Session Information
01 SES 09 B, Complexity and Certification in Teacher Education
Paper Session
Contribution
Changes and challenges in, and expectations of society call for ongoing professional development of teachers. However, in many schools this cannot be taken for granted (Burner, 2018; OECD, 2020, Timperley & Parr, 2005). Many governmental, local or institutional policies aimed at stimulating teachers’ professional developmenthave a limited impact, resulting in professional development that for many teachers depends on unconscious, fragmented, informal and unplanned learning activities (Korthagen, 2017; Koffeman, 2021; OECD, 2019).
To reach a deeper understanding of the causes and complexities of this problem, casual loop diagrams (Salmon et al, 2022) can be a helpful tool, as they visualize how different elements and processes in an organisation are interrelated and either strengthen of weaken one another. Causal loop diagrams originate from the field of system thinking where they are used to understand wicked problems in complex systems (Bore & Wright, 2009; Groff, 2013; Vermaak, 2016). Causal loop diagrams can illustrate how elements like the structure of the profession and of schools, cultures in schools, collegial dynamics, etc are interconnected and can reinforce one another in either positive or negative ways.
From our observations in schools and from many discussions with teachers and school leaders, we developed causal loop diagrams that evolve around teacher professional learning, and we validated these in the literature. Our next step was to validate the causal loop diagrams in practices in schools through focus group discussions in a variety of schools and across school sectors.
The resulting causal loop diagrams illustrate what the key elements in school structures and school culture are and can how these elements and structures are interrelated. While the diagrams illustrate the complexity of the process of professional development in schools, at the same time the visual representations of the causal loop diagrams can support teachers and schools to identify patterns that hinder a systemic approach for ongoing professional development, thus strengthening awareness and opening up opportunities for addressing these patterns in schools.
Method
This study is based on a three-step collaborative design-research approach that includes elements of participatory action research. The first step was informed by our previous work on teachers and schools (Snoek, Dengerink & De Wit, 2019; Koffeman, 2021). This resulted in a first set of draft causal loop diagrams. These were tested in a number of working sessions both with teachers and school leaders, to see if and how the causal loop diagrams resonated with them. The second step was to further validate the draft causal loop diagrams in the literature on professional development and the teacher profession. Finally, the causal loop diagrams were validated in practice using a participatory action research design (Saldana & Omasta, 2022; Vanover et al., 2022) to investigate if and how these diagrams could serve as tools to better understand the complexities at hand, and to then identify the key variables in each of the specific contexts, in order to then better address these. To this end, we asked a number of experienced teachers (n=20) who are on a master’s program aimed at developing teacher leadership, to each approach a group of workplace colleagues and apply the causal loop diagrams to discuss structures and cultures regarding professional development in their school in a focus group discussion (cf William & Katz, 2001). Key questions for these focus group discussions focused on how the patterns that were illustrated by the causal loop diagrams were recognized within their schools, how that recognition strengthened awareness and how it helped identify possible opportunities for action to address the negative patterns or support the positive ones. These discussions were recorded and analysed by the researchers. The preliminary findings (without the interpretations) were presented to the students, who then, in three focus groups, conducted ‘sense making’ sessions (cf Lawson et al, 2015). Understanding the research question accumulated through these different phases and studies (cf. Atkins & Wallace, 2012). Moreover, this understanding was a collaborative process: the master’s students contributed in the sense-making process (cf. Baxter & Jack, 2008).
Expected Outcomes
Professional development of teachers can be considered as a wicked problem in which different elements of school structures and school cultures and perspectives of different stakeholders interact. This interaction can lead to patterns that are self-perpetuating when they are based on mechanism that re-enforce each other and that can be either positive or negative regarding the ambitions toward professional development. Such self-perpetuating mechanisms can explain the complexity in school dynamics, but might also show ways to strengthen or weaken these patterns. In that way they can empower teachers in recognizing, questioning and changing patterns that are an obstacle for professional cultures in schools.
References
Atkins, L. & Wallace, S. (2012). Research Methods in Education: Qualitative research in education. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Baxter, P., & Jack, S. (2008). Qualitative Case Study Methodology: Study Design and Implementation for Novice Researchers. The Qualitative Report, 13(4), 544–559. Retrieved from www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR13-4/baxter.pdf Bore, A., & Wright, N. (2009). The wicked and complex in education: Developing a transdisciplinary perspective for policy formulation, implementation and professional practice. Journal of Education for Teaching, 35(3), 241-256. Burner T. (2018). Why is educational change so difficult and how can we make it more effective?. Forskning ogForandring, 1(1), 122–134. Groff, J. (2013). Dynamic Systems Modeling in Educational System Design & Policy. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 2(2), 72-81. Koffeman, A.H. (2021). Sources for Learning. Understanding the Role of Context in Teacher Professional Learning. Doctoral dissertation. UCL Institute of Education. Korthagen, F. (2016). Inconvenient truths about teacher learning: Towards professional development 3.0. Teachers and Teaching, 23(4), 387–405. OECD. (2019). TALIS 2018 Results (Volume I): Teachers and School Leaders as Lifelong Learners. OECD. Lawson, H. A., Caringi, J., Pyles, L., Jurkowski, J.M., & Bozlak, C.T. (2015). Participatory action research. New York: Oxford University Press. OECD (2020). An implementation framework for effective change in schools. OECD Education Policy Perspectives, No. 9, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/4fd4113f-en. Saldana, J., & Omasta, M. (2022). Qualitative Research: Analyzing Life. Second Edition. Sage Publications. Salmon, P. M., Stanton, N. A., Walker, G. H., Hulme, A., Goode, N., Thompson, J., & Read, G. J. (2022). Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs). In Handbook of Systems Thinking Methods (pp. 157-180). CRC Press. Snoek, M., Dengerink, J., & de Wit, B. (2019). Reframing the teacher profession as a dynamic multifaceted profession: A wider perspective on teacher quality and teacher competence frameworks. European Journal of Education, 54(3), 413-425. Timperley, H., & Parr, J. (2005). Theory Competition and the Process of Change. Journal of Educational Change, 6(3), 227-251. Vanover, C., Mihas, P., & Saldana, J. (2022). Analyzing and Interpreting Qualitative Research. After the Interview. Sage Publications. Vermaak, Hans. (2016). Using Causal Loop Diagrams to Deal with Complex Issues. Mastering an instrument for systemic and interactive change. In: D.W. Jamieson, R. Barnett, A.F. Buono (eds). Consultation for organizational change revisited. (pp.231-254). Charlotte: Information Age Publishing Williams, A., & Katz, L. (2001). The Use of Focus Group Methodology in Education: Some Theoretical and Practical Considerations. International Electronic Journal for Leadership in Learning, 5(3).
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