Teacher Education, Learning Innovation and Accountability Series Editor: Claire Wyatt‐Smith Anna Elizabeth Du Plessis Professional Support Beyond Initial Teacher Education Pedagogical Discernment and the Influence of Out-of-Field Teaching Practices Teacher Education, Learning Innovation and Accountability Series Editor Claire Wyatt-Smith, Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia This book series offers research-informed discussion and analysis of teacher preparation, certification and continuing professional learning and the related practice and policy drivers for change and reform The series fosters and disseminates research about teaching as a profession of choice while offering a unique link to the realities of pre-service experience in workforce preparation It takes account of research on teacher formation that opens up issues not routinely connected: what teachers need to know and be able to do, and who they are, namely the person of the teacher and their capabilities in contributing to students’ personal development and wellbeing This goal provides a current, practical and international view of the future of initial teacher education programs More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/15485 Anna Elizabeth Du Plessis Professional Support Beyond Initial Teacher Education Pedagogical Discernment and the Influence of Out-of-Field Teaching Practices 123 Anna Elizabeth Du Plessis Australian Catholic University Brisbane, QLD, Australia ISSN 2524-5562 ISSN 2524-5570 (electronic) Teacher Education, Learning Innovation and Accountability ISBN 978-981-13-9721-9 ISBN 978-981-13-9722-6 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9722-6 © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd 2019 This work is subject to copyright All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore … higher mental function was external and social before it was internal It was once a social relationship between two people We can formulate the general genetic law of cultural development in the following way Any function appears twice or on two planes It appears first between people… and then within… Vygotsky (1960, p 197–198) For my father and mother… Ubuntu Foreword In the last decade, international concerns about the preparedness of young teachers to teach have been raised by researchers Among other factors, this attention has been prompted by the high attrition rates of early career teachers in many parts of the world The burning question currently is about possible approaches to entering into teaching and the instructional quality of these early career teachers as well as experienced teachers teaching unfamiliar subjects Internationally, there exist many models for the introduction of early career teachers into teaching, such as observational learning, internships, micro-teaching, field experiences, self-evaluations and mentoring However, little empirical evidence exists about the effect of these approaches and especially their efficacy in preparing early career teachers and experienced teachers in challenging teaching positions Combining a bottom-up and top-down approach, this book provides the perceptions of early career and experienced teachers about their preparedness to teach specific subjects and year levels and their reflections on the possibilities to grow offered to them To complement this view, school leaders’ perspectives on the offered professional support are included This book has the potential to offer new directions for the induction of early career teachers into teaching practice, analysing the pitfalls of current approaches and offering insight into new possibilities Teacher preservice and in-service education need to be changed worldwide This book offers a description of the state of the art and proposes further developments, which has the potential to develop new models for early career teachers’ induction into teaching Hamburg, Germany Prof Gabriele Kaiser, Ph.D Prof Gabriele Kaiser, Ph.D is a full professor of mathematics education at the Faculty of Education, University of Hamburg and a professorial fellow at the Institute of Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, ACU Until recently, she held the position of Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Education (2010–2016) ix Preface Dialogue is the ‘reservoir’ of our understanding and development Language brings life-worlds into presence Noticing and understanding the everydayness of teachers’ life-worlds inform professional support Interaction between those who experience being in the world of teaching and those who are on the outer sphere of educational decision-making is the umbilical cord of effective professional support and development for teachers However, sharing truths about professional support needs generates a space where teachers acknowledge their vulnerability and are offered the chance to work out solutions Educational leaders and decision-makers have a duty of care to ensure teachers’ well-being Van Manen (2016) claims that teachers’ weariness is a symptom of hopelessness Professional support then has the responsibility of restoring hope that embraces ‘patience, tolerance and belief in the possibilities of our children’ (Van Manen, 2016, p 82) Targeted professional development strategies have the potential to change teachers’ and students’ lives The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) conducted in 2013, mentioned ‘teaching staff need to be able to innovate and adapt their practice continuously; this includes having critical attitudes which enable them to respond