Transforming individuals and influencing policy through professional learning and development

In May of this year, the Editorial Board visited the Republic of Ireland to hold one of its periodic meetings and run its annual seminar, both hosted by the Mayo Education Centre based in Castlebar, County Mayo. The seminar had two key themes centred on education policy developments and teacher inquiry. In relation to education policy developments, members of the editorial board along with Dr Fiona King of Dublin City University analysed and discussed, from a multi-nation perspective, key issues such as the changing role and delivery of teacher education, the nature of professionalism and the future for professional learning.

The teacher inquiry aspect of the seminar proved to be the inspirational part of the event as a number of local teachers presented the findings from either their completed or ongoing doctoral research. Without exception, their engagement with doctoral study was transformational from a personal and professional perspective. The presentation of their findings showed how conceptualising and theorising about their practice led to changes and improvements in not only their practice but that of their colleagues. This in turn had a positive impact on their schools and their students from a teaching and learning perspective.

Of greater significance is that, as Brown (2014, p. 147) argues, engaged audiences – be they fellow practitioners, academics or policy-makers – will feel that the presentations by this group of inspirational teachers were evidence informed and:

… represents a situation in which academic research outputs have been adopted, and so combine with other pertinent knowledge to enhance individual policy makers’ understanding of the social world.

There could be no better advertisement for the positive power of professional learning and development than these presentations. Indeed, the findings presented clearly showed how policy can be shaped, altered and interpreted by those on the front-line. Michael Lipsky (2010, p. 8) states in his seminal work entitled Street-Level Bureaucracy that ‘The policy delivered by street-level bureaucrats is most often immediate and personal’, which was clearly evident from the teachers’ work. This is because, as Lipsky (2010, p. 24) points out, they command a degree of expertise, they command deference in some policy areas, their role is often discretionary, they are de-facto policy-makers, and leaders and managers depend on them.

The impact of policy changes is brought starkly into focus in the first article by Jackson and Burch that analyses and dissects the changes in initial teacher training in England during the past 20 years. This has led in recent years to English schools being given a far greater role through the School Direct policy in controlling and delivering initial teacher training. The article examines the role of teacher educators in both universities and schools. Significantly, it highlights the divide between the theoretical and practical approaches to initial teacher training adopted by academics and practitioners. This leads the authors to theorise on what the teacher educator of the future should be through a theoretical developmental framework that works on a hybrid approach predicated on the concept of partnership.

The second article by Maggio examines the professional development of teacher educators in Chile. As the author points out, the professional development of teacher educators is an under-researched area which she seeks to partly rectify through this mixed-methods study that collected evidence from teacher educators involved in four pre-service Chilean teacher education programmes. A number of significant findings emerge from this study, notably that, firstly, there is a lack of policy direction in terms of a lack of support for and development of teacher educators in the formative years of their new career. Secondly, there is either little appetite or opportunity to engage in research. This is obviously in stark contrast to the experiences of the Irish teacher researchers mentioned earlier. In my view, this shows the importance of educators engaging in professional learning and development that includes an element of research so they can obviously enhance their expertise and knowledge that will impact positively on their practice and students.

The next article by Santagata and Bray examines how professional development processes can promote teacher change in relation to daily routines amongst a small group of US elementary school teachers. The teachers were engaged with a professional development programme focused on student mathematical errors. Through this programme the researchers wanted to change the teachers’ approach in terms of being becoming aware of and willing to use alternative practices. This was a qualitative study where the authors used video observations as part of the evidence-gathering process. The videoing of the participants’ lessons along with watching videos of mathematics teaching from both the United States and further afield proved to be key elements of the programme, notably in terms of making them aware of their own practice and alternative practices, leading to a conceptualisation of all these practices that in turn would lead them to change and improve their own practice. Such intense introspection and reflection is vital if professional learning and development can have a meaningful impact on teaching and learning.

