Taking Back Teaching: The Professionalization Work of Teacher Activist Organizations

We contribute to the teacher activism literature an understanding of how activist organizations support professionalization processes. We examine how teachers’ involvement in a local activist organization counteracts the de-professionalizing reforms of the standards and accountability movement and fosters the professionalization of teaching. Our findings suggest that the structures of the activist organization provide opportunities for teachers to create and maintain collective knowledge for curricula and practice, sustain their professional commitments to social justice, and build confidence that promotes voice in educational decision-making. We discuss implications for teacher professionalization and identify the need for future studies on the role of teacher activist organizations on teachers, teaching, and the profession.

Tinjauan Ontologi, Epistemologi, dan Aksiologi terhadap Guru Profesional

Professional teachers according to the ontology review are teachers who are required to have academic qualifications, competencies, educator certificates, physically and mentally healthy, and have the ability to realize national education goals. As for the epistemological review, to realize a professional teacher there are four stages that must be taken, namely: 1). Provision of university-based teachers, 2). Induction for novice teachers based on school, 3). Professionalization of teachers based on institutional initiatives, and 4). Teacher professionalization on an individual basis or becoming a civil teacher. While axiologically, professional teachers function to elevate dignity, act as learning agents to improve the quality of national education, aim to implement the national education system and realize national education goals. For this dedication, teachers as professional workers are entitled to receive, such as salary or income, respect, appreciation, protection, social welfare and so on. The purpose of this research is to find out in depth the professionalism of teachers by using a theoretical approach to the philosophy of science, namely in terms of ontology, epistemology, and axiology. This research is library research, namely the data needed to complete the research obtained from the library in the form of books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, journals, documents, magazines and so on..

Propuesta para mejorar la calidad en la práctica docente de los niveles medio y superior del IPN (México), a través de la formación del personal académico

El presente trabajo contiene un estudio descriptivo de los factores tales como; la inserción, trayectorias, permanencia y formación en la docencia; que intervienen en la profesionalización docente, en el contexto y marco normativo académico del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), México; con la intención de proponer un modelo de formación- profesionalización docente, basada en áreas de formación, competencias docentes y etapas de desarrollo profesional, con el objetivo de mejorar la calidad de la práctica docente en los niveles superior y medio superior del IPN. Palabras clave: Calidad, mejoramiento, Competencias docentes, Formación docente. Abstract This paper contains a descriptive study of factors such as; the insertion, career path, permanence and training in teaching; that intervene in teacher professionalization, in the context and academic regulatory framework of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), Mexico; with the intention of proposing a professionalization - training model based on areas of training, teaching competencies and stages of professional development, with the aim of improving the quality of teaching practice in the upper and middle levels of the IPN.

Teaching is More than Applying Knowledge:

Teaching is a challenging job, due to the changing requirements of changing times. Routine as a teacher is not possible. Student teachers need to be prepared to deal with challenging situations. The perception of requirements as challenges and problem-solving capacities are needed to master the job as a teacher. This article explains why problem-solving capacities are essential for teacher professionalization, what requirements challenge beginning teachers most, and how teacher education can foster student teachers to be prepared to deal with challenges of the first stage of their career. Based on the model of professionalization in which individual resources play a crucial role in the perception of challenge and the coping with it, results from a study on the challenges of beginning teachers were shown. The main finding that beginning teachers are most challenged by teaching that refers to individual students’ needs leads to consequences for teacher education. Student teachers need to build up adaptive knowledge for school and reflection competences. Explanations on a course at Zurich University of Teacher Education show how student teachers are educated in a problem-based setting to build up knowledge and competence that are useful in order to teach considering individual students’ needs. The article closes with a model of reflection on challenging situations that takes into account different factors of individual resources that are relevant for professionalization. Keywords: teacher education, developmental tasks, requirement appraisal, individual resources, reflection, problem-based learning

Finnish teachers’ participation in local curriculum development: A study of processes in five school contexts

For many years, teachers have been involved in developing the national curricula in Finland in various ways. Teachers’ involvement in curriculum design and implementation has, during the last national curriculum implementation process, increased locally to strengthen their confidence in and knowledge of the national curriculum’s multifaceted content. The purpose of this article is to broaden the knowledge of teacher involvement in the recent curriculum process in Finland; more specifically, to examine teachers’ participation in local curriculum work. In this qualitative study, interviews were the primary method used to gather empirical data. Hansén’s (1998) ideas of different levels of teacher professionalization are used as a framework for the analysis. The results show that ways of organizing involvement, management of involvement and use of time in the local curriculum process are crucial factors in teachers’ participation and partly determine their degree of participation. The results also suggest that teachers’ awareness of how the curriculum is linked to their collective collaborative and continuous work is relatively high, but it is not entirely clear how the four steps are integrated in the professional language.

