Rebecca E Eliahoo - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Rebecca E Eliahoo

The Rectors’ Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences, Jun 27, 2018

This paper describes a three-stage method for teachers and researchers to collaborate and co-crea... more This paper describes a three-stage method for teachers and researchers to collaborate and co-create ideas for future practice, to improve collaborative lifelong learning. Using a thematic network group, practitioner-researchers and practitioners associated with the European Association for Practitioner Research on Improving Learning (EAPRIL) came to a shared understanding of possible teacher actions, methods and tools which can be used to improve collaborative lifelong learning processes and support the professional development of teachers. Three case studies are given as examples of developing lifelong learning processes through collaboration. The EAPRIL thematic network group borrow and adapt the concept of ‘‘interthinking’’ (Littleton & Mercer, 2013) as a process of investigating collaborative talk in the pursuit of collective intellectual endeavour. The focus was on collaboration, as this can have positive effects of social interaction for learning (Littleton, Miell & Faulkner, 2004). “Of all the conditions that feed deep learning, collaboration is at the heart of them” (Fullan, Quinn & McEachen, 2018, p. 97). Roundtable discussions were held in an international ‘interthinking’ group’ to collate practitioners’ perspectives on ways of encouraging and supporting creative collaborations and lifelong learning for staff and students. Following this, a call was sent out for international case studies which form part of this article.

My PhD explored the professional development needs of teacher educators—the people who teach teac... more My PhD explored the professional development needs of teacher educators—the people who teach teachers to teach. In this case study, I discuss my experience of using mixed methods: semistructured interviews, an online survey, and a focus group, with a community of teacher educators in the southeast of England. I wanted to identify the professional development needs of beginning and more experienced teacher educators, with the aim of proposing flexible ways of meeting these. There was little research on teacher educators who worked in my context: Post-Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) which covers Adult, Community, and Further Education as well as Higher Education. Therefore, I wanted to gather evidence from a wide number of sources. It seemed to me that mixed methods would be the most appropriate research approach. However, as I found out, a mixed method methodology holds both opportunities and challenges, forcing me to reflect upon and question my role as a researcher. This case reflects a part of my larger PhD study.

Professional Development in Education, 2016

At a time of increasing public and government focus on the quality of teacher education, little i... more At a time of increasing public and government focus on the quality of teacher education, little is known about the professional development needs of those who teach teachers in further education (FE). Yet they are crucial players. Efforts are intensifying across a significant number of countries to promote the professional development of teacher educators, but there is little support for new or experienced practitioners and no substantive professional standards regarding this role in English FE. This has an impact on the professional practice and career trajectories of teacher educators themselves. Based on a series of semi-structured interviews, an online survey and focus groups, this mixed-methods study uses a sequential exploratory design. The study captures the voices of English FE teacher educators who identified mentoring, induction and a choice of continuous professional development sessions as important strategies to improve the effectiveness of their role over time. This article will propose flexible models of professional development, following an analysis of new and experienced teacher educators’ needs in FE in England. The article recommends that new professional standards for teacher educators could be written collaboratively by practitioners, within a policy and institutional framework which supports the scholarship and research requirements of teacher educators.

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 2016

Purpose This qualitative study explores the barriers and dilemmas faced by beginning and novice m... more Purpose This qualitative study explores the barriers and dilemmas faced by beginning and novice mentors in post-compulsory education in the Southeast of England. It analyses critical incidents (Tripp, 2012) taken from the everyday practice of mentors who were supporting new teachers and lecturers in the Southeast of England. It categorises different types of critical incidents that mentors encountered and describes the strategies and rationales mentors used to support mentees and (indirectly) their learners and colleagues. The purpose of this paper is to explore ways in which mentors’ own values, beliefs and life experiences affected their mentoring practice. Design/methodology/approach As part of a specialist master’s-level professional development module, 21 mentors wrote about two critical incidents (Tripp, 2012) taken from their own professional experiences, which aimed to demonstrate their support for their mentee’s range of complex needs. These critical incidents were written ...