The fourth article in this issue by Dogan, Pringle and Mesa is a review of empirical studies examining the impact of professional learning communities (PLCs) on science teachers’ knowledge and practices as well as how they focus on student learning. A significant finding from this review was that science teachers started using more inquiry-based learning methods and assessments. As the authors point out, the beauty and relevance of PLCs is that they get teachers coming together to have meaningful conversations. This enables both reflection and being armed with knowledge leading to positive changes to teaching and learning strategies that are more student focused. Thus it is vital that we in the professional learning and development community must encourage colleagues to believe and understand that teaching and related professional learning and development activities need not be a solitary but a communal activity.

The theme of PLCs is continued in the next article by Svanbjörnsdóttir, Macdonald and Frímannsson from an interesting and innovative perspective. The focus of this article is on the creation of a PLC in a new Icelandic school. However, it is a PLC with a difference, in that the school with all its stakeholders is the PLC. Based on a long-term action research study over three-and-a-half years, the authors give an account of how the school as a PLC developed from its opening day. They examine in great detail how students, parents and paraprofessionals experience a sense of community and experience and view learning in this school that is developing as a PLC. The results make for interesting reading because this universal school PLC concept was embraced by the targeted stakeholders involved in the study and a sense of community and ownership was created amongst them. However, it is not all sunshine and roses because gaps and limitations were identified. For example, the parents firstly highlighted concerns in relation to certain teaching and learning approaches, and secondly that the planned building of interaction and trust with the local community had not materialised in the manner that was envisaged and planned. The findings certainly make for interesting reading, so much so that they have made me reflect on and change my thinking on how PLCs should be constructed within an educational setting.

The following two articles examine key dilemmas and issues for female teachers from two distinct perspectives. The article by Done, Murphy and Knowler is a challenging theoretical piece underpinned by several theoretical frameworks including those of Bourdieu and of Deleuze and Guattari. It offers an alternative view in terms of whether women can or should progress through the school leadership hierarchy to senior positions. The authors argue that many women decline the leadership route and instead opt for what they term the ethics of care approach, and in part this can be linked to aspects of non-positional leadership which is an interesting concept to consider. Additionally, Done, Murphy and Knowler argue that female teachers engaged with university-based professional learning develop a keen sense of criticality which allows them to make decisions linked to their career choices and trajectory.

The article by Mitton-Kükner is a comparative qualitative study of Canadian and Turkish female teachers’ experiences as teacher researchers engaged in completing their postgraduate studies whilst working. The study highlights the complexity and difficulty the participants experienced when attempting to do this. Notably, in terms of the time pressures the female participants highlighted due to their multiple obligations from a work, family and society perspective and how they dealt with these competing demands. The article demonstrates, like the preceding one, that there are still a number of barriers which female educators have to overcome in terms of their professional learning and development.

The final article by Turner, Huang, Poverjuc and Wyness is an English-based small qualitative study that examines the under-researched area of the support that mentors provide new lecturers as part of a part of a postgraduate programme developed to further professionalise their practice as university teachers. There has been a growing international drive to professionalise university teaching that impacts on teaching, learning, assessment, quality and pastoral support, and this article further enhances our understanding of this development. The researchers highlight the importance of the mentoring process, particularly the relationship aspect and its impact on the professional learning of the participants as well as the workload commitments of the selected mentors. Significantly, Turner et al. highlight that the choice and experience of the mentor are critical factors in terms of how and if such relationships have a positive outcome.

As you read through this issue it will become clear that, much like the Irish teachers mentioned earlier, both the researchers and the research participants share an enthusiasm and passion for education that seeks the betterment of their students and the society they serve. Thus, I leave you with the following thought that, for me, sums up this issue:

Education is the passing on of the accumulated wisdom of generations to children, and we passionately believe in its importance because we know that it holds the promise of a better life for each child, and for us all, collectively… Education makes better minds, and knowledge of the mind can make better education. (Willingham, 2009, p. 213)

Alex Alexandrou
Associate Editor