Three forms of professional capital: systemic, social movement, and activist

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Shirley
Keyword(s):  
Social Movement ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Teacher Professionalism ◽  
School Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Professional Capital ◽  
The Usa ◽  
City State ◽  
Advance Theory

Purpose As a “business capital” model premised upon a financial perspective of educational change spreads itself into school systems around the world, a countervailing view of “professional capital,” as proposed by Hargreaves and Fullan, provides a new framework for transforming teaching and uplifting learning. The purpose of this paper is to advance theory by distinguishing among three forms of professional capital found in three different settings. Design/methodology/approach Systemic professional capital is exemplified by the city-state of Singapore, in which schools, higher education, and the Ministry of Education all support one another to optimize student learning. Social movement professional capital is manifested in the Learning Communities Project of rural middle schools in Mexico, where change is driven forward with a model of tutorial relationships that has proven to be sustainable even when funding is cut and political support is withdrawn. Activist professional capital can be identified in a Teacher Solutions Team model in Arizona in the USA, where educators carve out new zones of interaction and support for one another to deepen their knowledge base. This paper examines and discusses the above. Findings Systemic, social movement, and activist forms of professional capital are found to share affinities with the three forms of teacher professionalism identified by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development based on findings from the Teaching and Learning International Survey. Originality/value These distinctions among various forms of professional capital invite further research and theory building to provide alternatives to the rise of business capital in schools and school systems.

Research landscape of smart education: a bibliometric analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kam Cheong Li ◽  
Billy Tak-Ming Wong
Keyword(s):  
Education Research ◽  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Research Collaborations ◽  
Emerging Trends ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Smart Education ◽  
Smart Technologies

Purpose This paper aims to present a comprehensive review of the present state and trends of smart education research. It addresses the need to have a systematic review of smart education to depict its research landscape in view of the growing volume of related publications. Design/methodology/approach A bibliometric analysis of publications on smart education published in 2011 to 2020 was conducted, covering their patterns and trends in terms of collaboration, key publications, major topics and trends. A total of 1,317 publications with 29,317 cited references were collected from the Web of Science and Scopus for the bibliometric analysis. Findings Research on smart education has been widely published in various sources. The most frequently cited references are all theoretical or discussion articles. Researchers in the USA, China, South Korea, India and Russia have been most active in research collaborations. However, international collaborations have remained infrequent except for those involving the USA. The research on smart education broadly covered smart technologies as well as teaching and learning. The emerging topics have addressed areas such as the Internet of Things, big data, flipped learning and gamification. Originality/value This study depicts the intellectual landscape of smart education research, and illustrated the evolution and emerging trends in the field. The results highlight its latest developments and research needs, and suggest future work related to research collaborations on a larger scale and more studies on smart pedagogies.

scholarly journals Un-rational behaviour? What causes discrepancies between teachers’ attitudes towards evidence use and actual instances of evidence use in schools?

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 469-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Brown ◽  
Dell Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
School Systems ◽  
Evidence Use ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Analyse Data ◽  
Learning Conversations ◽  
Teachers Attitudes ◽  
Rational Behaviour

Purpose – Whilst beneficial, the use of evidence to improve teaching and learning in schools is proving difficult to achieve in practice. The purpose of this paper is to shed new light on this issue by examining the applicability of a model of rational behaviour as relates to the notion of evidence-informed practice (EIP). Specifically, exploring the question: “if EIP is rational behavior, why are not all teachers engaged in it?”, the authors examine whether the beliefs and perspectives of teachers in relation to EIP, align with their evidence-use behaviours. The authors then assess what factors prevent teachers/schools from engaging in EIP. Design/methodology/approach – To examine beliefs, instances of, and barriers to evidence use, the authors employ a Gradient Boosted Tree predictive model to analyse data from a survey of 696 practitioners in 79 schools. Findings – The findings suggest that, should they wish to increase EIP within their schools, school leaders need to: first, promote the vision for evidence-use (i.e. actively encourage its use); second, illustrate how research and evidence can be effectively employed to enhance aspects of teaching and learning; and third, establish effective learning environments, in which learning conversations around the use of evidence, can flourish. Originality/value – Using a new, innovative model of rationality, the authors conclude that despite the focus on EIP in many school systems world-wide, evidence use will never be meaningfully realized unless school leaders prioritize EIP as a school commitment. Simultaneously, given the high-stakes accountability environments facing many school systems it is unlikely that prioritization of EIP will occur until EIP forms part of any education system’s accountability regime.