to students’ outcomes, use of new evidence from research and practice, and professional dialogue’ (TALIS, 2014, p 23) This book offers an in-depth conversation around individually and situationally focused professional support, deeply embedded in a context-conscious theoretical framework, the context-conscious understanding development (C-CUD) theory I developed this theory to encourage a deeper understanding of the support teachers and their school leaders need to achieve the expected level of educational quality Teacher development and growth are not done and dusted by the completion of an initial teacher education program, they continue well beyond the university into the workforce The level of acceptance of this fact greatly impacts beliefs about professional learning and professional development Acknowledging the value of a close connectedness to the classroom context reveals the complexities and the real-life teaching challenges which teachers face These include out-of-field teaching practices, diverse student cultures and behaviours, contextual factors (e.g remote schools and large student cohorts) and the xi xii Preface pressure to achieve expected results Noticing and knowing these challenges guide decision-making about professional support to develop strategies to effectively manage these challenges Furthermore, there is global attention to issues such as (i) the quality of initial teacher education and how it effectively prepares future teachers for the workforce, (ii) the preparedness of graduate teachers to apply and adjust their knowledge according to diverse contexts of schools and classrooms and (iii) the vacuum around ongoing quality professional learning and development programs offered once teachers enter the workplace (Ludlow, et al., 2008) This book steps into this space emphasising the (i) real-life experiences that await teachers in the workforce, (ii) accountability and responsibility to carry forward what was started in the initial teacher education phase of teacher preparation and (iii) essence of teacher well-being embraced by focused professional support Teaching and learning are social encounters This has been accentuated by Vygotsky’s social constructivism views which acknowledge the value of enthusiastically engaged teachers who know their students’ capacities The atmosphere or dispositions embedded in the teaching and learning environment influence students’ confidence to explore being, knowing and thinking, reaching towards deep cognitive application in different contexts Teachers have the responsibility to guide students through their learning experience Teachers’ initial teacher education (ITE) describes the preliminary, beginning phase of prospective teacher preparation and refers to the first step in preparing teachers for what it means to be sensitively and enthusiastically engaged in students’ development This leaves the expectation that more preparation will follow This book links ITE to the workplace and highlights the challenges teachers face at work and the support that is offered as an addition or extension to ITE, especially for those assigned to complex teaching positions Who takes accountability and responsibility for the quality of ‘ongoing professional education’ or the development of teachers? Luke, Luke and Mayer (2000) discuss the debate surrounding the reinvention and re-envisioning of teacher education The significant expectation that ITE will be able to prepare prospective teachers for the teaching profession so that they will be ready for what is waiting for them in the workplace is under the magnifying glass This implies that stakeholders in education are responsible for becoming actively engaged in ongoing professional support for teachers, of which teacher encouragement (collegial and collaborative) is an integral part The extent to which they so influences the success of professional learning and development (Power, 2011) Focused and connected professional supports build a well-prepared and well-maintained teaching workforce This book gives prominence to classroom realities and professional growth beyond ITE I urge decision-makers involved in teachers’ professional support to reflect on the truths from the field Chapter focuses on education quality improvement, accountability and the role of initial teacher education linked to further professional support I discuss targeted professional support and its primary aim and objectives, underpinned by supporting theories and concepts of capacity building 8.5 Recommendations 255 teachers and teachers in out-of-field positions Collaborative decision-making within the professional support and development process requires adjustment to support processes and policies and to the design of professional learning and development programs Without adjustments to professional support programs, it is impossible to accommodate the growing out-of-field phenomenon and teachers’ growing need for focused professional learning and development that will assist them to adapt to new teaching demands 8.5.4 Adjustments: Support from C-CUD and CANNAS Interaction among school leaders, mentors and subject advisors plays an important role in constructing the teacher fit and context fit for a professional support program Where school leaders’ power is expressed in control strategies and not through supportive guidance, the quality of teaching can only be sustained at a very high cost to teachers and the learning environment This includes deteriorating sustainability, results and morale, personal disengagement of teachers and larger resistance