A multinational perspective on aspects of schooling to which Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) could contribute (original) (raw)
Related papers
2018
The purpose of this grounded approach study is to provide answers to the research question ‘what aspect(s) of schooling could newly qualified teachers contribute to, and why?’ Via emails, 22 newly qualified teachers (NQTs) from 10 countries provided answers to the research question. The analysis of the data revealed that NQTs thought attributional, informational and skill and ability based contributions and associated actions and activities could be made to various aspects of schooling. I define attributional contributions as actions and activities in which NQTs engage which are the results of personal qualities/attributes they possess, informational contributions as facts which NQTs share and gain via experience and/or initial teacher education and training, and skill and ability based contributions as school-based activities in which NQTs engage based on personal skills, abilities and interests. Examples of implications of the findings for policy and practice include schools’ lead...
This short paper was written in order to introduce the main theme for discussion at the conference: Association of Global Teachers: international conference on supporting new teachers – Dedham, UK, 24 October 2015 This theme was ‘ways in which we can support newly qualified teachers (NQTs) so that they remain in the profession’. It is influenced and inspired by colleagues who I have worked with over a career in education which is now over twenty years long. It is influenced by teachers I worked with in schools. It is also and most significantly influenced by current colleagues at the University of Northampton, where we run a course for Newly Qualified Teachers, that is now a deeply embedded part of our practice in working with the teachers who work in schools in our local community. As these sentences above illustrate this is a paper shaped by the experiential knowledge and reflections on the working practice of colleagues as revealed through conversations we have had over the past two years. It is written in an informal and, at points, anecdotal tone with the aim of provoking discussion. However, it is not a paper about the mechanics of our NQT programme, but rather about the ideas, personal reflections and experiences that shaped its design. Three themes are presented for discussion as follows: the pressures of the workplace; seeing oneself as a teacher; and reflections on a recent past. In the conclusion I link these to another theme for discussion: degrees of freedom - degrees of support.
International Qualitative Research on Teacher Education: Benefits, Challenges, and Future Directions
Kultura i Edukacja, 2020
In this article we explore and discuss the benefits of and the challenges that arise when using qualitative methods to conduct research internationally. We firstly discuss the relationship that writers of qualitative studies have with their readers and the implications of this for writing style. This is then followed by an overview of different aspects of data collection design. Within this section we discuss research that we have conducted, as part of a variety of international projects, using two qualitative approaches: systematic documentary research and interview. We then focus on using interview as a research method. This discussion regarding using interviews is divided into two chapters. Firstly, we discuss issues of access and sampling, then the interview itself and the analysis of interview data. The final sections involve a discussion of ways in which validity and reliability can be contextualised within qualitative studies, and also a discussion on generalisability and the possibility of theory generation. We conclude with sections on ethics and possible future directions for international qualitative studies into teacher education.
This article focuses on the importance of school leaders' commitment to socialising newly qualified teachers (NQTs) into the teaching profession. Framed by a social constructivist perspective, the article is based on four challenges novice teachers face as described by four school leaders. The aim is to illuminate how school leaders have understood the conflicts and differences that come to light in these challenges. School leaders' experiences of the encounter between NQTs and schools point to how the facilitation of the teachers' professional development at their schools was challenged and how follow-up and guidance of NQTs only started after the problems were disclosed to colleagues and the school leaders. This study indicates that there is a lack of insight into NQTs' work situation, a fact that seems to exacerbate a negative development in the school environment. We argue that school leaders must be more proactive by being aware of the dynamics of the teaching team when NQTs join a previously established team. School leaders should communicate the expectations they have for how the team can welcome NQTs' new ideas, on the one hand, and offer support if they encounter challenges, on the other. Furthermore, our findings indicate that the composition of teaching teams must be reassessed from year to year so that they serve as an arena that promotes professional development for both NQTs and established teachers. Poor relationships with colleagues and a lack of cooperation within teacher teams may also have a detrimental effect on student learning. School leaders have a great amount of power and influence, perhaps much more than they are aware of, when it comes to the wellbeing of NQTs and their decision to remain in the profession. We underline the importance of the role school leaders have in socialising NQTs into the teaching profession by paying attention to how they are welcomed and mentored by their colleagues in school.
