Session Information
99 ERC SES 03 D, Interactive Poster Session
Poster Session
Contribution
The aim of the study is to find out how beginning teachers experience the reality of education and how it changes the teacher's professional identity.
Research objectives:
1. To conceptualise the notions of neoliberalism, new public management, knowledge society, social reproduction and constructivism in the context of novice teachers experiences in the 21st century.
2. To investigate how the concepts described in the theory are manifested in the experiences of beginning teachers and how they affect the teachers' professional identity.
3. To investigate the pedagogical development and beliefs of novice teachers over a period of two years.
4. To determine what factors influence similar choices - to stay working in public educational institutions, to move to the private sector or to leave the teaching profession.
Research on the "reality shock" of beginning teachers (Veenman, 1984, Feiman-Nemser, 2001, Flores and Day, 2006, Tynjälä and Heikkinen, 2011, Morrison, 2013, etc.) proves the uniqueness of a teacher's professional beginning in terms of workload and responsibilities. Since it changes little over time, the novice teacher experiences the culture of the organization (and the field of all the educational system that affects him) quite thoroughly and intensively from the very beginning (it is not for nothing that the concept of "shock" is used).
The "reality shock" of beginning teachers, the change in beliefs, pedagogical attitudes and practice have been extensively studied in the second half of the twentieth century (Lortie, 1975 (2020), Corcoran, 1981, Veenman, 1984, etc.) It was found that the beginning teacher's beliefs are formed while she/he is still a student and these beliefs are usually teacher-oriented, based on behaviouristic ideas, which rely on response reinforcement, punishments, and rewards. Later, in the years of study, the acquired more progressive knowledge and attitudes diminish again when they find themselves in the real reality of education - they return to their pre-study beliefs. Because at the end of 20th century, in pedagogy, a constructivist approach has become very widespread, which claims that learning is an active process of knowledge construction, researchers assume that the experience of modern novice teachers has already changed, so previously conducted research loses its relevance (Voss and Kunter, 2020). However, already in the 21st century, studies conducted abroad still show that in the second and third years of teaching, teachers' beliefs migrate to the side of traditional didactics (Flores and Day, 2006, Hong, 2010, Voss and Kunter, 2020, etc.), but similar empirical studies conducted in Lithuania could not be found.
The theoretical part will aim to delve into the resistance of traditional education to more progressive education methods, its significance for student achievement in Lithuania, in connection with the concepts of poverty pedagogy and critical pedagogy (Tyack and Tobin, 1994, Mayer, 1996, Mayer, 2004, Haberman, 2010, etc.)
A wide range of influences affects teachers’ everyday life: politics, institutional traditions, culture, norms, etc. Teachers' inner beliefs and instructions dictated by reformers often do not match (Lasky, 2005, Ponomarenko, 2022). In the research conducted by the author of this project, the testimonies of the teachers of the "Renkuosi mokyti!" project revealed unacceptable aspects of education for them: prevalence of fabrications (documents do not correspond to reality), chasing results, heavy workload, etc. (Lebedytė-Mečionienė, 2022). With the help of the postmodern direction of thought and its theorists: Lyotard, Foucault, Bourdieu, Baudrillard, Bauman, etc. it will be aimed to further deepen and analyse the processes in education by connecting them with the results of empirical research by foreign and Lithuanian scientists (Ball, Želvys, Vaitekaitis, Duoblienė, Ponomarenko, Tumlovskaja, etc.)