Humanizing practices in online learning communities during pandemics in the USA

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 205-212
Author(s):  
Nimo M. Abdi ◽  
Elizabeth Gil ◽  
Stefanie LuVenia Marshall ◽  
Muhammad Khalifa
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Women Of Color ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Leadership Education ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Learning School ◽  
Reflective Essay

PurposeIn this reflective essay, the authors, four educators of color, explore the relevance of humanizing practices of community in teaching and learning, school leadership and the potential challenges for equity work in education, during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThis reflective essay draws on lessons learned from the pedagogical practices of women of color, literature on teachers of color, as well as our experiences as educators of teachers and school leaders, as the authors think about new possibilities and challenges for anti-racist practice and living during the pandemic.FindingsThis essay describes community-oriented practice of women of color educators to be important in orienting teaching and learning toward more humanizing practice. The reflections highlight both possibilities and challenges that can be helpful reimagining the practice in teacher and leadership education, as the authors prepare educators for an uncertain future.Originality/valueThis essay offers valuable lessons from women of color educator practice that can offer humanizing approaches to teaching and learning as well as school leadership education.

Bats and grammar: developing critical language awareness in the context of school reform

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 281-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meg Gebhard ◽  
Holly Graham
Keyword(s):  
School Reform ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Student Writing ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Language Awareness ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Critical Language Awareness ◽  
Teachers Professional Development

Purpose This paper aims to analyze how middle schoolers developed a critical awareness of language while participating in a curricular unit informed by systemic functional linguistics (SFL). This unit was developed to understanding and taking action to protect a local bat population in the context of school reforms shaping teaching and learning in the USA. It was designed to support a heterogeneous class of seventh graders in learning to read scientific explanations, write letters to government officials and develop a functional metalanguage to support them in analyzing how language simultaneously constructs ideas, enacts power dynamics and manages the flow of information in disciplinary texts. The questions guiding this study are: How do students use SFL metalanguage in text production and interpretation practices? Do their uses of SFL metalanguage support critical language awareness and reflection? And, if so, in what ways? Design/methodology/approach This study uses ethnographic methods to conduct teacher action research. Data include classroom transcripts, student writing samples and interviews. Findings The findings illustrate how students engaged with SFL, often playfully, to create their own student-generated functional metalanguage in highly productive ways. Research limitations/implications This study contributes to a growing body of scholarship that suggests SFL metalanguage can provide teachers and students with a powerful semiotic toolkit that enables them to navigate the demands of teaching and learning in the context of the Standardization and Accountability movement. Practical implications This study has implications teachers’ professional development and students’ disciplinary literacy development in the context of school reform. Originality/value To date, few studies have explored how students take up and transform SFL metalanguage into a tool for critical reflection, especially adolescents.

Rethinking social mobility in education: looking through the lens of professional capital

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Elliot Major ◽  
Jennie Miles Weiner
Keyword(s):  
Social Mobility ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
After School ◽  
School Systems ◽  
Educational Inequalities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Professional Capital ◽  
Central Tenet ◽  
Intense Light

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to argue that current ways school systems have addressed social mobility is misguided at best and, at worst, hurts social mobility. Instead, we call for a focus on investment in teachers' professional capital as a primary lever for enhancing the likelihood they can effectively prepare and develop all children to lead successful lives after school. These arguments have become even more pertinent with the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachUsing contemporary research, and grounded in our collective decades of research in these areas, we define social mobility and document how the aim of improving it has become a central tenet of our governments' stated ambitions and the yardstick by which school systems' success is measured. We then show how the application of market-based approaches to schools and teachers' work has hindered social mobility and offer a new path forward.FindingsAfter 50 years of neoliberal policies incentivising individualistic and competitive behaviours, it is time to move towards policies that enhance professional capital and promote high quality collaboration between teachers. We call for a new path forward: a re-orientation to invest in teachers' capacity to realise the potential of education to improve the life prospects for all children, irrespective of their background.Originality/valueAs with so many issues, the COVID-19 pandemic has shone an intense light on the role of educators in society. There are credible concerns that economic and educational inequalities resulting from the crisis have the potential to trigger a fall in future social mobility levels. Yet this should also be seen as a new dawn for renewed thinking in which we seriously consider a shift away from neoliberal to professional capital policies to create an education system that nurtures teaching professionals, promotes collective behaviour and helps rather than hinders efforts to improve social mobility.

