The transfer of content knowledge in a cascade model of professional development

Abstract

A cascade model of professional development presents a particular risk that ‘knowledge’ promoted in a programme will be diluted or distorted as it passes from originators of the programme to local trainers and then to the target teachers. Careful monitoring of trainers’ and teachers’ knowledge as it is transferred through the system is therefore imperative. This paper focuses on the transfer of content knowledge through an in-service teacher professional development programme and offers an innovative methodology for investigating knowledge transfer, i.e. through insights gained during a mentoring process. The findings suggest that this methodology facilitated assessment of knowledge transfer because it involved the identification of knowledge in practice. The focus on knowledge in practice appeared to avoid a deficit model of trainers’/teachers’ knowledge and revealed that content knowledge was generally being successfully transferred throughout the system. A detailed analysis of different aspects of content knowledge transfer suggested various foci for additional training.

Keywords:

• knowledge transfer
• cascade training
• documentary analysis

Acknowledgements

Our special thanks go to all of the mentors who completed the reports on which this paper is based and to the Centre of Excellence for supporting this work. We also acknowledge the collaboration of all Centre Directors, trainers and teachers involved in the mentoring process and who made constructive observation and dialogue possible.