Changing the learning Ethos in school

Abstract

This article reports a project to improve teaching and learning in a secondary school by the combined action of the head teacher and a professional development consultant from Higher Education. The initial intention had been to develop strategies to improve pupils' self-image and independent learning. However, as the work progressed, it became evident that, at the heart of the school's problems lay the teachers perceptions of the nature of learning and their understanding of pupils as learners. An account is given of professional development activities which had the effect of radically transforming the teachers' understanding of teaching and learning, their perceptions of themselves as learners and, subsequently, on their own pedagogy. The research includes teachers' own accounts of their transformed perspective and of the effects of their revised practice in the school. There is a discussion of the current priorities for school improvement and a critique of top-down managerialist approaches.