scholarly journals Emotional intelligence testing for headteachers: globalization or lost in translation

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Cliffe
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Emotional Labor ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Intelligence Testing ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Emotional Responses ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Post Test ◽  
The Usa

Purpose The emotional labor of headteachers and teachers is complex. The purpose of this paper is to explore the relevance of the use of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence test (MSCEIT) (Mayer, Caruso & Salovey, 2000) when assessing the emotional intelligence of headteachers as part of an investigation which aimed to reveal the ways in which female secondary school leaders were emotionally intelligent and whether it was possible to test for emotional intelligence. Design/methodology/approach Seven female headteachers’ MSCEIT reports are investigated. Semi-structured interviews were held pre- and post-test to explore the headteachers’ emotional labor. In addition, teachers serving under the headteachers were interviewed. Findings The accuracy of the MSCEIT is questioned, rather than taking the results at face value, attention is given to its content, language and cultural differences. The MSCEIT originates from the USA and is used globally. The findings of this investigation suggest it is possible the MSCEIT represents a deficit model due to the test takers’ interpretation of nuanced language. The findings show a disparity in relation to MSCEIT scores and self-reported emotional responses. Research limitations/implications Although the sample size is small and therefore cannot claim generalization from the findings, the use of emotional intelligence tests should be used with caution. Emotional responses are best understood through life experience as the headteachers attach retrospective meaning to their leadership actions. Originality/value Headteachers’ work is multifaceted because emotion is integral to the processes of teaching and learning. The emotional labor of headteachers and teachers impacts and has relevance to their roles as educational landscapes continue to shift.

Learning processes for interpersonal competence development in project-based sustainability courses – insights from a comparative international study

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 535-560
Author(s):  
Theres Konrad ◽  
Arnim Wiek ◽  
Matthias Barth
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Single Case ◽  
International Study ◽  
Competence Development ◽  
Learning Processes ◽  
Interpersonal Competence ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
The Usa

Purpose For professional sustainability work, graduates need to be able to work in teams and collaborate with stakeholders; in other words, they need to have developed interpersonal competence. There is growing evidence that project-based sustainability courses facilitate interpersonal competence development. However, research so far has focused on single case studies and on assessing learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to deepen the understanding of how graduate students learn interpersonal competence in project-based sustainability courses. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts a multi-case study approach triangulating observations, semi-structured interviews and focus groups supported by Photovoice method. A comparison of three project-based sustainability courses in graduate programs at universities in the USA, Germany, Switzerland and Spain is conducted to gain generalizable insights on how interpersonal competence can be developed through project-based sustainability courses. Findings Receiving inputs, experiencing, reflecting and experimenting are four learning processes supportive of interpersonal competence development. Interpersonal attitudes seem to be mostly learned through a combination of experiencing and reflecting, followed by experimenting; not surprisingly, interpersonal knowledge is mostly developed through a combination of receiving inputs, experiencing and (collective) reflection; and interpersonal skills seem to be mostly learned through a combination of receiving inputs and experimenting, or, more directly, experiencing and experimenting. Practical implications These findings support the unique learning opportunities offered through project-based sustainability courses and can help instructors to better facilitate students’ development of interpersonal competence. Originality/value The value of this study is three-fold: (i) it provides a comprehensive picture of interpersonal competence, including attitudes, knowledge, and skills; (ii) it spells out specific teaching and learning processes; and (iii) it links these to specific interpersonal competence facets and components.

