Identifying, Comparing and Analysing Teacher Expertise across Three Countries

Author(s):

Peter KellyHans Dorf Marcella Milana Ulrike Hohmann

Conference:

ECER 2009

Network:

1. Continuing Professional Development: Learning for Individuals, Leaders, and Organisations

Format:

Paper

Session Information

01 SES 10 A, Comparisons and Complexities

Paper Session

Time:

2009-09-30

14:45-16:15

Room:

NIG, HS I

Chair:

Elizabeth O'Gorman

Contribution

Cross-national variations in student achievement have been the focus of much interest (OECD, 2007; Robitaille and Taylor, 1997), and reflect a pervasive policy concern across many countries for raising the educational standards achieved by students. One significant factor affecting student outcomes is the expertise of their teachers (Croll, 1996; Osborn et al, 2003). This study seeks to better understand teacher expertise as one particular influence on cross-national variations in student achievement. By comparing similarities and differences in teacher expertise both across and within three countries, Denmark, England and Germany, we seek to learn from the experience of others (Phillips, 2000); ‘by making the strange familiar we make the familiar strange’ (Alexander, 2001: 27). In particular we seek to understand how expert teachers within these three countries mediate the many influences on their practice. To understand and compare teacher expertise this research aims to: 1. Identify, describe and analyse in intended policy (what various interest groups want), actual policy (documents, legislation and the like) and policy in practice (Ball and Bowe, 1992) the varied and sometimes competing objectives to which expert teachers’ work is oriented, including: • assessed student outcomes (such as test scores, but also wider data such as attendance rates); • school inspection frameworks (such as that published by Ofsted in the UK); • senior manager expectations (in terms of performance management and appraisal); • personal motives (perhaps relating to their values and beliefs, career and promotion or aspects of their life outside work). 2. Identify, describe and analyse in intended policy, actual policy and policy in practice related dominant, competing and subsidiary discourses and practices. 3. Explore how expert teachers mediate between discourses, practices and the affordances and constraints of their working environments to meet varied objects, and how this influences and is influenced by their professional identities in relation to areas such as: • the subjects taught; • teaching (is it focused on subjects or on students; should it be largely didactic, interactive or problem based); • learning (such as acquiring knowledge or participating in communities). 4. Identify which aspects of objectives, discourses and practices in intended policy, actual policy and policy in practice are common across national contexts and which are nationally specific.

Method

An initial documentary analysis explores the range of identified indicators of expertise in each country and the associated discourses of expertise and expert practices; that which Ball and Bowe (1992) refer to as intended and actual policy. Surveys and a small number of case studies then identify the range of intended and actual policy at different levels - national, local and school. A similar process considers expertise in system and accountability structures. To further explore links between intended and actual policy, we survey views about what makes an expert teacher in terms of aims, objectives, expectations, discourses and practices from some of the following: inspectors, advisors, teacher educators, principals, teachers, teaching assistants, students and parents. This is followed up with focus group discussions. Finally a sample of expert teachers for each of the three subjects, mathematics, citizenship and the national language are identified, observed and interviewed.

Expected Outcomes

This paper considers initial findings from a pilot study looking at expert teachers; no documentary analysis will be included here. In the first analysis we consider teachers in lower secondary schools, that is, of children aged 12-15 years. More specifically, for this pilot study we look at teachers of children who are in the school year in which they are 13. This allows consideration of subject knowledge teaching which is beyond a basic level, but avoids working with teachers focused entirely in some countries on test preparation. To make a manageable pilot we focus on 5 teachers in 5 separate schools in each country, chosen for accessibility and convenience in the first instance. In the pilot study we focus only on teachers and teaching of the national language. Two lessons for each teacher are observed over a 3 week period, each followed by an interview. An initial analysis is reported.

References

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Author Information

Peter Kelly

University of Plymouth

Faculty of Education

Plymouth

Hans Dorf

University of Aarhus, Denmark

Center of compulsory school research

Odense SV

Marcella Milana

University of Aarhus, Denmark

Ulrike Hohmann

University of Plymouth, United Kingdom

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