The Value Of Pedagogical Knowledge And Initial Pedagogical Training For Secondary School Teaching

Author(s):

Ana Martin-Romera(presenting / submitting)Enriqueta Molina Ruiz Marta Olmo

Conference:

ECER 2015

Network:

10. Teacher Education Research

Format:

Paper

Session Information

10 SES 13 D,

Paper Session

Time:

2015-09-11

11:00-12:30

Room:

325.Oktatóterem [C]

Chair:

n.n. n.n.

Contribution

Currently, it appears to be assumed that in order to be a teacher at any stage of education, it is not enough to be fully familiar with the contents of the academic materials; it is also necessary to have specific professional knowledge that makes it possible to carry out the professional functions as a whole, that is, to diagnose, plan, carry out teaching, guide students and families, assess, and so on.

In that regard, there are many studies which have established what teachers’ professional knowledge is (Darling-Hammond & Baratz-Snowden, 2005; Grossman, 1990; Morine-Dershimer & Todd, 2003; Shulman, 1987). Along general lines, teaching staff need professional knowledge consisting of the dimensions of the discipline (proper knowledge of a subject) and the pedagogical (to know how to motivate, communicate, transmit/generate knowledge, facilitate learning, and so on). This particular amalgam of subject and pedagogy was defined by Shulman (1987) as Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). This knowledge is the exclusive sphere of teachers and their own particular form of professional understanding.

Although pedagogical knowledge constitutes an essential element in the construction of PCK, in some contexts (such as Argentina and Spain), it is given little value by secondary school teaching staff during training. The principal causes why such value is attached appear to come from the initial teacher training model (of consecutive type) and the orientation of the studies completed by teachers. In a study made by Terigi (2011, p. 21) it is stated that:

"The low value given appears to refer to the fact it concerns a knowledge order that is very different to that of the discipline and which is seen as ‘trivial’ in comparison, given that the greater demands of the initial training appear to be devoted to discipline learning."

Despite the evaluation made by teachers during training, it appears to be a form of knowledge whose importance is discovered during the course of the professional activity, at which time the lack of such knowledge becomes clear. Teachers, during their first years of teaching, tend to express dissatisfaction with the initial teacher training as a source of professional knowledge. Newer teachers consider experience in the profession to be the main source of professional knowledge, arguing that when they started in the profession, they were ill-prepared to face the profession’s principal problems (Bolívar, 2006; Bolívar & Bolívar Ruano, 2012; Marcelo, 2009; Tardif, 2004).

In this research we study the relevance of pedagogical knowledge in the act of teaching, and the initial training as a source for the acquisition thereof. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to contribute to the improvement of the initial pedagogical training of secondary school teaching staff in the context of Spain.

The objectives of this research:

To discover if, and to what extent, there are similarities in the different stages of professional development as regards the manner in which secondary school teachers attach value to pedagogical knowledge when teaching.
To discover the possible evolution experienced by long-serving secondary school teachers in respect of recognising the importance of adequate pedagogical knowledge for the performance of their current teaching, describing the process and influential elements.
To establish the teaching competences valued by teachers.
To analyse the initial pedagogical training programmes, extracting characteristics and fundamental elements.
To establish the elements deemed essential (by different agents) in initial pedagogical training programmes in order to achieve appropriate preparation of teachers.
To determine whether the competences most valued by secondary school teaching staff were taken into consideration in the current programmes.
To put forward a proposal, supported by contributions from different agents, which may guide initial pedagogical training.

