scholarly journals Teachers’ autonomy deconstructed: Irish and Finnish teachers’ perceptions of decision-making and control

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maija Salokangas ◽  
Wieland Wermke ◽  
Gerry Harvey
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
Teacher Autonomy ◽  
School Level ◽  
External Control ◽  
Educational Decisions ◽  
Teacher Interviews ◽  
Developmental Issues ◽  
Teachers Perceptions

Teacher autonomy has been a popular topic of investigation over the past decades. This article contributes to the debate by casting light on Irish and Finnish teachers’ perceptions of their professional autonomy, drawing from teacher interviews conducted in both countries. The intersection of newly introduced curriculum reforms, differing education governance models and differing control regimes make Ireland and Finland fertile points of comparison. Teacher autonomy is understood in this article as a multidimensional and context-dependent phenomenon, and the conceptualisation is presented in an analytical matrix applicable to comparative research. Findings indicate that teachers in both countries consider themselves very autonomous in their classroom practice and in their educational decisions overall. However, where much of the school-level decision-making in Finnish schools concerning educational, social and developmental issues tends to be in the hands of teachers (either collegially or as individuals), in Irish schools the senior management, and especially the principal, is reportedly more involved. Possibly the greatest difference is the ways in which teachers’ work is controlled, and in how teachers perceive it; Finnish teachers report intensified external control from the civil society, whereas on top of parental pressures Irish teachers report also increasing pressures from the state agencies.

scholarly journals Caught In-Between: The Impact of Different Forms of Mandated National Assessment for Qualifications on Teacher Decision-Making in Year 12 History in New Zealand, 1986-2005

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Gregor James Fountain
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Teacher Autonomy ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
History Teachers ◽  
Written Curriculum ◽  
The Impact

<p>This case study takes an historical perspective to explore the curriculum decision-making of History teachers in New Zealand. It is argued that between 1986 and 2005, Year 12 History teachers were caught in-between curriculum reform on one hand, which encouraged teacher autonomy, and on the other hand, assessment reform which reduced teacher autonomy. While teachers in this study utilised the autonomy provided by internal assessment to develop engaging class and assessment activities, they largely avoided topics in Māori, Pasifika and Women’s history which were promoted through the syllabus. Factors which contributed to teachers' decisions concerning curriculum topics included teachers' perceptions of the nature of disciplinary History, personal interest and resource availability. The primary focus on this thesis is an assessment of the impact of changes to national assessment for qualifications on Year 12 History programmes. It argues that mandated assessment for qualifications is the single-most determining factor on classroom practice. It is also argued that the assessment style which emerged for Year 12 History through the National Certificate of Educational Achievement disconnected History assessment from the intentions of its written curriculum which emphasised disciplinary History's underlying and interconnected process of gathering, analysing and presenting historical information. In some cases, the NCEA hindered rather than enhanced the development of a school-based curriculum at this level.</p>

scholarly journals Caught In-Between: The Impact of Different Forms of Mandated National Assessment for Qualifications on Teacher Decision-Making in Year 12 History in New Zealand, 1986-2005

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Gregor James Fountain
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Curriculum Reform ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Teacher Autonomy ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
History Teachers ◽  
Written Curriculum ◽  
The Impact

<p>This case study takes an historical perspective to explore the curriculum decision-making of History teachers in New Zealand. It is argued that between 1986 and 2005, Year 12 History teachers were caught in-between curriculum reform on one hand, which encouraged teacher autonomy, and on the other hand, assessment reform which reduced teacher autonomy. While teachers in this study utilised the autonomy provided by internal assessment to develop engaging class and assessment activities, they largely avoided topics in Māori, Pasifika and Women’s history which were promoted through the syllabus. Factors which contributed to teachers' decisions concerning curriculum topics included teachers' perceptions of the nature of disciplinary History, personal interest and resource availability. The primary focus on this thesis is an assessment of the impact of changes to national assessment for qualifications on Year 12 History programmes. It argues that mandated assessment for qualifications is the single-most determining factor on classroom practice. It is also argued that the assessment style which emerged for Year 12 History through the National Certificate of Educational Achievement disconnected History assessment from the intentions of its written curriculum which emphasised disciplinary History's underlying and interconnected process of gathering, analysing and presenting historical information. In some cases, the NCEA hindered rather than enhanced the development of a school-based curriculum at this level.</p>