In this small-scale research project, five mentors and five mentees from different London college... more In this small-scale research project, five mentors and five mentees from different London colleges were asked what impact mentoring might have, not just on teacher trainees, but on their own learners. How might this impact be measured? To what extent might these forms of evaluation be considered valid and reliable? The implementation of formal mentoring for teacher trainees in the Lifelong Learning Sector has increased the need for systematic evaluation of mentoring schemes in initial teacher training. The mentors’ and mentees’ suggestions for evaluating the impact of mentoring comprised quantitative and qualitative methods and also illustrated the significant challenges to evaluating with any precision the benefits of mentoring in hard statistical terms.

EAPRIL 2019 Conference Proceedings, 2019

The goal of this paper is to collate reflections on strategies to improve teaching and learning e... more The goal of this paper is to collate reflections on strategies to improve teaching and learning environments for the future of education. Last year, some members of one of EAPRIL's cloud thematic networks (https://eapril.org/node/16) contributed to the symposium 'Strategies to improve teaching and learning environments' within the frame of the EAPRIL 2019 Conference in Tartu. The Cloud 3 symposium was organised by Rebecca Eliahoo and Marcelo Giglio and after this symposium, the authors of each contribution reexamined their research project under five teacher-change dimensions: Curricular and technological innovations; Teachers' reaction to change; Teachers' own creative actions; Teachers' social interactions with partnerships (such as researchers, teachers, students); and Forms of teacher contribution to the future. The conclusion considers the meta dimension of international collaboration to share experiences and reflections; the meso dimension of real world scenarios to sustain effective professional learning in multidisciplinary contexts; and finally, the necessity for teaching professionals to partner with universities, policymakers and other stakeholders in order to sustain teachers' roles as developers of pedagogy through practitioner research.

UASJournal, 2018

This paper describes a three-stage method for teachers and researchers to collaborate and co-crea... more This paper describes a three-stage method for teachers and researchers to collaborate and co-create ideas for future practice, to improve collaborative lifelong learning. Using a thematic network group, practitioner-researchers and practitioners associated with the European Association for Practitioner Research on Improving Learning (EAPRIL) came to a shared understanding of possible teacher actions, methods and tools which can be used to improve collaborative lifelong learning processes and support the professional development of teachers.
Three case studies are given as examples of developing lifelong learning processes through collaboration. The EAPRIL thematic network group borrow and adapt the concept of ‘‘interthinking’’ (Littleton & Mercer, 2013) as a process of investigating collaborative talk in the pursuit of collective intellectual endeavour. The focus was on collaboration, as this can have positive effects of social interaction for learning (Littleton, Miell & Faulkner, 2004). “Of all the conditions that feed deep learning, collaboration is at the heart of them” (Fullan, Quinn & McEachen, 2018, p. 97).
Roundtable discussions were held in an international ‘interthinking’ group’ to collate practitioners’ perspectives on ways of encouraging and supporting creative collaborations and lifelong learning for staff and students. Following this, a call was sent out for international case studies which form part of this article.

My PhD explored the professional development needs of teacher educators—the people who teach teac... more My PhD explored the professional development needs of teacher educators—the people who teach teachers to teach. In this case study, I discuss my experience of using mixed methods: semi-structured interviews, an online survey, and a focus group, with a community of teacher educators in the southeast of England. I wanted to identify the professional development needs of beginning and more experienced teacher educators, with the aim of proposing flexible ways of meeting these. There was little research on teacher educators who worked in my context:
Post-Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) which covers Adult, Community, and Further Education as well as Higher Education. Therefore, I wanted to gather evidence from a wide number of sources. It seemed to me that mixed methods would be the most appropriate research approach. However, as I found out, a mixed method methodology holds both opportunities and challenges, forcing me to reflect upon and question my role as a researcher. This case reflects a part of my larger PhD study.

