presentation eapril 2010
TRANSCRIPT
Teachers’ professional development at
workAn organisational and task perspective
Arnoud Evers
Karel Kreijns
Beatrice van der Heijden
John Gerrichhauzen
Overview presentation
• Importance of teachers’ professional development
• What is learning at work?• Why an organisational and task perspective?• Research questions• Theoretical framework & proposed model• Development questionnaire and data collection• Analyses & Results• Conclusions• Discussion questions
Importance of teachers’ professional development
• Due to quantitative and qualitative teacher shortages teachers’ professional development is essential
• Professional development = traditional learning (master / training) and learning at work
• Traditional learning is not enough
• Recent study in journal of HRD mentions learning at work as most important topic of future discipline
What is learning at work?
• Participation in learning activities related to work
• For teachers (Kwakman, 2003):- Keeping up-to-date- Experimenting- Reflection and feedback asking- Collaboration
Why an organisational and task perspective?
• Human Resource Management and Development (HRM & HRD) still underdeveloped in schools
• Limited literature & research on organisational and task factors related to learning of teachers at work
Research questions
• 1) What organisational and task factors influence learning of teachers at work in primary and secondary education?
• 2) What is the influence of these organisational and task factors on learning of teachers at work?
• 3) What is the influence of learning at work on teachers’ occupational expertise
Research question 1)
• What organisational and task factors influence learning of teachers at work in primary and secondary education?
Theoretical framework
Participation in learning activities at the workplace and predictors (Kwakman, 1999, 2003, strongly
simplified)
Task factors
Participation in professional
learning activities
Occupational expertise and predictors (Van der Heijden, 2003,
strongly simplified)
Organisational factors
Organisational factors
Occupational expertise
The proposed working model
Organisationalfactors
Participation in professional learning
activitiesOccupational
expertise
Task factors
The proposed elaborated model based on further literature search and expert meeting
Organisational factors- Learning climate in the organisation
- Member of team
- Transformational leadership
- Social support immediate supervisor
- Social support colleagues
Participation in professional
learning activities
Occupational expertise
Tasks factors- Work pressure- Emotional demands- Autonomy- Learning value of the function- Tasks apart from teaching
Research question 2)
• What is the influence of these organisational and task factors on learning of teachers at work?
Development questionnaire and data collection
• Scales of predictors and dependent variable (occupational expertise) based on existing scales from literature
• Items and scales of mediator (professional learning activities) newly developed and tested with factor analysis
• Digital questionnaire among teachers in 8 secondary schools and 9 primary schools
• Average respons 34%
• In total 470 respondents (N = 470)
Analyses
• Factor analysis- Improved an existing instrument of professional
learning activities at work (Kwakman, 2003)
• Multiple regression analyses
Preliminary results of factor analysis on professional learning activities
• Factor analysis (which matched with the categories in the literature) delivered the following factors:
• 1) Keeping up-to-date: reading/studying• 2) Keeping up-to-date: training and study day related to work• 3) Experimenting• 4) Reflection and feedback• 5) Collaboration (with colleagues) to improve lesson• 6) Collaboration with (colleagues) to improve school
development
Preliminary results of multiple regression analyses
• Research question 2) “What is the influence of these
organisational and task factors on learning of teachers at work?”
1) Keeping up-to-date: reading/studying
2) Keeping up-to-date: training and study day related to work
3) Experimenting
4) Reflection and feedback
5) Collaboration (with colleagues) to improve lesson
6) Collaboration (with colleagues) to improve school development
Output multiple regression analysis 1
Dependent variable: Reflection and feedback
R square = 12% Standardised Beta Significance
Organisational factors
Learning climate 0,08 0,23
Member of team -0,01 0,93
Transformational leadership -0,07 0,38
Social support supervisor 0,13 0,10
Social support colleagues 0,16** 0,01
Task factors
Work pressure 0,13* 0,03
Emotional demands 0,06 0,28
Autonomy 0,06 0,27
Learning value of function 0,13* 0,03
Tasks apart from teaching -0,01 0,21
* p < .05 ** p < 0,01
Output multiple regression analysis 2 Dependent variable: Collaboration (with colleagues) to improve school
development
R square = 16% Standardised Beta Significance
Organisational factors
Learning climate 0,03 0,68
Member of team 0,07 0,16
Transformational leadership -0,03 0,69
Social support supervisor 0,21** 0,005
Social support colleagues 0,12* 0,04
Task factors
Work pressure 0,13* 0,03
Emotional demands 0,03 0,53
Autonomy 0,03 0,63
Learning value of function 0,06 0,28
Tasks apart from teaching 0,24** 0,000
* p < .05 ** p < 0,01
Conclusions• Reflection & feedback stimulated by:
- Work pressure- Social support colleagues- Learning value of the function
• Collaboration (with colleagues) to improve school development stimulated by:
- Work pressure- Social support colleagues- Social support supervisor- Tasks apart from teaching
• Learning at work does not go automatically, schools need to organise this and develop sound policies
Discussion questions
• Any questions about the presentation? Feedback?
• Professional development of teachers: traditional learning is not enough
Discussion questions
• Do you feel work pressure stimulates you in terms of learning at work?
• When do you need social support from your colleagues? When from your supervisor?
• Which collaborative activities do you find most valuable for learning?