to centralised policies and decision-making (Du Plessis, 2005; 2014; Mulford, 2011; Watson & Crossley, 2001) and guidance offered by mentors, developers, facilitators and subject advisors Professional developers and subject facilitators need to become more involved in action research conducted in the school context Such research should focus on the implications of complex teaching positions for the teaching and learning space Professional developers, mentors, facilitators, teachers and school leaders who successfully negotiate together to create an improved environment for ongoing professional support, learning and development programs Their strategies demonstrate an understanding of teachers’ needs and circumstances This offers teachers a less traumatic transformation experience Changes in teaching techniques and strategies in terms of new knowledge and practices need to be internalised by teachers before they can be expected to explore these approaches This internalisation stage provides teachers with time to construct new approaches in alignment with their classrooms, subjects and prior knowledge base This period of adjustment is also necessary for a transformation from topdown development strategies to shared decision-making In addition, the strategy of allowing for a period of adaptation will inform mentors, professional developers and facilitators of teachers’ expectations and demands for professional support It is important for mentors, subject advisors, professional developers and facilitators to be involved in and to take note of the extent to which out-of-field teachers have to make adjustments in an attempt to maintain quality in their teaching practices despite the position to which they are assigned This is vital in order to understand the depth of their professional needs and how to answer to them School leaders, mentors, developers, facilitators, teachers and school administrators need to actively engage in such ongoing investigation to develop an understand- 256 The Way Forward… ing of the improvement in professional support that is needed to promote healthy teaching and learning environments Context-specific professional support and development models create a sense of security and stability for teachers within their professional learning and development The C-CUD theory is recommended as it offers a fit-for-purpose theoretical frame Through this framework, school leaders, educational leaders, professional development designers and teachers can ground a deeper knowing, understanding, awareness and noticing of specific incidents and phenomena that impact the teaching and learning environment Also recommended is a leadership model to inform leaders of the professional support, learning and ongoing professional development for teachers in their care Incorporating the CANNAS leadership model as part of ongoing professional learning and development management on a day-to-day basis within school environments encourages close engagement The model also provides leaders at the system level with an approach to actively engage in the ongoing professional support of teachers in complex teaching positions 8.5.5 Stabilise the Teaching and Learning Environment A stable classroom context forms the basis for constructive learning Teachers’ beliefs, teaching characteristics and dispositions influence the atmosphere, climate and culture in classrooms Confident teachers successfully develop a teaching and learning environment where students feel welcomed Well-structured and welldesigned professional support offers teachers opportunities to improve confidence in their teaching practices and explore new teaching and learning approaches to keep students engaged in the classroom environments Targeted support for individual teachers, while noticing their challenges and difficulties, enhances the stability within the workplace context while the validity and reliability of support programs improve teachers’ focus on effective knowledge construction Research completed in Queensland, Australia showed that short-term contracts are not the preferred employment arrangement among beginning teachers (Du Plessis et al., 2018) Teacher participants in this project further shared that while they are assigned to short-term contract positions, which often involve highly challenging school and classroom contexts, they not have comprehensive access to professional support networks The restricted access to professional support impacts how satisfying teachers experience their teaching career with implications for their decisions to stay in the profession, to further develop their teaching capacity or to leave It is recommended that school quality improvement strategies include policy frameworks that address the need of professional support for teachers assigned to short-term contract positions and casualisation 8.5 Recommendations 257 8.5.6 Conceptualise and Illuminate School-Based Mentor Programs Teachers in complex teaching position claim they get more from focused individual or small group professional learning and development programs than from general workshops It is recommended that school leaders utilise experienced specialist teachers in their own schools, neighbouring schools or schools within the same district to act as the professional supporter for teachers with the focus on subject advice and guidance Additional career guidance is especially relevant for out-offield teachers and their students in remote, rural and regional areas School leaders with an in-depth knowledge and records of their own teachers’ profiles and classroom