Awareness and Decision Making in Professional Ethics

2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronny Swain
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Professional Ethics ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
Ethical Awareness ◽  
Ethical Decisions ◽  
The Right ◽  
Aid Decision

The paper describes the development of the 1998 revision of the Psychological Society of Ireland's Code of Professional Ethics. The Code incorporates the European Meta-Code of Ethics and an ethical decision-making procedure borrowed from the Canadian Psychological Association. An example using the procedure is presented. To aid decision making, a classification of different kinds of stakeholder (i.e., interested party) affected by ethical decisions is offered. The author contends (1) that psychologists should assert the right, which is an important aspect of professional autonomy, to make discretionary judgments, (2) that to be justified in doing so they need to educate themselves in sound and deliberative judgment, and (3) that the process is facilitated by a code such as the Irish one, which emphasizes ethical awareness and decision making. The need for awareness and judgment is underlined by the variability in the ethical codes of different organizations and different European states: in such a context, codes should be used as broad yardsticks, rather than precise templates.

Parents and educators: Partners working together in an inclusive setting

1993 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 33-49
Author(s):  
Sebastian (Nello) Raciti
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
School Level ◽  
Collaborative Consultation ◽  
Local School ◽  
Participatory Decision Making ◽  
Intervention Plan ◽  
Consultation Model ◽  
Working Together ◽  
The Right ◽  
Contextual Setting

Parents have the right to participate in the educational planning for their child with a disability, however they often need assistance when interacting with professionals to ensure the best programs for their children. Professionals also require guidelines and opportunities to develop appropriate communication skills when interacting with other professionals and parents. This paper investigates the level of participatory decision-making which exists between parents and professionals, and professionals amongst themselves. The present thrust for including children with a disability in mainstream schools is used as the contextual setting for this investigation. Furthermore, the author presents an intervention plan based on the Collaborative Consultation Model to enhance the participatory decision-making skills of parents and professionals at the local school level.

scholarly journals The Use of External Controls in FDA Regulatory Decision Making

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahta Jahanshahi ◽  
Keith Gregg ◽  
Gillian Davis ◽  
Adora Ndu ◽  
Veronica Miller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Natural History ◽  
Product Development ◽  
Rare Diseases ◽  
The United States ◽  
External Control ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Published Data ◽  
History Data ◽  
Benefit Risk Assessment

AbstractThe regulatory standards of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) require substantial evidence of effectiveness from adequate and well-controlled trials that typically use a valid comparison to an internal concurrent control. However, when it is not feasible or ethical to use an internal control, particularly in rare disease populations, relying on external controls may be acceptable. To better understand the use of external controls to support product development and approval, we reviewed FDA regulatory approval decisions between 2000 and 2019 for drug and biologic products to identify pivotal studies that leveraged external controls, with a focus on select therapeutic areas. Forty-five approvals were identified where FDA accepted external control data in their benefit/risk assessment; they did so for many reasons including the rare nature of the disease, ethical concerns regarding use of a placebo or no-treatment arm, the seriousness of the condition, and the high unmet medical need. Retrospective natural history data, including retrospective reviews of patient records, was the most common source of external control (44%). Other types of external control were baseline control (33%); published data (11%); and data from a previous clinical study (11%). To gain further insights, a comprehensive evaluation of selected approvals utilizing different types of external control is provided to highlight the variety of approaches used by sponsors and the challenges encountered in supporting product development and FDA decision making; particularly, the value and use of retrospective natural history in the development of products for rare diseases. Education on the use of external controls based on FDA regulatory precedent will allow for continued use and broader application of innovative approaches to clinical trial design, while avoiding delays in product development for rare diseases. Learnings from this review also highlight the need to update regulatory guidance to acknowledge the utility of external controls, particularly retrospective natural history data.

