ collaboration processes, including their use of an intentional framework for collaboration and their alignment with classroom teachers’ instruction. We did not find significant differences between the PL group and the control group on the ESL teachers’ incorporation of cultural wealth in their classroom environment or on the reported frequency of their collaboration.

A Knowledge Framework for Teachers of Physics and Physics Teacher Educators: The Genesis of a Knowledge Framework Based on the Knowledge Quartet

To teach a subject successfully it is necessary to have knowledge of that subject and of pedagogy as it relates to that subject. Based on the observation of teachers teaching mathematics, Rowland and colleagues developed the Knowledge Quartet. Whilst some aspects of the Knowledge Quartet are set in the context of teaching mathematics, much is more generic and applicable to other subjects. In many jurisdictions, the professional standards for teachers do not have any subject-specific content. This paper describes the development of a knowledge framework, primarily based on the Knowledge Quartet, for teachers of physics, which is designed to sit alongside any teacher professional standards and school curriculum documents. The framework provides subject-specific guidance on the knowledge-base necessary for the teaching of physics as well as providing a common language to help facilitate collaboration between colleagues in relation to their professional learning. The framework was also extended to include the knowledge required by physics teacher educators supporting the professional learning of teachers of physics. The development process included gathering data from a range of physics teachers and physics teacher educators on the value and content of the framework and it being piloted with several physics teacher educators, resulting in an amendment and refinement of the framework. The resulting framework is offered as a useful tool for those involved in the education of physics teachers and as an exemplar of a knowledge framework that could be extended to other subjects.

Fulfilling the unmet potential: Harnessing ambition, autonomy, and agility in Northern Ireland's education system

AbstractDespite the divisions within Northern Ireland's education system along religious and academic lines, it has managed to maintain relative stability, or at least a functional inertia, over the past four decades. The full potential, however, of this system and in particular, the Northern Ireland Curriculum (NIC), has yet to be realised. This paper presents a comprehensive exploration of the intricate interplay between the NIC and Initial Teacher Education (ITE), bringing to the fore the footprint of Lawrence Stenhouse. It critically examines the salient features of the NIC, particularly its alignment with Stenhouse's pedagogical tenets, and its subsequent ramifications on ITE, for both its content and pedagogical strategies. The ambitions are, however, not without their challenges. The overarching shadow of an exam‐centric system stymies the NIC's full realisation, presenting a dichotomy between curriculum goals and pragmatic educational realities. The absence of a coherent Teacher Professional Learning framework also inhibited curriculum development. The Learning Leaders strategy, although yet to be implemented due to the collapse of the Northern Ireland Assembly and consequently lack of financial support, has the potential to pick up the baton of reform and help teachers and school leaders move closer to implementing the NIC in the way it was intended. The paper concludes by identifying the probable, possible, plausible and preferred ways forward for NI's education system.

Enacting a child safety education programme in special education contexts

BackgroundThe teaching of personal safety and abuse prevention skills in schools is a feature of robust child protection systems across the world. In Ireland, the Stay Safe programme is mandatory for all primary schools and aims to equip children with the skills and knowledge necessary to reduce their susceptibility to abuse. The mandatory nature of the programme presents a challenge to schools catering for children with special educational needs and disabilities, due to a lack of clarity for teachers over the extent to which it can be adapted. AimThe aim of this study was to probe how teachers in special schools balance the mandatory requirement to teach the designated safety programme, with the practical reality that many of their children may not be able to process the intended learning, in the way it is prescribed. In a broad sense, the study aimed to showcase how teachers increase the accessibility of the programme for children with various special educational needs and disabilities. Methods and ProceduresThe study adopted a mixed-methods approach to data-gathering. Phase 1 consisted of a questionnaire distributed via Qualtrics to every special school principal in Ireland (n = 133). Phase 2 consisted of a three-site embedded case study with three special schools. Data from both phases of research were merged, using a three-part iterative framework, to arrive at a nuanced understanding of how the designated safety programme was enacted in special schools. Outcomes and ResultsThe results indicated that teachers in special schools enact the designated safety programme with varying degrees of systematicity, despite its mandatory status. Aspects of the programme were frequently skipped, supplementary material was introduced and content was generally changed depending on child need. The greater the learning difficulty, the more modification engaged in by teachers in special schools. Conclusions and ImplicationsThis article concludes by proposing that greater flexibility be provided to teachers in special education contexts to modify mandatory child safety education programmes. To support this flexibility and boost teacher expertise in undertaking programme modifications effectively, the article highlights teacher professional learning as a key priority. Prioritising the ongoing development of teacher expertise goes some way towards reducing an over-reliance on past teaching experiences guiding provision, at the expense of expert, evidence-based approaches.