experiences, and who work hard to network continuously with neighbouring schools, are more likely to improve the quality of the education they offer within their own schools A further recommendation to uphold the quality of teaching and learning in schools is that professional support designers and developers, subject advisors, school leadership, educational leadership and representatives of tertiary institutions work on ongoing engagement in collaborative partnership forums Such forums will give a voice to different stakeholders in developing targeted guidelines for the organisational effectiveness of ongoing professional support programs Effective organisational structures, where stakeholders are informed about the implications of complex and challenging teaching positions for teachers’ effectiveness and students’ development and achievement, are probably the only way to effectively manage out-of-field teaching’s impact on quality education Educational leaders should not forget that teaching is an emotion and labour intense profession and the cure for every sorrow is conversation (Heaney, 2001) Communication efforts at these various levels are visible in contexts that have shown improved organisational effectiveness 8.5.7 Advancing Organisational Effectiveness Concerned educational and school leaders stimulate awareness about issues that affect the quality of education and lead to proactive action Such action begins in schools and classrooms through the efforts to support teachers and improve workforce stability in the ever-changing professional context of teaching Organisational effectiveness supports quality teaching and learning It is recommended that those involved in professional support, for example, mentors, lead teachers, professional developers, facilitators and school leaders spend more time on planning and searching for suitable ongoing professional support approaches It is also recommended that the planning of ongoing professional support for teachers in complex and challenging positions receive more priority These teachers need the stability of ongoing support in an environment where the constant transformation of 258 The Way Forward… the curricula, pedagogical approaches and administrative systems are part of their everyday teaching lives The perception that teachers are professionals who are the developers and designers of context connected curricula makes them partners in creating quality education and organisational effectiveness This responsibility puts an extra burden on teachers who teach in positions outside their field of qualification School leaders and organisational structures need to pay attention to the various possible approaches to professional support programs in order to maintain organisational effectiveness The effectiveness of professional support programs within the school context greatly influences such organisational effectiveness and the school atmosphere School leaders and mentors who appreciate teaching skills are anchored in teachers’ values, beliefs and perceptions of self-efficacy incorporate these principles in the ongoing professional support approaches developed within schools The inclusion of these attributes in professional support, learning and development programs impacts the success of these programs It also underpins effective contextspecific curricula development It further impacts the leadership structures at different schools It is recommended that professional support approaches within schools make provision for the upskilling of teachers who teach outside their field of qualification The same aspects that make out-of-field teaching a threat to quality teaching and learning spaces pose a threat to organisational effectiveness Effective school environments offer quality education and stability for students and teachers This stable teaching and learning environment impacts successful learning, achievement and development School leadership and education systems need to openly acknowledge that recruitment and placement of teachers can lead to complex and challenging teaching circumstances Acknowledging the dilemmas, they face in managing human resources within school contexts will turn educational leaders’ focus to the extensive planning that school leaders need to manage human capital so as to maintain quality education in their schools Implementing an immediate plan to rectifying complex and challenging teaching situations within the school context will impact the quality and effectiveness of the education schools offer Implementing the CANNAS leadership model provides school leaders with a structure to direct their efforts for managing their human resources In doing so, teachers, as managers of their classroom contexts, and school leaders develop connectedness, create awareness, in-depth needs analyses, negotiate these needs and take action In this way, teachers are supported to carry out the negotiated actions It is also recommended that school leaders and teachers continuously reflect on professional support models and leadership practices to encourage organisational effectiveness through these professional support, learning and development programs The highest priority of education leaders should involve well-structured professional support programs Develop-for-fit support efforts confront and address the specific challenges teachers face in their classrooms Organisational effectiveness is rooted in intensified focused ongoing professional support for unsuitably assigned teachers It is recommended that school leaders investigate thoroughly to ensure that