The influence of school orientation to learning on teachers' professional learning change

Abstract

This article presents a theoretical argument for assuming that schools have an orientation to learning that influences both whether teachers learn and also whether they change professionally as a result of the learning. This school-level orientation to learning is hypothesized to consist of beliefs and practices about learning. Results from a structural equation modeling process of 1,126 teacher survey responses in England show that schools have an orientation to learning that includes beliefs about learning, systems and supports for learning, and collective capacity for learning. The practices constituting the school-level orientation to learning have a strong to moderate influence, via path analysis, on teacher learning change defined as a composite outcome of change in beliefs, practices, and students. The beliefs that constitute a school-level orientation have a weak, but still significant, influence on teacher learning change.

Keywords:

• school orientation to learning
• teacher professional development
• teacher professional learning
• teacher change

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank co-researchers on the TDA funded project, Bob McCormick and Anne Storey, for their support in this project. They also wish to thank Viviane Robinson, David Garrow, and anonymous reviewers for comments made on earlier drafts. Any remaining errors, mistakes, and omissions are solely our own.

Notes

1. The research reported in this article was funded by the Training and Development Agency (TDA) for Schools in England under contract T34718. The views expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the TDA or any other organizations by which the authors are employed.