Rights, duties and spaces of agency amidst high-stakes testing

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 204-217
Author(s):  
Laura A. Taylor
Keyword(s):  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Teacher Agency ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
Grade Teacher ◽  
Positioning Analysis

Purpose By recognizing high-stakes testing as a key constraint to teacher agency, this paper aims to provide a close analysis of one teacher’s testing narrative to illustrate how emerging positioning is relative to high-stakes testing shapes perception of pedagogical agency. Design/methodology/approach Data were generated through a series of semi-structured interviews with an early career fourth-grade teacher, Ms Moore, in a school facing pressure to raise test scores. Using theoretical lenses of narrative positioning and a linguistic anthropological centering of constraint and emergence, 67 narratives of accountability were analyzed, with particular focus on how Ms Moore positioned herself relative to other actors involved in high-stakes testing and the consequent rights and duties these positions afforded. Findings In narrating the constraints of high-stakes testing, Ms Moore positioned herself relative to three groups involved in high-stakes testing: “purposefully tricky” test creators, “disjointed” administrators and “worried” students. The rights and duties associated with three positions varied with respect to two dimensions – proximity and hierarchy – in turn providing her distinct resources for responding to the pedagogical constraints of high-stakes testing. Practical implications Teachers might use positioning analysis as a tool to locate possibilities for agency amidst high-stakes testing, both by exploring the resources afforded by their positioning and by considering how alternative positions might afford different resources. Originality/value These findings suggest that high-stakes testing serves as a dynamic and perhaps malleable constraint to teacher agency. Teacher positioning, particularly relative to hierarchy and proximity, provides possible resource for responding to such constraints.

scholarly journals Teaching health education

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Pickett ◽  
Willeke Rietdijk ◽  
Jenny Byrne ◽  
Jonathan Shepherd ◽  
Paul Roderick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand early career teachers’ perceptions of the impact of a pre-service health education programme on their health promotion practice in schools and the contextual factors that influence this. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 primary and secondary trainee and qualified teachers who had trained at a university in England. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings The teachers found the training to be a useful introduction, particularly when it was relevant to their practice. They valued gaining practical skills at university, on placement and in school once qualified. They reported that witnessing pupils’ lives in school had increased their awareness that health education is important. Their personal qualities, life experience, the school’s ethos and competing pressures influenced their practice. Teachers considered that building relationships with colleagues, pupils and parents facilitated health promotion, and that health education needs to be relevant to pupils. Some teachers expressed that teaching about health could be a “minefield”. They also discussed whether schools or parents are responsible for educating pupils about health issues and the place of health promotion within education’s wider purpose. Originality/value Few studies have followed-up trainee teachers once they are in teaching posts to explore the longer-term perceived impact of pre-service health education training. The findings suggest that teachers’ development takes place via an interaction between training and practice, suggesting that training could particularly aim to provide teachers with a contextualised understanding of health issues and practical experience.

scholarly journals The university-to-work transition: responses of universities and organizations to the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
William E. Donald ◽  
Melanie J. Ashleigh ◽  
Yehuda Baruch
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Behavior ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Career Services ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Transition ◽  
Global Labor Market ◽  
Career Literature ◽  
The University ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to understand how universities and organizations have responded to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of preparing university students and recent graduates to enter the global labor market, using the accounting, banking and finance sector as a case study. The two research questions are (1) How can university career services and organizations work individually and collaboratively to best develop early career talent following the COVID-19 pandemic? (2) What are the challenges that university career services and organizations face when working individually or collaboratively to develop early career talent following the COVID-19 pandemic?Design/methodology/approachThe data for thematic analysis comes from 36 semi-structured interviews with career advisors (CAs) (n = 19) and graduate recruiters (GRs) (n = 17).FindingsThis study offers some of the first findings on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to ensure that organizational behavior and career theory literature reflect the dramatically changing landscape in the university-to-work transition.Originality/valueTheoretically, our contribution comes from applying a framework of the career construction theory (CTT) within the context of a career ecosystem to understand the views of the intermediary, meso-level actors, which, to date, have lacked representation within career literature. Practically, we provide an insightful bridge between universities and organizations, offering opportunities for greater collaboration, and enhanced outcomes for all stakeholders.