they accumulate all the necessary information on how they assign teachers and how 8.5 Recommendations 259 often teachers are utilised in positions for which they are not qualified Ongoing critical reflection on organisational effectiveness will inform school leaders’ decisionmaking and develop awareness of possible discrimination, direct or indirect, against teachers in positions for which they are not suitably qualified Organisational effectiveness involves accommodating specific teachers’ needs in such a way that it will improve their teaching quality, offering equal treatment and opportunities that include targeted professional support specifically developed around their individual needs Leaders’ decisions about professional learning and development opportunities open prospects for career development in a new direction and prepare teachers adequately for the position they are assigned to (Joubert & Prinsloo, 1999) 8.5.8 Contextual Awareness in Action Coordination and cooperation between the wider school community and the school stimulate awareness of aspects where schools need support to strengthen the quality education they offer In an earlier publication Du Plessis (2005) I recommended that awareness can be stimulated through various strategies: • Colleagues should be collectively informed and included in decisions where academic activities and the out-of-field teaching phenomenon are linked • Stakeholders (educational leaders at government and systemic level, school leaders, teachers, students and parents) in education should be allowed to contribute to academic activities that fall outside the expertise of the teacher They could be incorporated as assistants during certain lessons or subject areas • Specialist teachers from neighbouring schools should be used for certain curriculum topics or lesson themes This might ease the professional development burden and create collaborative involvement • There should be improved communication between the school leaders, mentors, professional support developers, subject advisors and facilitators This would result in professional learning and development program designers and presenters being better informed They can then contribute substantially more if they are properly informed about the complexities and challenges teachers experience • Subject advisors, subject facilitators and professional developers should be seen as partners in education This will help to overcome the information gap which exists between education systems, professional development leaders, principals and teachers The wider education community (including tertiary institutions, development officers and school leaders) needs to be actively involved in conversations where concerns about teachers’ development, training and retraining beyond initial teacher education are discussed The assignment of teachers outside their qualifications and the constant judgement of their capacity despite their challenging positions need to be part of conversations about adjusting ongoing professional support programs This 260 The Way Forward… will improve these programs’ impact on the learning environment while specifically accommodating these teachers This book highlights the need for customised professional support and learning development procedures for teachers in complex teaching positions Connectedness to the specific context, awareness of the ongoing classroom issues and specific difficulties these teachers experience, needs analyses to inform the planning of fit-forpurpose support, negotiation of what professional support, learning and development programs are needed and what teachers’ expectations for specific action and support (using the CANNAS leadership model) should direct appropriate support and followup sessions These procedures need to be coordinated and follow each other in a timely, synchronised way Such decisions about professional support and who can access it impact the school community at large Therefore, such support should be given without discrimination against any of the involved parties Teachers claim that the absence of coordinated contextualised support and follow-up sessions make professional learning and development approaches unsatisfactory School leaders and teachers perceive that especially after external professional development, follow-up sessions are absent, or not well planned or well timed Coordinated professional support programs, professional learning and development approaches, follow-up sessions and ongoing self-reflection assist the maintenance of critical reflection about improvement and quality The purpose of effective organisational involvement is to improve and support effective teaching strategies and the professional growth of teachers In doing so, an in-depth understanding is gained of the organisation’s effectiveness to support teachers Another outcome is the empathetic awareness of teachers’ values, beliefs, strengths and weaknesses Such involvement impacts school leaders’ choices and the improvement of the professional support offered Such organisation wide reflection on support development is recommended It includes addressing questions such as: • Do school leaders and education system leaders fully understand the professional support, learning and development culture? • Are the current perceptions about professional support shared or from individual perspectives only? • Are group interests being overly prioritised at the cost of individual interests and needs? Teachers’ self-reflection and how they experience the incorporation of follow-up sessions both inform the