A three-legged stool: Teachers’ views of Junior Cycle Physical Education curriculum change

The purpose of this paper was to examine Irish Physical Education teachers' views on curriculum change at the beginning of its implementation stage, with a particular focus on revision to the Physical Education curriculum and the new Wellbeing programme. In the light of these revisions, teachers were asked to make considerable changes to their beliefs and pedagogical approaches. Teacher change theory provided a lens through which to examine teachers' views. We reimaged the three aspects of teacher change as a triangle or ‘three-legged stool' where the three elements of curriculum materials/resources, pedagogy, and beliefs combine to offer a sense of security to sustain the impending changes. A survey and a series of semi-structured interviews provided data and in total 119 second level Physical Education teachers participated. Analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics of quantitative data and inductive and deductive analysis of qualitative data. Three themes were developed: A Learning Focus, Embracing Change, and Curriculum Enactment. Contrary to recent findings in the change literature, the teachers in this study welcomed curriculum changes as their beliefs aligned with the purpose of the reform of Physical Education. The results indicated that the new curriculum was catching up with teachers’ core beliefs about the purpose of Physical Education. However, in line with recent research, teachers were sceptical about ongoing support for resourcing and continued professional development. In conclusion, the ‘three-legged stool of sustained change has the potential to be unbalanced thereby maintaining teacher buy-in to the new reforms is potentially fragile.

Teachers’ perceptions of changes to teaching practice and the influence of professional development: Experienced EFL teachers in South Korea

<p>This multiple-case study investigated experienced English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions of changes to teaching practice as a result of professional development (PD) in South Korea. The study used one-on-one semi-structured interviews as the primary data source to capture teachers’ views on changes to their practice and the impact of their PD experiences. The study drew upon cultural historical activity theory as a theoretical framework and the literature on PD and teacher change to understand the relationship between PD and teacher change, and the influences on this relationship. This study found that various aspects of the teachers’ context – the English education curriculum, teacher culture, the school environment, and education policy – and the complex interrelationship among these factors led these teachers to develop a passive attitude towards PD learning and implementation. So, despite engaging in diverse PD experiences over their career, they rarely considered implementing changes within their teaching practice. This study revealed these experienced EFL teachers’ overarching concern about their levels of English proficiency. It showed that they were inclined to value newly qualified teachers’ capability over their own long teaching experience. They felt isolated within a stagnant teacher culture where they perceived that there was limited support for professional development from either school or education policy. Finally, they felt caught between the conflicting demands of the English education curriculum and classroom teaching. These experienced EFL teachers might be encouraged to develop a more positive attitude if their expertise and capacity were acknowledged as valuable. This would require an investment of time and effort to allow them to prepare for and contribute to PD learning and implementation. Orchestrated efforts from policymakers, school administrators, and teachers could help bring about substantial changes in experienced teachers’ teaching practice and enable them to share their expertise with other educators.</p>

Teachers’ perceptions of changes to teaching practice and the influence of professional development: Experienced EFL teachers in South Korea

<p>This multiple-case study investigated experienced English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions of changes to teaching practice as a result of professional development (PD) in South Korea. The study used one-on-one semi-structured interviews as the primary data source to capture teachers’ views on changes to their practice and the impact of their PD experiences. The study drew upon cultural historical activity theory as a theoretical framework and the literature on PD and teacher change to understand the relationship between PD and teacher change, and the influences on this relationship. This study found that various aspects of the teachers’ context – the English education curriculum, teacher culture, the school environment, and education policy – and the complex interrelationship among these factors led these teachers to develop a passive attitude towards PD learning and implementation. So, despite engaging in diverse PD experiences over their career, they rarely considered implementing changes within their teaching practice. This study revealed these experienced EFL teachers’ overarching concern about their levels of English proficiency. It showed that they were inclined to value newly qualified teachers’ capability over their own long teaching experience. They felt isolated within a stagnant teacher culture where they perceived that there was limited support for professional development from either school or education policy. Finally, they felt caught between the conflicting demands of the English education curriculum and classroom teaching. These experienced EFL teachers might be encouraged to develop a more positive attitude if their expertise and capacity were acknowledged as valuable. This would require an investment of time and effort to allow them to prepare for and contribute to PD learning and implementation. Orchestrated efforts from policymakers, school administrators, and teachers could help bring about substantial changes in experienced teachers’ teaching practice and enable them to share their expertise with other educators.</p>

Teachers as educational change agents: what do we currently know? findings from a systematic review

Change agents are individuals who can successfully transform aspects of how organisations operate. In education, teachers as change agents are increasingly seen as vital to the successful operation of schools and self-improving school systems. To date, however, there has been no systematic investigation of the nature and role of teacher change agents. To address this knowledge gap, we undertook a systematic review into five key areas regarding teachers as change agents. After reviewing 70 outputs we found that current literature predominantly positions teacher change agents as the deliverers of top-down change, with the possibility of bottom-up educational reform currently neglected.

Learning to Teach to Argue: Case Studies in Professional Learning in Evidence-Based Science Writing

Background/Context The emphasis on scientific practices articulated by the National Research Council framework and the Next Generation Science Standards requires significant pedagogical shifts for U.S. science teachers. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This study provides a rare window into the challenges and opportunities teachers encounter as they introduce argument writing into their science classrooms with support from the National Writing Project's Inquiry into Science Writing project. The purpose of this study is to better understand the teacher-change process so as to inform the development of future professional development efforts. Population/Participants/Subjects Case studies were drawn from a professional development network led by the National Writing Project to support teachers in studying and improving their practice while sharing knowledge and benefiting from the expertise of others. The network included 28 middle school teachers at five writing project sites around the United States; the case studies presented in this article are based on the experiences of three of these teachers. Intervention/Program/Practice The Inquiry into Science Writing Project was a 2-year practitioner-driven professional learning experience seeking to better understand and support student practice around evidence-based science writing. During the duration of the project, teachers taught at least one lesson series culminating in written arguments by students each semester, and participated in two summer institutes, an ongoing national professional learning community, and monthly meetings of their local teacher research group. Research Design The study uses a qualitative comparative case study approach. Data Collection and Analysis The case studies draw on interviews, lesson artifacts, written teacher reflections, and samples of student work. Conclusions/Recommendations The study findings reinforce the complexity of the change process: The relationship between teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes and their practice was not linear and unidirectional (i.e., change in attitude leads to change in practice) but rather iterative and mediated by both student work and the external supports they received. These findings confirm the need for sustained learning environments with features that promote enactment and reflection on student work to support teacher change. Further, they suggest that professional development providers should think about how to build habits of reflection into their own design processes, allowing space for feedback and learning from practitioners.