Community responsive literacies: the development of the Ethnic Studies Praxis Story Plot

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 411-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward R. Curammeng ◽  
Daisy D. Lopez ◽  
Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales
Keyword(s):  
Language Arts ◽  
Ethnic Studies ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Educational Partnerships ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Language Arts Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Arts Teachers ◽  
K 12

Purpose Momentum around the institutionalization of Ethnic Studies in US K-12 classrooms is increasing. Opponents have argued that Ethnic Studies does not challenge students academically and prepare them for high stakes testing (Planas, 2012; Sanchez, 2007). Conversely, research continues to show ways Ethnic Studies contribute to students’ academic achievement, especially for students from marginalized and vulnerable communities (Cabrera et al., 2014; Halagao, 2010; Tintiangco-Cubales et al., 2015). This study aims to demonstrate the possibilities and potential of Ethnic Studies-framed tools for English and Language arts teachers. This moment concerning Ethnic Studies in schools illuminates an important opportunity to demonstrate how Ethnic Studies-framed tools positively affect learning mainstream school content, namely, English and Language Arts. The authors consider the following point: To what extent can Ethnic Studies-framed tools affect approaches for learning English, writing and reading while simultaneously being responsive to a community’s needs? The authors maintain the importance of such tools that exist in how they support the development of community responsive literacies (CRLs). Design/methodology/approach This paper examines CRLs through the Ethnic Studies Praxis Story Plot (ESPSP). The authors begin by exploring the development of the ESPSP, first used in Pin@y Educational Partnerships (PEP), an innovative K-college Ethnic Studies teaching pipeline. Next, the authors examine each coordinate of the ESPSP, examining their purpose, theoretical underpinnings and ways the ESPSP offers nuanced approaches for learning literacies. Findings The authors then discuss how CRLs emerged to support PEP teachers and students’ reading and writing skills using the ESPSP. Originality/value Finally, the authors learn from students’ experiences with the ESPSP and offer implications for English and Language Arts teachers in the pursuit of teaching and serving students in more socially just and community responsive ways.

scholarly journals Experiencing information use for early career academics’ learning: a knowledge ecosystem model

2015 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 1228-1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faye Q. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Personal Development ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Ecosystem Model ◽  
Alternative Interpretation ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Constructivist Grounded Theory ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Resources

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the informed learning experiences of early career academics (ECAs) while building their networks for professional and personal development. The notion that information and learning are inextricably linked via the concept of “informed learning” is used as a conceptual framework to gain a clearer picture of what informs ECAs while they learn and how they experience using that which informs their learning within this complex practice: to build, maintain and utilise their developmental networks. Design/methodology/approach – This research employs a qualitative framework using a constructivist grounded theory approach (Charmaz, 2006). Through semi-structured interviews with a sample of 14 ECAs from across two Australian universities, data were generated to investigate the research questions. The study used the methods of constant comparison to create codes and categories towards theme development. Further examination considered the relationship between thematic categories to construct an original theoretical model. Findings – The model presented is a “knowledge ecosystem”, which represents the core informed learning experience. The model consists of informal learning interactions such as relating to information to create knowledge and engaging in mutually supportive relationships with a variety of knowledge resources found in people who assist in early career development. Originality/value – Findings from this study present an alternative interpretation of informed learning that is focused on processes manifesting as human interactions with informing entities revolving around the contexts of reciprocal human relationships.

Cocreating resilient hybrids: the bridging power of social enterprises' organizational logics

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabrina Bonomi ◽  
Francesca Ricciardi ◽  
Cecilia Rossignoli ◽  
Alessandro Zardini
Keyword(s):  
Process Development ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Social Enterprises ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Institutional Work ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Longitudinal Data Collection ◽  
Resilience Factors ◽  
Organizational Logic

PurposeThis study investigates (1) the processes through which social enterprises develop resilient organizational logics and (2) the key resilience factors in the organizational logics of successful social enterprises. The organizational logic is conceptualized here as the dynamic system of roles, rules and social expectations that result from the organization's business model, impact model and organizational form.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts an inductive approach to identify emerging resilience factors and processes in an exemplary case of social entrepreneurship (a work integration venture). The longitudinal data collection on this case took place from 2011 to 2016, based on approximately 440 h of participant observation and 10 semi-structured interviews.FindingsThe inductive analysis suggests that social enterprises develop resilient organizational logics through multi-level recursive processes of bridging institutional work. These processes enable the development of an organizational logic that is internally robust while linking distant practices, needs and expectations. The authors conceptualize these characteristics into a novel construct, the organizational logic's bridging power, which is operationalizable through two dimensions (hybridity-based and cocreation-based bridging power) and five sub-dimensions.Research limitations/implicationsLike in all inductive studies, further research is needed to validate the proposed model. The new proposed construct “organizational logic's bridging power” is, interestingly, a meta-theoretical concept encouraging cross-fertilization between the literature on institutional logics and that on value cocreation.Originality/valueThe process development model proposed by this study highlights the importance of network-level institutional work for developing cocreation-based resilience. Furthermore, this study shows how institutional theories could be complemented with other bodies of knowledge in order to understand social enterprise resilience.

scholarly journals Inside-out and outside-in mental models: a top executive perspective

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 529-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mika Yrjölä ◽  
Hannu Kuusela ◽  
Kari Neilimo ◽  
Hannu Saarijärvi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Mental Models ◽  
Customer Value ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Value Propositions ◽  
Executive Decision Making ◽  
Inside Out