Method
In this study, I would like to reveal not only the momentary attitude and subjective experiences of beginning teachers, but also to record a possible deep change over time, therefore it was chosen to conduct a longitudinal qualitative study (Aleknevičienė, Pocienė and Šupa, 2020). Longitudinal research is not unambiguously described, various choices of duration and frequency are possible. However, there are authors who define a minimum duration for change - from 1 to 3 years (Holland, Thompson and Henderson, 2006). In this case, a two-point study is planned: in the first year of pedagogical work and at the beginning of the third year. It is based on studies of beginning teachers, which show that in the third year of teaching, emotional tension decreases and pedagogical beliefs are established (Goddard and Goddard, 2006, Voss and Kunter, 2020, etc.) It is planned to apply a narrative research strategy, from the point of view of which human experience is always narrated and it is through the narration that to the experience is given meaning (Moen, 2006). Narratives are inseparable from the social and cultural context; they represent a collective experience because the cultural, historical and institutional environment has shaped them (ibid.). It is planned to use an unstructured or semi-structured in-depth interview as a data collection method. Interviews are conducted in the first and third year of teaching. It is likely that some teachers may have given up the teaching profession. Data analysis. Interview recordings will be transcribed with intonation and other peculiarities. Later, the textual data will be reduced: coded, divided into topics, connections between topics will be searched - with the help of the NVIVO qualitative data analysis program. Finally, the structured data will be linked to the theoretical part and presented in the results. Quality assurance. It will be based on the main quality criteria of qualitative and narrative research: authenticity, reliability, critical reflexivity, etc. - in an attempt to secure them (Braun and Clarke, 2006, Andrews, 2021).
Expected Outcomes
Neoliberalism, new public management, and life in the knowledge society greatly affect the daily experiences of novice teachers. A new focus may be established, possibly directed towards these factors as catalysts for development. The transition in the teaching profession from resistance to adaptation, along with the distinctive features of the new generation, may also be recorded.
References
Andrews, M. (2021). Quality indicators in narrative research. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 18(3), 353-368, https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1769241 Ball, S. J. (2003). The teacher's soul and the terrors of performativity. Journal of education policy, 18(2), 215-228. https://doi.org/10.1080/0268093022000043065 Braun, V., Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology, 3(2), 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001). From preparation to practice: Designing a continuum to strengthen and sustain teaching. Teachers College Record, 103(6), 1013-1055. https://doi.org/10.1111/0161- 4681.00141 Flores, M. A., Day, C. (2006). Contexts which shape and reshape new teachers’ identities: A multi-perspective study. Teaching and teacher education, 22(2), 219-232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2005.09.002 Goddard, R., Goddard, M. (2006). Beginning teacher burnout in Queensland schools: Associations with serious intentions to leave. The Australian educational researcher, 33(2), 61-75. Haberman, M. (2010). The Pedagogy of Poverty versus Good Teaching. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(2), 81–87. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171009200223 Holland, J., Thomson, R., Henderson, S. (2006). Qualitative longitudinal research: A discussion paper. London: London South Bank University. Hong, J. Y. (2010). Pre-service and beginning teachers’ professional identity and its relation to dropping out of the profession. Teaching and teacher Education, 26(8), 1530-1543. Lasky, S. (2005). A sociocultural approach to understanding teacher identity, agency and professional vulnerability in a context of secondary school reform. Teaching and teacher education, 21(8), 899-916. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2005.06.003 Lebedytė-Mečionienė, I. (2022). Pradedančiųjų mokytojų susidūrimas su ugdymo realybe: programos „Renkuosi mokyti!“ atvejis. Acta Paedagogica Vilnensia, 49, 56-68. https://doi.org/10.15388/ActPaed.2022.49.4 Lortie, D. C. (2020). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. University of Chicago press. Mayer, R. E. (2004). Should There Be a Three-Strikes Rule Against Pure Discovery Learning? American Psychologist, 59(1), 14–19. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.59.1.14 Moen, T. (2006). Reflections on the Narrative Research Approach. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(4), 56-69. https://doi.org/10.1177/160940690600500405 Morrison, C. M. (2013). Teacher Identity in the Early Career Phase: Trajectories that Explain and Influence Development. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(4), 91-107. http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2013v38n4.5 Tyack, D. ir Tobin, W. (1994). The "Grammar" of Schooling: Why Has It Been So Hard to Change? American Educational Research Journal, 31(3), 453-479. https://doi.org/10.2307/1163222 Tynjälä, P., Heikkinen, H. L. T. (2011). Beginning teachers’ transition from pre-service education to working life. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft, 14(11), 33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-011-0175-6 Voss, T., Kunter, M. (2020). “Reality Shock” of Beginning Teachers? Changes in Teacher Candidates’ Emotional Exhaustion and Constructivist-Oriented Beliefs. Journal of Teacher Education, 71(3), 292–306. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487119839700 Veenman, S. (1984). Perceived Problems of Beginning Teachers. Review of Educational Research, 54(2), 143-178. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543054002143
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