Bringing formative classroom assessment to schools and making it count

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 339-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmund W. Gordon ◽  
Michael V. McGill ◽  
Deanna Iceman Sands ◽  
Kelley M. Kalinich ◽  
James W. Pellegrino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Classroom Assessment ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Current Assessment

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to present alternative views on the theory and practice of formative assessment (FA), or assessment to support teaching and learning in classrooms, with the purpose of highlighting its value in education and informing discussions on educational assessment policy. Methodology/approach – The method used is a “moderated policy discussion”. The six invited commentaries on the theme represent perspectives of leading scholars and measurement experts juxtaposed against voices of prominent school district leaders from two education systems in the USA. The discussion is moderated with introductory and concluding remarks from the guest editor and is excerpted from a recent blog published by Education Week. References and author biographies are presented at the end of the article. Findings – While current assessment policies in the USA push for greater accountability in schools by increasing large scale testing of students, the authors underscore the importance of FA integrated with classroom teaching and learning. They define what formative classroom assessment means in theory and in practice, consider barriers to more widespread use of FA practices and address what educational policy makers could do to facilitate a FA “work culture” in schools. Originality/value – The commentators, representing scholar and practitioner perspectives, examine the problem in a multi-faceted manner and offer research-based, practical and policy solutions to the observed issues in FA. Dialogue among stakeholders, as presented here, is a key first step in enacting assessment reforms in the directions discussed.

Disaster relief trials: perceptions of a disaster-themed bicycling event

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 386-400
Author(s):  
Sarah Bundy Kirkpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Relief ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Perceived Value ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Telephone Interviews ◽  
Emergency Managers ◽  
Community Organizers ◽  
The Usa

Purpose Bicycling enthusiasts have been organizing community events in US cities to demonstrate how bicycles may be of use in the aftermath of a disaster event. The purpose of this paper is to examine the perceived value of these events and levels of engagement in the same amongst emergency managers, community organizers and bicycling advocates. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through 21 in-depth, telephone interviews with emergency management officials and bicycling advocates in bicycle-friendly jurisdictions in the USA and analyzed using initial and focused coding, analytic memos and theoretical sorting. Findings The study found that event organizers and other bicycle advocates widely embraced the concept as a means to change societal perceptions of bicycles as viable modes of transportation, indicating at least some level of interest in taking an active role in its pursuit. Emergency managers were generally receptive to the idea, but they largely saw the value as restricted to raising public awareness about hazards and individual preparedness measures; and they mostly envisioned for themselves a minimal role in event planning and execution. Practical implications The findings suggest that when operating in a resource-poor environment with limited public and political support, there are innovative partnerships and ideas that can be successfully leveraged to advance multiple purposes. Originality/value Almost no empirical research has looked at the disaster relief trial concept, given the relative newness and novelty of the idea. An examination of perceived value of disaster-oriented community bicycling events seems warranted as such events continue to grow in existing locations and emerge in new locales each year.

Affordances and constraints of communities of practice to promote bilingual schooling

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Scanlan ◽  
Minsong Kim ◽  
Larry Ludlow
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Networked Learning ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relational Networks ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
The Usa

PurposeAs the demographic landscape in the USA becomes more culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD), schools must build educators’ professional knowledge and skills to better serve students whose mother tongues are not English. The purpose of this paper is to report on the formation of a network of schools collaboratively transforming their approaches to teaching and learning in order to meet the educational needs of this changing student population.Design/methodology/approachTo determine how relational networks in this network affect the learning of educators to implement the bilingual education model, the authors drew from three data sources: a social network survey, semi-structured interviews and archival documents.FindingsThe schools in this study are engaged in a dramatic restructuring, moving from monolingual English schools to a network of two-way immersion bilingual schools. The evidence from this study revealed different information sharing structures within the relational networks. The authors found organizational structures of interactive spaces and teams supporting the relational networks that created communities of practice, and these communities of practice fostering all three aspects of profession capital (human, social and decisional).Research limitations/implicationsThe analysis points toward the complicated nature of organizational learning within networks of schools. While some relational networks were strong, the authors also note gaps and disconnections in the network interactions, despite the structures promoting connectivity. Hence, this study sheds light on both the power and the limitation of networked learning within and across school striving to improve the teaching and learning for CLD students.Originality/valueThis original analysis lays the foundation for future investigations of networked learning.

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