adjustments needed to improve professional support and inform school communities’ awareness of specific needs and changes The awareness and involvement of the school community are visible through a push for timely follow-up sessions in relation to professional support Regular informal conversations between school leaders and teachers in complex teaching positions should occur as they provide valuable casually presented perceptions These perceptions are usually the true reflection of what really happens in classroom contexts The wider school community’s awareness of these real-life experiences and of the valuable information shared during these interactions ensures decisions are made based 8.5 Recommendations 261 on evidence and truths from the field The wider school community includes those engaged in education improvement and responsible for decision-making Awareness of various perceptions within the school context is advocated as an important way to validate information and provide opportunities for further discussions and feedback on matters concerning the quality of teaching and learning that takes place in classrooms School leaders’ awareness of the high demands which professional support puts on experienced teachers will inform their recruitment approaches This has implications for retention and staff turnover Intentional recruitment is an approach to enhance organisational stability and quality Intentional recruitment strategically ensures that recruitment focused on specific skills is linked to specific positions and needs within the school It identifies and communicates the competencies, skills and abilities required for available posts The effective involvement of education systems in targeted professional learning and development beyond initial teacher education not only supports the growth of teachers’ professional identity It also supports schools in their improvement plans to offer quality teaching and learning It further offers schools some assistance to make their professional support budgets work Professional learning and professional development are important to ensure that teachers experience job satisfaction are content with their allocated teaching positions and feel motivated to stay in the profession The assignment of teachers to classes once they are appointed by schools raise questions School leaders admit that they will delegate any willing teacher to any subject, especially to fill the shortage in learning areas like mathematics and science They also admit that the image of these teachers as specialists in their specific field enhances a school’s academic profile, which, in turn, might attract more diverse and talented teachers (Mulford, 2011; Van Deventer, 2005b) It is therefore of utmost importance for education systems and school leaders to work together in developing the professional identity of teachers as well as schools’ academic profiles Intentional recruitment relies on how school leaders investigate potential teachers for specific vacancies and how they perceive the professional learning and development these teachers will need The broader context of recruitment moves between different perspectives Two positions appear to be diametrically opposed One is that any teacher can teach any subject The other operates from an awareness of the impact which restricted content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge have on a teacher’s capacity The impact of out-of-field teaching practices and professional learning and development on teachers’ self-esteem and their specific professional identity as an expert teacher in a specific area, should not be underestimated Neither should what this means for the teaching workforce 262 The Way Forward… 8.6 Concluding Remarks: Shaping a Quality Teaching Workforce To retain teachers, Mayer (2006) urges awareness of the ‘intergenerational nature’ (p 57) of the workforce Understanding the difficulties, dilemmas and concerns teachers have to cope with, and the support they need to manage intergenerational challenges informs strategies to retain and further develop teachers Teachers’ specific circumstances are affected by the conceptualisation and internalisation of the link between teachers’ professional identity and the effective management of workplace challenges The support available to build professional capacity impacts the quality of a nation’s workforce now and into the future Awareness of the workforce’s profile, in terms of professional support needs, informs professional support program developers These include private professional designers, mentors at the school level, subject facilitators or advisors, specialist teachers, school leaders and educational leaders Principals, especially, need to focus on the particular needs of the teachers who are dependent on these programs, in order to improve their capacity to deliver quality teaching A future research agenda includes specific attention on beginning teachers’ professional support and the professional development of their school leaders The aim is to stimulate transnational/international examination of the beginning teacher workforce and how to offer tailored professional support during the first five years of teaching in an effort to retain the future generation of teachers Perceptions, dispositions and lived experiences of teachers within the first five years of their teaching and the lived experiences of their school leaders inform a deeper understanding of the challenges these teachers face or try to manage This research will further inform the exact professional support these