Purpose – This qualitative study explores the barriers and dilemmas faced by beginning and novice... more Purpose – This qualitative study explores the barriers and dilemmas faced by beginning and novice mentors in post-compulsory education in the Southeast of England. It analyses critical incidents (Tripp, 2012) taken from the everyday practice of mentors who were supporting new teachers and lecturers in the Southeast of England. It categorises different types of critical incidents that mentors encountered and describes the strategies and rationales mentors used to support mentees and (indirectly) their learners and colleagues. The purpose of this paper is to explore ways in which mentors’ own values, beliefs and life experiences affected their mentoring practice.
Design/methodology/approach – As part of a specialist master’s-level professional development module, 21 mentors wrote about two critical incidents (Tripp, 2012) taken from their own professional
experiences, which aimed to demonstrate their support for their mentee’s range of complex needs. These critical incidents were written up as short case studies, which justified the rationale for their
interventions and demonstrated the mentors’ own professional development in mentoring. Critical incidents were used as units of analysis and categorised thematically by topic, sector and mentoring
strategies used.
Findings – The research demonstrated the complex nature of decision making and the potential for professional learning within a mentoring dyad. The study of these critical incidents found that mentors
most frequently cited the controversial nature of teaching observations, the mentor’s role in mediating professional relationships, the importance of inculcating professional dispositions in education and the
need to support new teachers so that they can use effective behaviour management strategies.
Originality/value – This study contributes to the understanding of the central importance of mentoring for professional growth within teacher education. It identifies common dilemmas that novice
mentors face in post-compulsory education, justifies the rationale for their interventions and mentoring strategies and helps to identify ways in which mentors’ professional development needs can be met.
It demonstrates that mentoring is complex, non-linear and mediated by mentors’ motivation and values.

The aim of the research was to investigate the professional development and support needs of new ... more The aim of the research was to investigate the professional development and support needs of new and experienced teacher educators in the FE system in the South of England. This thesis explored the ways in which teacher educators were recruited, inducted and supported, in order to gain insights into how these aspects of practice could be strengthened or improved in future.
The first chapter introduces the purpose and themes of the thesis and subsequent chapters describe the culture, policy and context of the FE system; the identity and role of teacher educators; the methodology used in the research; followed by data analysis and discussion of findings.
Ten experienced teacher educators were interviewed and their comments analysed. This was followed by an online survey to 270 teacher educators, 70 of whom responded. A focus group was held with 15 teacher educators in order to elicit further perspectives and to help triangulate the data. A further link between interviews and survey was made when some of the views, which the interviewees held in common, were used as statements in the survey. The survey participants were then asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed with the interviewees’ statements.
This thesis argues that teacher educators in FE are a little known group whose professional needs are not considered systematically and for whom there are no substantive professional standards - despite teacher educators’ central role in the education of new teachers. Certain essential characteristics are required in order to become a ‘good’ teacher educator, as well as opportunities for professional development, including scholarship and research. However, the learning cultures and work contexts of the FE system, which shape the identity and role of teacher educators, also make their work more challenging due to the differing - or absent - support that teacher educators receive.

This research on the challenges and rewards of teacher education in English Further Education, fo... more This research on the challenges and rewards of teacher education in English Further Education, formed part of a PhD thesis which gave voice to teacher educators in FE, an under-represented and under-researched group in the literature on teacher education. Although the research explored the professional development needs of teacher educators working within the English FE system, it also identified rewards and challenges in the teacher educator role, in order to get a broader view of their motivation for entering and remaining in the role; and also to examine the ways in which teacher educators cope and thrive in a difficult context. The review of the literature indicated that many of the teacher educators’ experiences were shared in schools, colleges and Universities, locally and internationally. During interviews, a survey and a focus group, the teacher educators' impassioned and insightful comments celebrated the positive aspects of the role, as well as explaining the myriad ways in which they mediated the multiple challenges they faced: managerialism, fast-paced and continuous policy changes as well as lack of time and support for research.

This article examines dilemmas in measuring the impact of mentoring on teacher trainees and on th... more This article examines dilemmas in measuring the impact of mentoring on teacher trainees and on their learners in the lifelong learning sector (LLS). In this small-scale research project, five mentors and five mentees were asked how they might evaluate the impact that mentoring might have, not just on trainees, but on their learners. The research participants, who were from different London colleges which all run a University accredited initial teacher education course, were asked: how might they measure mentoring impact? To what extent might these forms of evaluation be considered valid and reliable? The implementation of formal mentoring for teacher trainees in the lifelong learning sector has increased the need for systematic evaluation of mentoring schemes by universities and colleges in initial teacher education. The mentors’ and mentees’ suggestions for evaluating the impact of mentoring comprised quantitative and qualitative methods and also illustrated the significant challenges to evaluating, with any precision, the benefits of mentoring in hard statistical terms.