Conference initiated by Roland Bernhard in the framework of the SQTE-project and designed together with Ulrike Greiner (Salzburg), Burkhard Gniewosz (Salzburg), Katharine Burn (Oxford) and Pam Sammons (Oxford). This conference will bring together leading international researchers from the fields of School Effectiveness and Improvement Research and Teacher Education Research to discuss the overarching question of how we can link these different research strands in order to contribute productively to school quality and teacher education quality in a specific country. The conference is part of an ongoing research project conducted by the University of Salzburg in cooperation with the University of Oxford. In educational research, school quality is discussed mainly within the theoretical frameworks of: (1) School or Educational Effectiveness Research (SER/EER), a discipline that seeks to understand the key factors and their interactions that lead to more or less effective classrooms, schools and education systems; and (2) School improvement research (SIR) in which school improvement is understood as a distinct approach to educational change that enhances student outcomes, as well as strengthening schools’ capacity for managing change. As the protagonists who actually have to realise school quality in practice, it is teachers and headteachers who are the key drivers of school improvement. The quality of teaching and learning and of professional leadership are the key determinants since the process of improvement relates not just to the teaching competence of classroom practitioners but also to the nature of the school climate and the leadership practices that promote and sustain them. Teacher Education Research is concerned with the development of teachers’ identities, competences and dispositions. It focuses not only on the content of teacher education curricula but also on the nature of the process of learning to teach and its implications for the way in which those curricula are structured and sequenced – both within initial teacher education (ITE) and in relation to teachers’ continued professional learning (CPD). Just as Teacher Education Research considers the needs of teachers themselves, so it also explores the kinds of dispositions, knowledge and skills needed by all those engaged in teacher education – school-based mentors and coaches as well as university-based tutors and external experts – if they are to achieve the improvements to which they aspire. Teacher Education Research has a vital role to play in informing educational policy and ensuring that both ITE and CPD (including the professional formation of headteachers) are research-informed.
Studies on quality teachers and quality initial teacher education
2020
The concept of quality in teaching and teacher education is complex and elusive (Imig & Imig, 2007, p. 99). This complexity is because teacher quality and quality teacher education may hinge on myriad different perspectives, ranging from an emphasis on teachers' qualifications, competences, motivations, engagement, and credentials to teachers' cognitive and affective resources (i.e. teachers' knowledge, awareness, skills, attitudes, emotions), as well as teachers' work and performance in actual school conditions and educational contexts and teachers' impact on student educational outcomes (Wang et al., 2011, pp. 331-333). Despite the observed conceptual ambiguity, no one seems to be against "quality teacher" and "quality teacher education", or even "high-quality teacher education". Raising teacher quality and reforming teacher education has earned considerable attention in the research literature, policy, and practice. There is an increased focus on policy reforms to improve teacher quality and a greater emphasis on quality assurance processes in teacher education. At the same time, teaching in today's complex globalised world is acknowledged as challenging and ever-changing. Teaching is perceived as more than prescribed knowledge delivered using a toolbox of teaching strategies. The dynamic nature of teaching and the many roles required of a teacher direct our attention to individual teacher and student differences, the relationships between them and the context in which teaching and education take place, as well as to the current status and prestige of teachers and teaching (Hargreaves, 2009, pp. 217-229). As Linda Darling-Hammond et al. (2017) identified in high-performing systems, the policies that shape the teaching force and Joanna Madalińska-Michalak Home to educate teachers across their careers in such a way that they can serve society as best as they can, long beyond the 21 st century. Teachers and teacher educators have to face changes taking place at school, in its surroundings, and in the expectations directed towards them from different subjects of education, namely: students, parents, policy makers, government, and civil society. Teacher educators should be able to recognise these expectations and understand these changes, prepare teachers for new challenges, and help them to develop the appropriate competences and reflect on their values. Teachers are universally expected to develop and demonstrate appropriate personal and professional values, and yet these values are only weakly defined. While some national governments rely on cultural traditions to guide values in education, others directly intervene through policy changes, trying to shape the values promoted by schools and teachers. At the institutional level, school leaders vary in their efforts and strategies to encourage reflection, debate and inquiry by teachers to help develop shared professional values as a school within its local community. We see that there is a huge need to focus on explorations of personal and professional values, and on their implications for teacher education, teachers' professional learning, school leadership and educational policy. The present chapters were selected through submissions elicited from a call for abstracts to scholars concentrated around the Teacher Education Policy in Europe Scientific Network (TEPE Network), and its annual conference was organised by the Faculty of Education, University of Warsaw, Poland and the Foundation for the Development of the Education System (FRSE), Poland, in cooperation with the Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland. The conference was held from 16-18 May 2019 in Cracow, which is the second-largest city in Poland and the country's former capital. The TEPE Network is an academic network that brings together teacher educators, educational researchers, policy makers, teachers and practitioners from Europe and beyond to discuss and identify key elements that contribute to strengthening teacher education, and the quality and professionalism of teachers in schools. The TEPE Network is dedicated to advancing research in and on teacher education that can influence policy making. The network builds on previous European collaborative projects in the field of teacher education policy Joanna Madalińska-Michalak Home The submitted abstracts were selected by blind review by respected scholars whose expertise I would like to duly acknowledge. The chapters are based on high scholarly quality and relevance to the book's two volumes and the objectives of the book. The selection process resulted in invitations for chapters from a range of countries, namely Armenia,