Search results for "Professional Learning Community"
showing 10 items of 54 documents
Professional Agency and Creativity in Information Technology Work
2017
The meaning of professional agency in the context of professional learning, as well as in the development of working practices and work organisations, is pivotal. The role of creativity is also crucial for long-term economic growth in the current global environment, which is characterised by rapid changes in both technology and economy. Hence, it is important to study the relationship between professional agency and creativity. In this chapter, we explore professional agency and creativity within two Finnish information technology organisations. This study’s data include interviews with staff members and open-ended questionnaire responses to the question ‘What is creativity in your work?’. …
Development and Preliminary Validation of Social Media as an Educational and Professional Tool Student Perceptions Scale (SMEPT-SPS)
2021
Although social media has an increasing presence both in university and sports settings, in the sports-management education context, no instruments (without being focused on one particular social-media platform, e.g., Facebook and Twitter) have been developed and validated that globally allow the academy to explore the perceptions of sports-management students concerning the educational and professional learning potential that these tools offer. Therefore, this research’s main objective is to develop and perform a preliminary validation of the social media as an educational and professional tool student perceptions scale (SMEPT-SPS). This study sample was composed of 90 Spanish undergraduat…
Mentoring of Newly Qualified Teachers in the Educational Sense
2017
The importance of lifelong learning in teachers’ professional development has become increasingly topical issue globally. In teaching, especially the transition from education to occupation seems to be more challenging compared to other fields. It is evident that under the rapidly changing circumstances teachers’ professional knowledge has to be constantly renewed, and especially in the phase of transition from teacher education to working life, new approaches are needed. peerReviewed
Examining the relationships between teacher self-efficacy, professional learning community, and experiential learning in Japan
2022
This study investigated the relationships between professional learning communities (PLCs), teacher self-efficacy, and experiential learning. A conceptual model that connects PLC components, including shared vision, interactive reflection, and collegiality, to teacher self-efficacy was proposed, as mediated by experiential learning. The data comprised 3,604 teachers from 204 primary schools and 787 teachers from 90 lower secondary schools in Japan. First, a multigroup confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the same constructs of PLC, teacher self-efficacy, and experiential learning were measured at different school levels. Second, multigroup structural equation modelling revealed that …
Fostering sustained teacher learning: a longitudinal assessment of the influence of vision building and goal interdependence on information sharing
2020
To support school improvement, understanding the mechanisms that enhance teachers’ engagement in professional learning activities within schools over time is paramount. The purpose of this three-wave longitudinal study is to examine the role of workplace conditions (school leaders’ vision building and teams’ shared goals), in supporting teachers’ engagement in information sharing over time. To test the directionality of the relationships between the concepts, we analyzed survey data from 655 vocational education and training teachers in the Netherlands using a cross-lagged panel model. Results suggest that teachers’ engagement in information sharing remains stable over time, and the results…
Multiple Creativities Put to Work for Creative Ecologies in Teacher Professional Learning: A Vision and Practice of Everyday Creativity
2021
AbstractIn this chapter, we argue for a new vision for teacher professional learning based on the diverse creativities as practice which catalyzes educational change in whole-school contexts. We argue that it is possible (and preferable) to expand improvements to teacher education and professional development beyond neoliberal notions of “workplace readiness” and toward an environmental, ecological, sustainable education for lives worth living. This creative ecological approach considers the entire context and community of various stakeholders.Applying a case study approach, we analyze teachers’ published assignments in a blended in-service teacher education course entitled “Everyday Creati…
Three orientations for understanding educational autonomy: school principals’ voices from Australia, Finland, and Jamaica
2021
This paper reports on the findings from a multi-site case study conducted in Australia, Finland and Jamaica which explored the conditions that enabled and constrained the autonomy of school principals. Systematic data collection was carried out in the form of interviews of school principals and the data was analysed using a qualitative approach. The analysis indicates that: (1) school principals’ practices are prefigured by the peculiarities of historical trajectories and ideological traditions enmeshed in schooling sites; (2) these prefiguring arrangements in turn influence varying realisations of autonomous decision making practices across national sites; and (3) even in the expression of…
Language policy, professional development and sustainability of multilingual approaches
2020
Policies and professional development which focusses on pedagogical skills, beliefs, and agency are essential to ensure the sustainability of multilingual teaching approaches. This chapter begins with an overview of research studies on language policies, teacher agency and beliefs with a focus on multilingual settings. The intertwining of policy and teaching practice is then illustrated by means of the Finnish case, demonstrating how recent ECEC policies advocating diversity and plurilingualism have gradually changed teacher beliefs. The second part of the chapter focuses on professional development (PD) in so far as it is able to support teachers in implementing policies, changing pedagogi…
Effects of Service Learning on Physical Education Teacher Education Students’ Subjective Happiness, Prosocial Behavior, and Professional Learning
2020
Purpose: This study aims to analyze the effects of a service learning (SL) program on the subjective happiness (SH), prosocial behavior (PB), and professional learning (PL) perceptions of Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) students as well as to examine the correlations among these variables. Methods: The study used a quasi-experimental design of two non-equivalent groups (control and experimental) comparing pre-test and post-test data. The instruments used were the Subjective Happiness Scale, the Prosocial and Civic Competence questionnaire, and the Impact of Service Learning during Initial Training of Physical Activity and Sports questionnaire. Results: Data indicated that SL onl…
Collaborativeness as the core of professional learning communities beyond culture and context : evidence from Canada, Finland, and Israel
2015
ABSTRACTProfessional learning communities (PLC) have been widely accepted as effective with respect to good atmosphere, adequate leadership practices, and functional working practices. However, the outcomes for school improvement depend on case-specific issues. To identify less culturally and contextually bound issues in 3 PLC settings in Canada, Finland, and Israel, we examined our cases through the notion of “collaborativeness”. It refers to a systematic and shared process consisting of efforts, ideas, and activities that aim at achieving synergy. By combining the 3 data sets and applying a special model, we were able to distinguish, through qualitative content analysis, ingredients of co…