Keywords: Mentoring; mentor impact;lifelong learning sector; post compulsory sector; further education; initial teacher education; initial teacher training;

Teaching in lifelong learning: a journal to inform and …, Jan 1, 2009

The Rectors’ Conference of Finnish Universities of Applied Sciences, Jun 27, 2018

Professional Development in Education, 2016

International Journal of Mentoring and Coaching in Education, 2016

EAPRIL 2019 Conference Proceedings, 2019

UASJournal, 2018

This paper describes a three-stage method for teachers and researchers to collaborate and co-crea... more This paper describes a three-stage method for teachers and researchers to collaborate and co-create ideas for future practice, to improve collaborative lifelong learning. Using a thematic network group, practitioner-researchers and practitioners associated with the European Association for Practitioner Research on Improving Learning (EAPRIL) came to a shared understanding of possible teacher actions, methods and tools which can be used to improve collaborative lifelong learning processes and support the professional development of teachers.
Three case studies are given as examples of developing lifelong learning processes through collaboration. The EAPRIL thematic network group borrow and adapt the concept of ‘‘interthinking’’ (Littleton & Mercer, 2013) as a process of investigating collaborative talk in the pursuit of collective intellectual endeavour. The focus was on collaboration, as this can have positive effects of social interaction for learning (Littleton, Miell & Faulkner, 2004). “Of all the conditions that feed deep learning, collaboration is at the heart of them” (Fullan, Quinn & McEachen, 2018, p. 97).
Roundtable discussions were held in an international ‘interthinking’ group’ to collate practitioners’ perspectives on ways of encouraging and supporting creative collaborations and lifelong learning for staff and students. Following this, a call was sent out for international case studies which form part of this article.

My PhD explored the professional development needs of teacher educators—the people who teach teac... more My PhD explored the professional development needs of teacher educators—the people who teach teachers to teach. In this case study, I discuss my experience of using mixed methods: semi-structured interviews, an online survey, and a focus group, with a community of teacher educators in the southeast of England. I wanted to identify the professional development needs of beginning and more experienced teacher educators, with the aim of proposing flexible ways of meeting these. There was little research on teacher educators who worked in my context:
Post-Compulsory Education and Training (PCET) which covers Adult, Community, and Further Education as well as Higher Education. Therefore, I wanted to gather evidence from a wide number of sources. It seemed to me that mixed methods would be the most appropriate research approach. However, as I found out, a mixed method methodology holds both opportunities and challenges, forcing me to reflect upon and question my role as a researcher. This case reflects a part of my larger PhD study.

Keywords: Mentoring; mentor impact;lifelong learning sector; post compulsory sector; further education; initial teacher education; initial teacher training;

Teaching in lifelong learning: a journal to inform and …, Jan 1, 2009

ABSTRACT: This book provides a call to action for post-compulsory teacher education professionals... more ABSTRACT: This book provides a call to action for post-compulsory teacher education professionals, both in the UK and internationally, to unite around key principles and practices. The professional, educational and funding turbulence experienced by post-compulsory teacher education since 2008 has been significant. Austerity financing and increasing government intervention have provided many new and difficult challenges. At the same time evidence is building that the quality of teaching is the most important contributor to the quality of learning and achievement, and teacher education is demonstrably one of the most important influences on that teaching quality. The mainly workplace-based partnership model of teacher education used in the post-compulsory education (PCE) sector resonates well with a number of key current developments in the UK and broader field of teacher education. PCE teacher educators are particularly well placed to tell their story and share their vision of a better future for teachers through their own experiences, values and principles.

Written by a range of post-compulsory teacher educators, the text therefore is an informed and passionate argument for:
- improving the professional recognition of teacher education and teacher educators; - demonstrating how teacher education already connects teaching professionals into an engaged and collaborative professional community;
- providing strategies to enact this vision through connected, democratic professionalism.

This title is part of the successful Critical Guides for Teacher Educators series edited by Ian Menter.