Session Information
02 SES 08 B, Teachers & Trainers IV: Training
Paper Session
Contribution
Teachers who are committed and engaged with their own professional learning and development (L&D) communicate education and expertise to learners most effectively (Patrick, Hisley, & Kempler, 2000). This is particularly the case for FET teachers where expertise in vocational areas is required to support adaptable responses to constantly changing industry practices and standards. Consequently, there is pressure to ensure that teachers in the sector hold suitable Teaching Education Qualifications (TEQs) and engage with Professional L&D (CPD). As FET teachers experience evolving roles and changing sectoral contexts additional research is needed to understand these experiences from the practitioners’ perspective. This study explored the psychological conditions of FET teacher engagement at work, their approach to Professional L&D (CPD) and their perspectives on career progression. By exploring the nature of the personal, professional and situational contexts of such experiences, a contribution is made to knowledge about creating opportunities for FET teacher Professional L&D and career progression.
Aims: The study explores FET teachers’ perspectives of themselves, their work, and its contexts. It maps across a targeted population the general conditions that influence psychological engagement in their work role as FET teachers, their experiences of professional L&D (CPD) and their general perspectives on FET teacher career progression.
Research questions that guided the study included:
1. What are the psychological conditions of engagement for FET teachers in their work role?
2. What is professional learning and development for FET teachers?
3. What are FET teacher’s perspectives on career progression?
Key objectives of the study were:
· To develop a model of professional learning and development for FET teachers in Ireland;
· To explore how to enhance professional education and training through research and enquiry based-activites, that link professional practice to connected learning opportunities;
· To provide an opportunity to evaluate the research process and to contribute to knowledge on what conditions are necessary to support FET teacher role engagement and commitment to professional learning and development and career progression.
Three theoretical frameworks underpin this study:
The psychological conditions of work role engagement draws on the work of Kahn (1990). Job role engagement and the degree to which individuals’ employ themselves, physically, cognitively and emotionally in their work roles are comprised of three elements: (i) psychological meaningfulness, (ii) psychological safety and (iii) psychological availability. These elements can be combined into organising framework when considering how to achieve FET teacher commitment and engagement in high quality professional learning and development.
Professional L&D for teachers generally refers to both training and development in the fields of pedagogy, curriculum and specialist/disciplinary knowledge. Additionally, Coolahan (2002) identifies lifelong learning and reflective practice as critical to the professional development of teachers in their role as adaptable, self-reliant educators. Eraut’s (2000) classification of workplace formal and non-formal learning; Gunnigle, Heraty & Morley’s (1997) framework of training and development methods; and Gregson’s (2015) identification of the places where adults learn provide an organising framework to critically evaluate FET teacher professional L&D experiences and practices. General barriers to teacher professional development are time, cost and access (Friedman & Phillips, 2001), while important supports include financial, emotional, resources and recognition (OECD, 2009).
Teacher career progression is a cyclical process with defined stages similar to a ‘life cycle’ model (Fessler & Christensen,1992; Huberman, 1993; Coolahan, 2002) or a combination of professional engagement with organisational commitment (Truss et al., 2006). Each stage has distinctive highlights, challenges and needs that operate in a dynamic way reflecting individual responses to personal, organisational and environmental factors. For FET teachers, career progression is influenced by three elements or categories: (i) personal, (ii) professional and (iii) situational (Mannix & Graham Cagney, 2014).
Method
This study adopted a qualitative inquiry approach comprised of mixed methods design and purposive sampling (deMarrais, 2014; Foulston, 2010). All participants were teaching in FET and represented a range of disciplinary backgrounds and previous (pre-teaching) professional work experience. Eleven FET teachers agreed to participate in three focus groups, in differing geographical locations. Each focus group was facilitated by the primary researcher in conjunction with an independent monitor present at each session to comply with research ethics approval. The design of the focus group sessions led to interactive and engaged discussion in an open format with participants on their experiences of working within the FET sector. Artefacts gathered during the workshops included audio clips, flipchart notes, post-its and interview/participant notes. A further 12 semi-structured interviews took place, comprised of some members of the original focus groups and others who wished to have their views and voices included in the study. Digital recordings were fully transcribed. Individuals were asked to review their transcript and engage in editing/follow-up interviews if deeper inquiry was beneficial as part of the member checking process. Consistent with qualitative methodology, the data was analysed by the researcher with respect to the research questions using a mix of inductive coding and the constant comparative method (Charmaz 2014; Glaser & Strauss, 1967) and the modified Inductive Framework Approach (Smith & Firth, 2011). Analysis of themes within each category produced the findings that follow.
Expected Outcomes
Findings on the psychological conditions of work role engagement identify that meaningfulness and availability contributed most to FET teacher commitment to their work role. Similar to Kahn (1999) participants reported that commitment towards the organisation was tempered by both safety aspects (job security, clarity of role and/or relationships) and a perception that values were not always shared across the organisation. Professional learning and development ranged from formal accredited courses (degree/masters level), vocationally accredited courses, informal training sessions/conferences run by their own organisation and other stakeholders, as well as informal peer collaboration and self-directed learning. Results from the study indicate a mix of compulsory (by employer or governing body) and self-directed learning. In-house CPD, where provided, was perceived to be of an administrative nature or was not deemed to be adequate or appropriate to their role as FET teachers. Whereas, self-directed learning generally was felt to be more worthwhile and positive. Barriers and supports were context dependent and participants reported varied experiences. Career progression was limited for the majority of participants. This result is tempered with slight differences across the cohort related directly to organisational contexts. Participants working specifically in Vocational Education identified career opportunities however others teaching in Adult and Adult Basic Education reported that there were no career progression opportunities available to them. One participant expressed an interest in progressing within their current organisation. Most others stated that career progression opportunities were either not available or were not of interest to them. There were differences across participants that related to personal, professional and organisational contexts with some areas experiencing a more difficult conflict laden transition into the new FET structures and procedures. This had a knock-on impact on individual FET teacher engagement in their job role and their perceptions of a potential career for the future.
References
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