Hvor godt er lærere forberedt på den digitale hverdagen?

How well are teachers prepared for digital technology in their work? In this chapter, we report on questions in the TALIS 2018 survey concerning information and communication technology (ICT). Teachers were asked how they use digital technology for student activities, how prepared they are for digital practice, and how they assess their own need for continuous professional development (CDP) related to using digital technology in a classroom setting. This chapter is divided into two main parts. In the first part, we introduce previous research in the field of digital competence. We look at how the use of digital technology has evolved in Norwegian schools and how it has been supported by various educational reforms. We also refer to frameworks and various analytical tools to better understand students’ digital competence and teachers’ professional digital competence (PDC). Furthermore, we consider the role of teacher education in developing teachers’ and student teachers’ PDC. In the second part of the chapter, we present findings from TALIS 2018. Here we highlight teachers’ needs and participation in CPD, the preparations they have received in teacher education, and how they use digital technology to promote students’ learning and engagement in various teaching activities. Findings on classroom management in technology-savvy environments are presented, and the general use of ICT within a Nordic comparative perspective is discussed. In conclusion, we summarize the most important findings and raise issues in need of further research.

Hva fremmer et innovativt miljø i skolen, og hvilken betydning har det for læreres undervisning?

What encourages an innovative environment in schools and what does that imply for teaching? An innovative environment is important for a school’s ability to adapt to societal changes and for students’ ability to cope with future society. It is therefore crucial to find out what promotes an innovative environment in a school and what consequences an innovative environment has for teaching and learning. Certain aspects of teaching are especially important for students to learn how to cope with a society where, for instance, critical thinking and problem solving are required and where diversity is increasing. Such teaching practices include cognitive activation and inclusive practices. Using TALIS 2018, we employ two-level (teachers and schools) structural equation modelling to examine both direct and indirect effects of distributed leadership on teaching practices via an innovative environment. Results show that distributed leadership has a medium strong relationship to an innovative environment and that an innovative environment has a medium strong relationship to teaching practices. An innovative environment mediates the effect of distributed leadership on teaching practices. Overall, our study has implications for policy and practice as it finds that school leaders who employ distributed leadership can help promote an innovative environment and that an innovative environment in turn may encourage the type of teaching students need to acquire skills that are important in the 21st century.

Læringsfremmende vurderingspraksis på ungdomstrinnet: Funn fra TALIS 2018 og LISA-prosjektet

Assessment practices promoting learning at the lower secondary level: Findings from TALIS 2018 and the LISA project This chapter presents some of the results from the Norwegian TALIS 2018 survey related to professional knowledge, competence, and practice. Findings from teachers’ reporting on their own teaching practices are highlighted, specifically the part of their teaching that deals with assessment practices. Results from the TALIS survey are then interpreted in light of the results from a research project that deals with the same topic with other data sources. The Linking Instruction and Student Achievement project (LISA) combines video data from teaching practices in language arts and mathematics at the lower secondary level with test results from national tests (reading and arithmetic) from the same classes from which the observation data were taken. LISA is the largest video study of its kind of classroom practices in the Nordic countries and is a suitable frame of interpretation for TALIS 2018 data, as all data materials are linked to the last period of the former national curriculum in Norway. Findings from TALIS 2018 show that there could have been far more teachers who checked that the feedback they provide on written assignments is understood by their students. Results from the LISA project confirms this finding and also show that quite a few teachers are responsible for a large part of the feedback that is regarded to be of high quality. The chapter indicates that there is great potential for working more collectively on this topic both in the teacher education stage and as part of a well-managed lifelong learning system for teachers.

Nyutdannede læreres opplevelse av læreryrket

Beginning teachers’ job perceptions Over the last decade, the lack of qualified teachers in schools has been the subject of both research and political debate in many countries. In this study, we have investigated the factors that predict beginning teachers’ perceptions of job satisfaction, stress, and thoughts about quitting the job. The sample consisted of a total of 597 beginning teachers (65% women) from Norway. The results show that women experience higher job satisfaction and more stress at work than men do. The beginning teachers who said teaching was their first choice of career reported higher satisfaction with the profession and had fewer thoughts about quitting. Furthermore, the results show that beginning teachers are more satisfied than their more experienced colleagues with the profession and their school, a trend that was also reported by TALIS 2013. When it comes to beginning teachers’ own competence, the results show that self-efficacy in classroom management is significantly related to both higher satisfaction with their school and less stress. Regarding organizational factors, the findings show that commitment to and support from the school organisation are significantly related to higher satisfaction with the workplace. The study has several implications for school leaders and decision makers.

Forhold ved skolen som påvirker skolelederens tilfredshet med jobben

School aspects that influence the principals’ job-satisfaction This article aims to analyze how different school relations can influence principals’ job satisfaction. Our analysis is based on TALIS survey data from 162 Norwegian principals. We have used Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to analyze statistical relations between several potential explaining variables and principals’ professional and individual job satisfaction. The main findings show that innovation support and stress are statistically related to principals’ job satisfaction with school. On the other hand, principals’ teaching support is not related to their job satisfaction with school. In addition, principals’ perception of stress is negatively related to several positively charged characteristics of school as an organization (innovation support, teaching support, and job satisfaction with school). Possible interpretations of the findings are that innovation support contributes to job satisfaction with school but that stress can be perceived as an inhibitory factor in principals’ work. This article focuses on stress that involves a work overload from following up on teachers’ professional development, having too much administrative work, as well as having extra work due to staff absence. This stress is primarily related to a connection between principals’ working capacity and their ambitions to execute their leadership goals. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.

Profesjonelle fellesskap på ungdomstrinnet som del av skolens utvikling

Professional communities at the lower secondary level as part of the school’s development This chapter invites to a discussion of how TALIS 2018 data about professional communities relates to recent policy development aimed at school development. Teacher collaboration is considered a central resource in the individual school’s organization, and exchange of experience with colleagues is often highlighted when teachers are asked about their most important source of learning and development. Policy development in Norway has aimed at strengthening professional collaboration for quality development of schools, especially at the lower secondary level. The chapter highlights some results from TALIS 2018 that show how teachers at the lower secondary level collaborate and how school leaders provide feedback and assessments to support and facilitate the teachers’ further professional development by asking what the characteristics of collaboration at the lower secondary level are; and what kind of measures school leaders are implementing to support teachers who need follow-up. Answers to these questions are compared to Norwegian findings from TALIS 2008 and TALIS 2013.