La profesionalización docente en la modalidad online y la implementación de REI’s: aciertos y desafíosTeaching professionalization in the online mode and the implementation of REIs: successes and challenges

ResumenLa profesionalización docente en la modalidad online se ha venido conformando como una oportunidad de formación para los profesores de matemáticas en servicio. El Programa de Matemática Educativa del Instituto Politécnico Nacional de México se fundó en el año 2000 y desde entonces ha ofrecido un dispositivo de formación a los profesores de diversas regiones de México y de toda Latinoamérica. Uno de los objetivos principales de este programa es poner a disposición de los profesores herramientas teóricas y metodológicas producidas en la disciplina de la Educación Matemática para regular e innovar su práctica docente. Es así como desde el año 2013 hasta la fecha hemos venido diseñando e impartiendo cursos basados en la metodología REI-FP (Sierra 2013 y Ruiz-Olarría 2015). En esta comunicación se analizan elementos de última edición con el objetivo de mostrar “aciertos” y desafíos, reconociendo las particularidades de la modalidad online y de los dispositivos multimedia.Palabras-clave: profesionalización docente, modalidad online, Recorridos de Estudios y de Investigación.AbstractTeaching professionalization in online mode has become a training opportunity for in-service mathematics teachers. The Educational Mathematics Program of the National Polytechnic Institute of Mexico was founded in 2000 and since then has offered a training device to teachers from various regions of Mexico and Latin America. One of the main objectives of this program is to make available to teachers theoretical and methodological tools produced in the discipline of Mathematics Education to regulate and innovate their teaching practice. Since 2013 we have been designing and delivering courses based on the REI-FP methodology (Sierra 2013 and Ruiz-Olarría 2015). This communication analyses elements of latest edition with the aim of showing "successes" and challenges, recognizing the particularities of online mode and multimedia devices.Keywords: Teacher professionalization, Online modality, Study and Research Tours.

German Teachers’ Digital Habitus and Their Pandemic Pedagogy

After closing public schools in early 2020 to slow the spread of Covid-19, attempts to provide continuity of education in Germany by means of digital tools faltered in variety of ways, with insufficient competence and inadequate technology leading to inequitable access and uneven implementation. Understanding how German teachers were caught unprepared in this time of crisis, especially in comparison with their European neighbors, requires an examination of their habitus as discussed by Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) that accounts for their behaviors beyond existing models regarding technology acceptance. Drawing on existing sociological and media-related studies, this contribution will describe the attitudes of German teachers and educational decision-makers in light of their digital, cultural, and educational habitus to provide a partial explanatory account for the current state of affairs. It will show how traditional skepticism for innovation among teachers in general, and German teachers in particular, is reinforced by demographic and sociological characteristics of the German teacher population and the nature of German schooling. After describing extant conditions regarding digitally mediated educational experiences during the initial Covid-19 phase in Germany based on emerging data, this article will subsequently identify prospective issues in this area in the near future. While the transition to digital teaching and learning has the potential to bring about a number of challenges, early data suggests that a possibility of significant positive development may occur as well. Based on these indications, the article will conclude with implications for teacher professionalization going forward.

Towards teacher professionalization for inclusive education: Reflections from the perspective of a socio-cultural approach

In this paper, we reflect on teacher education and professionalization from the perspective of a socio-cultural approach. The goal is to have a greater understanding of some controversies, challenges and complexities related to the implementation of inclusion and to connect it to teacher education and professionalization. Firstly, we discuss key assumptions of a socio-cultural approach, as a theoretical framework for reflecting on teacher training and professionalization and the implementation of inclusive education. Next, we present some international principles and values that constitute the normative framework for inclusive education. This is used as a basis for defining competencies and practices that are necessary to ensure adequate learning and developmental opportunities at school. Finally, we present a specific model of teacher training to highlight the potential contribution of a socio-cultural approach in considering the status and role of inclusion and special needs education.