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify and characterise executives’ inside-out (firm-oriented) and outside-in (market-oriented) mental models. As these two orientations are vital for strategic decision-making, yet potentially contradictory, it is important to understand the role of inside-out and outside-in thinking in executives’ agendas. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative, semi-structured interviews of 15 senior executives were used to capture insights into executives’ mental models. Data analysis was conducted following the principles of abstraction, theory emerging from data and constant comparison. Findings Four archetypes of executive mental models are identified and characterised along two dimensions (inside-out or outside-in orientation and focus on rational or emotional aspects). Practical implications The study introduces a tentative framework for practitioners to identify and deploy the potential of the mental models that guide executive decision-making. Originality/value The study extends prior research on mental models by combining this approach with inside-out and outside-in orientations and customer value propositions. In addition, it introduces four archetypes that illustrate the distinct potential of different mental models.

Exploring academic hiring and life in humanities and social sciences at an English research university through a PhD students-as-partners project

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katie Brown ◽  
Anna Mountford-Zimdars
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Research University ◽  
Academic Career ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Academic Life ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Engagement

Purpose The purpose of this study is twofold: to make explicit academics’ tacit knowledge of academic employment and to develop the educational research and employability skills of 12 postgraduate researchers. Design/methodology/approach Twelve postgraduate researchers from ten different disciplines conducted 24 semi-structured interviews (12 with early career academics, 12 with senior academics). Respondents shared the skills, experiences and attributes sought when hiring and their lived experience of being academics. Findings The importance given to both explicitly stated (publications, teaching experience) and implicit (values, behaviour) factors varies greatly among individual academics. There is a mismatch between stated job requirements and the realities of academic life. A students-as-partners project fosters critical engagement with these questions and offers other benefits to participants. Research limitations/implications Most respondents work at one research-intensive English institution, potentially limiting generalisability to teaching-led and international institutions. Practical/implications Researcher development programmes should make explicit the range of factors considered in hiring while also encouraging critical engagement with the realities of academic work. Through students-as-partners projects, postgraduate research students can uncover first-hand what academic life is like and what hiring committees are looking for. Originality/value Through involving students-as-partners, the research question changed to reflect the actual concerns of those contemplating an academic career. Students gained invaluable awareness of academic hiring and insights into academic life, as well as transferable skills.

scholarly journals External mentoring for new teachers: mentor learning for a change agenda

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 178-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Daly ◽  
Emmajane Milton
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
New Teachers ◽  
Early Career ◽  
First Year ◽  
Early Career Teachers ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Career Teachers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report on a qualitative study of the learning and development of 70 external mentors during the first year of their deployment to support early career teachers’ professional learning as part of a national initiative aimed at school improvement in Wales. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a narrative methodology that elicited accounts of external mentors’ learning experiences that were captured as textual data and analysed using an inductive approach to identify: first, the manifest themes that appeared at declarative level, and second, the latent (sub-textual) themes of external mentor learning and development. Findings Four key themes emerged that indicate the complexity of transition to the role of external mentor in high-stakes contexts. From these, eight theoretically-informed principles were derived which support mentors to embrace uncertainty as essential to their learning and development, and to harness the potential they bring as boundary-crossers to support the development of new teachers. Research limitations/implications The study investigated the first year of a three-year programme and worked with one form of qualitative data collection. The research results may lack generalisability and a longitudinal study is necessary to further explore the validity of the findings. Practical implications The eight principles provide a foundation for mentor development programmes that can support ambitious goals for mentoring early career teachers. Originality/value The study addresses the under-researched area of the learning and development of external mentors at a national scale.

Assessing the field

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Frawley ◽  
Larissa McLean Davies
Keyword(s):  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Perceived Need ◽  
Writing Practices ◽  
History Of ◽  
National Test ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the interface between high-stakes testing, disciplinary knowledge and teachers’ pedagogy in English. The most prevalent standardized assessment form in the current Australian context is the National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) undertaken each year by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 in all Australian States and Territories. Understood in the context of the Global Educational Reform Movement (GERM) (Sahlberg, 2011, pp. 100-101) – the NAPLAN tests serve as a bi-partisan governmental response to a perceived need to improve the quality of teachers and schools in Australia. Design/methodology/approach – The authors draw on the key sociological constructs of Pierre Bourdieu (1995) to analyze the ways in which the writing component of the suite of NAPLAN tests serves to legitimize and idealize particular kinds of writing, writers and teachers of writing. Findings – The authors suggest that in the absence of current literacy policy and curriculum instability, this national test shapes the literacy field, influencing the direction of writing practices and pedagogy, and, therefore, subject English itself, in Australian classrooms. Originality/value – This assessment intervention is considered in the context of the history of writing, and addresses accordingly fundamental questions concerning the changing nature of the writing/writerly field, the impact of assessment on teachers’ conceptions of disciplinarity and pedagogical content knowledge and students’ experiences of writing and thinking in subject English.

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