Knowledge sources and autonomy: German and Swedish Teachers’ continuing professional development of assessment knowledge

Author(s):

Wieland Wermke(presenting / submitting)Eva Forsberg

Conference:

ECER 2012

Network:

01. Continuing Professional Development: Learning for Individuals, Leaders, and Organisations

Format:

Paper

Session Information

01 SES 13 B, Sources of Teachers’ Knowledge

Parallel Paper Session

Time:

2012-09-21

11:00-12:30

Room:

FCEE - Aula 2.7

Chair:

Joanna Michalak

Contribution

This contribution presents a comparative study of German and Swedish teachers’ continuing professional development (CPD) in relation to student assessment. It investigates the sources teachers use to improve their knowledge about assessment and the relationship this has to different national contexts. Assessment, as well evaluation, defines what counts as valid knowledge and how this can be measured. As such, assessment is a major focus of teaching and specifies constraints and possibilities for teacher practice in the classroom. Teachers are seen as agents in a regulated CPD marketplace, and within this, teachers make decisions about the knowledge sources they use to educate themselves about assessment. These choices can be seen as expressions of what they perceive as important and relevant in relation to assessment. We argue that this expression of opinion can contribute to an understanding of teachers’ professional autonomy as it describes the context-related freedoms and constraints of teachers’ teaching practice, especially in relation to their decisions about a crucial aspect of their profession.

Method

We study teachers’ CPD by implementing a questionnaire in the two different national contexts. The focus is on the sources of teachers’ assessment knowledge and how teachers act in the CPD marketplace. A distinction is made between formal and non-formal learning settings.In the questionnaire, teachers were asked to assess the relevance of different sources for their knowledge about assessment. As indicators of teachers’ activity and sources of assessment knowledge in the CPD marketplace, we asked about settings and frequency of participation: the assessment of individual pupil’s performances, the assessment/evaluation of the schools efficacy and development, and finally assessment through international large scale studies. The sample comprises 199 teachers in 16 schools in the county of Stockholm, Stockholms län, and 195 teachers in 12 schools in the federal state of Berlin.

Expected Outcomes

Regarding the sources where teachers have gained their “general” assessment competences similarities between both countries can be observed. In both countries teachers are “learning by doing in practice” in the classroom. The colleagues are almost as important as the own experiences as teacher. Still, the knowledge learned here is rather implicit. Although teacher education and organised CPD is of minor importance. Development in assessment is obvious an area where state governance faces limitations. The investigation of teachers’ CPD practice in the described aspects shows differences between both countries. German teachers are active regarding the development of assessment knowledge on the assessment on individual student performances, the evaluation of schools and international large-scale studies. Swedish teachers show significantly less activity in CPD in assessment in all of these aspects. The differences can be seen as an expression of different strategies to deal with teacher autonomy in assessment in both countries. A more active CPD in assessment can be interpreted as an expression of greater autonomy and an effort of explicit making knowledge in times of reform, whereas inactivity can be understoodas greater dependence on assessment decisions done outside the own classroom.

References

Broadfoot, P. 1996. Education, Assessment and Society, Open University Press, Buckingham. Eraut, M. 2002. Non-formal learning, implicit learning and tacit knowledge in professional work. In: The necessity of informal learning. (ed F. Coffield), Policy Press, Bristol, pp. 12-31. Forsberg, E, and Lundgren, U.P., 2009. A Welfare State in transition, and addendum. In: I.C. Rotberg, ed. Balancing Change and Tradition in Global Education Reform, 2. ed. Oxford: ScarecrowEducation, 181–200. Helsper, W., Busse, S., Hummrich, M. & Kramer, R. (eds) 2008. Pädagogische Professionalität in Organisationen, VS-Verlag, Opladen. Wermke, W., 2011. Professional development in context. Teachers’ professional development culture in Germany and Sweden. Professional Development in Education 37(5), 665–683.

Author Information

Wieland Wermke (presenting / submitting)

Stockholm University

Education

Stockholm

Eva Forsberg

Uppsala University, Sweden

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