teachers need to maintain their effectiveness and to build on their initial teacher education The specific challenges which teaching outside their qualifications pose for teachers should not be taken for granted Retaining teachers in the profession means a clear understanding of what enables teachers to persist and manage these challenges in an effective manner (Beltman, Mansfield, & Price, 2011) Deeper knowledge of teachers’ resilience and the development of successful interventions in different contexts offer much-needed evidence Strategies to build a stable, quality and strong teaching workforce start with retaining teachers and supporting them to enjoy their work, experience success and excel in their teaching position The value of collaborative, context related action research for targeted professional learning is emphasised by many researchers, including Willegems, Consuegra, Struyven, and Engels (2017) Noticing and appreciating the real-life experiences and challenges of teachers, preservice teachers and leaders in classrooms and schools inform effective professional support Professional learning and development programs encourage teachers beyond their initial teacher education 8.6 Concluding Remarks: Shaping a Quality Teaching Workforce 263 They constitute professional support towards inspiring life-long learning Robust and rigorous efforts to improve the quality of education and the school’s organisational effectiveness are embedded in the well-directed professional learning and development of teachers References Abadiano, H., & Turner, J (2004) Professional staff development: What works? 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Developing evidence-informed policy and practice in educational leadership and leadership: A ‘rejoinder’ to Rosalind Levacic and Ron Glatter Educational Leadership and Administration, 29(1), 27–34 Wallace, M (2001b) Sharing leadership of schools through teamwork: A justifiable risk? Educational Leadership & Administration, 29(2), 153–167 References 265 Watson, G., & Crossley, M (2001) Beyond the rational: The strategic leadership process, cultural change and post-incorporation further education Educational Leadership & Administration, 29(1), 113–125 Willegems, V., Consuegra, E., Struyven, K., & Engels, N (2017) Teachers and pre-service teachers as partners in collaborative teacher research: A systematic literature review Teaching and Teacher Education, 64(2017), 230–245 https://doi.org/10.1016/jtate.2017.02.014 Appendix Research Projects that Inform Empirical Data and Truths from the Field Research Beginning teacher workforce planning project CI—Du Plessis, A The workplace experiences of beginning teachers in three countries: A message for initial teacher education from the field CI—Du Plessis, A Co-Researcher Sunde, E Understanding the out-of-field teaching experience CI—Du Plessis, A The development of future leaders within educational change: the challenge to bridge the gap between leadership theories and practice CI—Du Plessis, A Continuing professional development and the out-of-field phenomenon: The implications for school management CI—Du Plessis, A The implication of the out-of-field phenomenon for school management CI—Du Plessis, A Period 2017/2018 Methodology Mixed methods Participants Beginning teachers School leaders Countries Australia 2017 Qualitative Beginning teachers Australia South Africa Norway 2014 Qualitative Teachers School leaders Parents Australia South Africa 2012 Mixed methods Course coordinator Preservice teachers in final year of master’s degree, school leadership programme Australia 2010 Qualitative Teachers Australia South Africa 2005 Qualitative Teachers and senior secondary students South Africa © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd 2019 A E Du Plessis, Professional Support Beyond Initial Teacher Education, Teacher Education, Learning Innovation and Accountability, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9722-6 267 Glossary Dispositions Welch et al (2010) define dispositions as different values that guide the teacher’s behaviour and attitude and impact teaching practices and professionalism Dispositions are further defined as the values, commitments and professional ethics that influence ‘behaviours towards students, families, colleagues, and communities, and affect student learning, motivation, and development as well as the educator’s own professional development Dispositions are guided by beliefs and attitudes related to values such as caring, fairness, honesty, responsibility and social justice’ (NCATE, 2002, p 53) Personnel resources The concept of personnel resources refers to the teachers in the school environment who are involved in the development and achievement of students through their teaching capacity Professional support opportunities Knapp (2003) distinguishes between professional learning and professional development, professional development being ‘the full range of activities, formal and informal, that engage teachers or administrators in new learning about their professional practice’ (p 112) and professional learning being ‘changes in the thinking, knowledge, skills, and approaches to instruction that form practising teachers’ or administrators’ repertoire’ (pp 112–113) King (2016) defines professional learning of teachers to be a mediating factor for improvement of student achievement, stating that ‘teachers across the world engage in professional development (PD) to enhance their professional learning’ (p 574) Professional learning Professional learning is seen as professional expertise