Teachers in Flanders, Belgium, continue to face challenges in effectively addressing and embedding diversity and social justice within their classroom practices (e.g. Hagenaars et al., 2023). This presentation focuses on findings from a Flemish pilot project that investigated video coaching as a method of professional learning to foster anti-bias competences of teachers in primary and lower secondary education (ages 6-14). The aim of this study is therefore to examine the potential (and perceived) impact of video coaching, embedded within a professional development program, as a method for strengthening anti-bias competencies. Grounded in the Educational Design Research (EDR) framework (McKenney & Reeves, 2012), this program was developed through three iterative phases. The analysis and exploration phase involved data collection through a literature review, a large-scale survey, classroom observations, and interviews, with a focus on identifying current educational practices and professional development needs in anti-bias education. These findings informed the design and construction phase, during which the professional development program (PDP) was iteratively designed and adapted in collaboration with eight expert teachers. In the same period, different methods of video coaching were tested by varying the instruction, guidance intensity and coaching format, and then revised based on triangulation of feedback from the expert teachers, observations by researchers, and input from external experts. The program was piloted with four teachers, allowing us to evaluate the potential and (perceived) impact of this video coaching. A mixed-method approach was used to assess the teachers’ diversity competencies, including pre and post intervention interviews, focusing on their experiences and perceptions, alongside three video coaching sessions per participant. Two independent researchers conducted a thematic analysis of the transcripts, paying particular attention to (or focusing on) changes in anti-bias competencies. Preliminary findings indicate that, within anti-bias education, video coaching creates opportunities for deep and shared learning and facilitates the transfer of acquired knowledge into classroom practice. Participating teachers demonstrate increased critical self-awareness and self-efficacy in anti-bias education. Nonetheless, specific contextual challenges and support conditions must be addressed to ensure effective implementation.

Hagenaars, M., Maene, C., Willems, S., Vantieghem, W., D’hondt, F., & Stevens, P. A. (2023). Diversity ideologies in Flemish education: explaining variation in teachers’ implementation of multiculturalism, assimilation and colourblindness. Journal of Education Policy, 38(6), 985-1006. McKenney, S., & Reeves, T. (2012). Conducting educational design research. Routledge.