scholarly journals The Finnish Product Development Teachers’ Perceptions of their Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Higher Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 609-618
Author(s):  
Elina Mäkelä ◽  
Petra Auvinen ◽  
Tero Juuti
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Educational Technology ◽  
Product Development ◽  
Pedagogical Content Knowledge ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Teacher Interviews ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Knowledge Based

AbstractThe paper concerns the Finnish product development teacherś perceptions on their pedagogical content knowledge in higher education settings. The aim is to describe and analyse what kind of pedagogical content knowledge the teachers have and, therefore, to provide a better understanding of the type of knowledge unique to product development teaching. The model of pedagogical content knowledge used here includes the components of product development content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. Based on seven teacher interviews, the main content knowledge concerns the process of product development, its different phases and methods as well as the usage of different software programs. The teachers use diverse teaching methods and their attitude towards educational technology is mostly positive. Course learning outcomes and working life are acknowledged when planning teaching, but only a few teachers take curriculum into account and participate in curriculum design. Even though the teachers use different evaluation methods in teaching, new ways of evaluation are needed. This may be something that innovative educational technology tools can make possible.

Enhancing EFL Teachers’ Pronunciation Pedagogy Through Professional Learning: A Vietnamese Case Study

RELC Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 003368822095247
Author(s):  
Loc Tan Nguyen ◽  
Jonathan Newton
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Teaching Skills ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
The Impact

The role of teacher professional learning (TPL) in assisting teachers to teach pronunciation in English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) contexts has received little attention. The study reported in this paper extends this line of research by investigating how six EFL teachers at a Vietnamese university transform and integrate the pronunciation pedagogical knowledge they received from a TPL workshop into teaching practice. It then examines the teachers’ perceptions of the impact of the workshop on their knowledge gains and pronunciation teaching skills. Data were collected from seven lesson plans designed by the teachers, video recordings of 24 subsequent classroom observations, and six individual semi-structured interviews. The study adopted a content-based approach to qualitative data analysis. The findings show that the teachers were all able to translate TPL into classroom practice of pronunciation teaching. The findings further show that workshops designed and implemented in accordance with research-based TPL principles can be effective for promoting teachers’ knowledge of pronunciation pedagogy and refining their pronunciation teaching skills. The study has implications for ESL/EFL teachers’ professional development in pronunciation teaching.

Forms of participation and teacher voice. Self-appraisal in Academy schools.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Brown
Keyword(s):  
Performance Appraisal ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Network Governance ◽  
Professional Autonomy ◽  
Teacher Voice ◽  
Teacher Interviews ◽  
Teachers Experiences ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Professional Conflicts

Since 2010, privatisation of English state funded schools has accelerated. This is an educational policy that continues to shift accountability for effective teaching away from central government and local authorities towards schools and individual teachers. New models of network governance continue to exacerbate old tensions between ideas of professional accountability and contractual accountability. In this context quality assurance mechanisms have displaced opportunities for personal development and job satisfaction.The phenomenon of participation has been conceptualised here as teacher voice and as the means of reducing professional conflicts in secondary schools. This discussion draws on empirical evidence from teacher interviews and teacher self-appraisal submissions in order to answer the question, ‘What are teachers’ experiences of participation in their performance appraisal in English Academy schools?’, where ‘evaluation has become an embedded practice giving less room to local actors’ (Kauko and Salokangas, 2015). Voice is described with reference to reflective writing for self-appraisal. Institutional forgetting is described in relation to reductions in professional dialogue and professional autonomy. Keywordsprivatization, self-appraisal, participation, voice, active, passive, compliance, non-compliance, forgetting, knowledge, stratification, separation, compartmentalization

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