shared with individual teachers to support them to improve specific factors of © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd 2019 A E Du Plessis, Professional Support Beyond Initial Teacher Education, Teacher Education, Learning Innovation and Accountability, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-9722-6 269 270 Glossary their teaching practice, for example, a specific focus on content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge needed for individual teachers’ current teaching positions Mayer and Lloyd (2011) claimed that professional learning can involve changes in thinking, knowledge, skills and approaches to instruction Thus, professional learning entails changes in teachers’ capacity and ability for practice Professional development According to the Hidden Curriculum (2014), professional development in education often refers to specialised training and formal education In this book, opportunities are defined as a group strategy, often delivered by external developers, to address development issues in a more general way Teachers attending these professional development opportunities will hold different types of employment, statuses or levels Teaching out-of-field This phenomenon refers to the common practice of teachers teaching outside their field of qualification or expertise It could include teaching unfamiliar subjects and/or unfamiliar year levels for which teachers have not been educated Transformation Transformation is defined as the process that makes education reform possible through the alteration of certain aspects or frameworks within the education environment Alterations can include changes to aspects of the context (smaller scale) or the system (larger scale) Teaching capacity and teacher ability Williamson McDiarmid and ClevengerBright (2008) conceptualise teacher capacity as capturing the potential for growth while teacher ability reflects ‘the power to learn or retain knowledge; mental ability’ (p 135) They claim that capacity is always in association with a purpose or goal Teacher encouragement as a support theory The encouragement of teachers is a support approach that moves beyond just the sharing of new ideas, frameworks and concepts of teaching practice to partnerships and networks that encourage teachers’ active involvement, engagement and commitment, thus impacting their development and growth Teacher self-efficacy I conceptualise teacher self-efficacy as a life-long process of adjustment capacity building to maintain quality teaching in specific positions and contexts Kleinsasser (2014) notes that the literature claims that teacher efficacy is elusive but also suggests that teacher self-efficacy is multi-faceted, multidimensional and complex Teacher well-being Owen (2016) suggests that effective support impacts teachers’ well-being, defined as feeling well and functioning effectively References 271 References Hidden Curriculum (2014) The glossary of education reform http://edglossary.org/hiddencurriculum King, F (2016) Teacher professional development to support teachers professional learning: Systemic factors from Irish case studies.Teacher Development: An International Journal of Teachers’ Professional Development, 20(4), 574–594 https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2016 1161661 Kleinsasser, R (2014) Teacher efficacy in teaching and teacher education Teaching and Teacher Education, 44(2014), 168–179 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttr.2014.07.007 Knapp, M (2003) Professional development as a policy pathway Review of Research in Education, 27(1), 109–131 Mayer, D., & Loyd, M (2011) Professional learning: An introduction to the research literature Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) Melbourne Australia http:// www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/professional_learning_an_ introduction_to_research_literature National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, NCATE (2002) Accreditation Report 2002 Bloomington and Indianapolis The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education and the Indiana Professional Standards Board https://www.indiana.edu/*iuncate/ standard1iub.html Owen, O (2016) Professional learning communities: building skills, reinvigorating the passion, and nurturing teacher wellbeing and “flourishing” within significantly innovative schooling contexts Educational Review https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2015.1119101 Welch, F., Pitts, R., Tenini, K., Kuenlen M., & Wood, S (2010) Significant issues in defining and assessing teacher dispositions The Teacher Educator, 45(3), 179–201 https://doi.org/10.1080/ 08878730.2010.489992 Williamson McDiarmid, G., & Clevenger-Bright, M (2008) Rethinking teacher capacity In M Cochran-Smith, S Feiman-Nemser, D McIntyre, & K Demers (Eds.), Handbook of research on teacher education: Enduring questions in changing contexts, (3rd ed., pp 127–174) New York: Routledge ... planning, out -of- field teaching practice and leadership styles and the professional identity of teachers and what these mean for quality education Chapter unpacks the modalities of professional support. .. http://www.springer.com/series/15485 Anna Elizabeth Du Plessis Professional Support Beyond Initial Teacher Education Pedagogical Discernment and the Influence of Out -of- Field Teaching Practices 123 Anna Elizabeth Du... Part I of the book Chapter invites the reader into the complexities of the teaching context and what it means for teachers’ professional support, learning and development The culture, climate and