Method

The methodological focus from which this research is approached is Mixed-Methods Research (Creswell, 2008). This methodology is used in order to try to ensure wide-ranging and in-depth research of the area under investigation. The following methods were used to collect the data used in this research. • Questionnaires sent to working teachers, trainee teachers, and experts and people who manage training. • Semi-structured interviews with long-serving secondary school teachers. • Institutional documents, represented by the plans for initial teacher training ("Master of Secondary School Teacher Training"). By way of various methodological strategies (sequential exploratory, sequential explicative and triangulation), we investigate the objectives of this research. Generally speaking, the research was carried out by way of the following phases: 1. The first phase in which the contents of the initial pedagogical training is analysed with the aim of extracting information about its characteristics and fundamental elements. That information is used in the preparation of the questionnaire and the semi-structured interview used with secondary school teachers. 2. The second phase in which, firstly, the quantitative method (questionnaire) is carried out, and thereafter the qualitative method is used in order to refine the quantitative findings on the study subjects (value of pedagogical knowledge, most valued teacher competences and training elements deemed essential). 3. The third phase in which the results obtained in the preceding phase are analysed to prepare a questionnaire for trainee teachers. 4. Finally, with all the information obtained in the earlier phases, and by means of a concurrent triangulation strategy, a questionnaire will be prepared which is aimed at the experts and people in charge of initial training. Using this instrument, a Delphi technique is developed, using this instrument to develop guidelines for improvement and to put together the training proposal. The sampling procedures used will be of a quantitative (simple random sampling) and qualitative (case study and for convenience). We used NVivo and SPSS software to analyse the information.

Expected Outcomes

This research is part of a PhD thesis that is currently underway. Despite not having the practical results, there is progress with the theoretical results. The said results allow us to establish the following research assumptions. Firstly, it is sought to know whether the value given by teachers to pedagogical knowledge has characteristics which coincide at each stage of professional life. In that regard, we start from the following assumptions: • At the start of their degrees, teachers trust that their specialist training in an area/subject will suffice to perform an appropriate teaching role. • With professional experience, teachers understand the importance of and need for pedagogical knowledge which, guiding their teaching, facilitates their teaching. In that regard, the study of the evolution of the value given by teachers helps us understand which factors have influenced that evaluation, principally those stemming from the initial pedagogical training. Further, it is sought to establish what are the competences and training elements deemed essential by teachers in order to achieve appropriate preparation of teachers. In this respect, we start from the following assumption: the more a training programme is adapted to the needs and opinions of those it is intended to train, the more effective it will be. Finally, the analysis of the programmes and the opinions of trainee teachers will provide an accurate picture of the training currently offered and whether it matches the opinions of serving teachers. The knowledge derived from the different agents involved in the training, as well as from the interested parties (the teachers), will allow us to know the conditions which initial pedagogical training should take into account so as to constitute an effective source for the provision of pedagogical knowledge. This will help us derive realistic and coherent proposals for its improvement.

References

Bolívar, A. (2006). La identidad profesional del profesorado de secundaria: crisis y reconstrucción. Málaga: Archive. Bolívar, A. & Bolívar Ruano, M. R. (2012). High school teachers: initial pedagogical training and professional identity. Ensino Em Re-Vista, 19(1),19-33. Creswell, J. W. (2008). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. SAGE Publications. Darling-Hammond, L. & Baratz-Snowden, J. (2005). A good teacher in every classroom: preparing the highly qualified teachers our children deserve. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Grossman, P. (1990). The Making of a Teacher. Teacher Knowledge and Teacher Education. Chicago: Teacher College Press. Marcelo, C. (2009). Monographic: Beginner teachers and professional insertion. Profesorado: Revista de curriculum y formación del profesorado, 3(1), 3-5. Morine-Dershimer, G. & Todd, K. (2003). The Complex Nature and Sources of Teachers´ Pedagogical Knowledge. En J. Gess-Newsome (Ed.), Examining Pedagogical Content Knowledge. The Construct and its Implication for Science Education (pp. 21-50). New York: Kluwer Academic Publisher. Shulman, L.S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1-22. Tardif, M. (2004). Los saberes del docente y su desarrollo profesional. Madrid: Narcea. Terigi, F. (2011) (Dir.) . Aportes pedagógicos a la reformulación de la formación inicial de los/as profesores/as. Buenos Aires: Ministerio de Educación de la Nación.

Author Information

Ana Martin-Romera (presenting / submitting)

University of Granada

Didactic and School Organization Department

Granada

Enriqueta Molina Ruiz

University of Granada, Spain

Marta Olmo

University of Granada

Teaching and school Organization