Reimagining the Place of the Professional, before It Is too Late: Five Dystopias and an Oxymoron?

The trustworthiness and expertise of professionals is much in demand even while they are derided as members of slippery, credentialized and self-serving elites. Eliot Friedson’s three ‘logics’ provide a contextual lens for this deconstruction of ‘professional’ and are updated by adding Artificial Intelligence (AI) as putative fourth logic to provide a contextual background—so, Markets, Bureaucracy and AI are seen as alternatives to and influences on professionalism. This context suggests that it may already be too late to save ‘professionals’, but them paper confronts a significant conceptual deficit by using a second interdisciplinary lens, Clarke’s Place Model, to critically deconstruct the ‘place’ of professionals to reimagine a commodious and accessible conceptualization, consisting of five dystopias and a potentially potent oxymoron—inclusive professional. The Place Model is presented as an example of a Geographical Imagination (Massey), combining two conceptions of ‘place’: place as esteem and place as a changing position on the expanding horizons of a career-long growth of expertise. This novel conceptualization is then used to examine the dystopias and potential ideals of ‘professional’

Transforming early childhood teachers’ professional learning and development : a study of research, provision, and potential : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Massey University, Manawatū, Aotearoa New Zealand

Effective professional learning and development (PLD) is recognised as a key mechanism to strengthen teachers’ knowledge and pedagogical practice and improve the quality of education. However, PLD is not always effective for its intended purpose. Effectiveness depends on the match between the PLD approach, the participating teachers, and the desired outcomes. Although it is important to have a range of approaches to PLD, it is also important to be aware that different approaches will serve different purposes. In recent years, coaching has been increasingly evidenced as a PLD approach that supports teachers to develop knowledge and effectively implement new pedagogical practices. Yet, coaching is under-utilised and under-researched in the Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood education sector. The multiphase study in this thesis with publications investigated PLD in Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood education settings, with a focus on coaching as a component of the PLD. The research included a further focus on pedagogy to foster toddlers’ social-emotional learning. There were three successive research phases, designed to investigate: 1) early childhood education PLD research literature; 2) the PLD provision that early childhood teachers have received in recent years; and 3) a PLD coaching intervention to support early childhood teachers in their implementation of teaching practices to foster toddlers’ social-emotional learning. The first phase of the investigation was a study of PLD research. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) protocols were used to guide a systematic literature review of PLD research in the Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood education field. Fifty-six studies were reviewed with the intention of identifying key characteristics of the research, including how or whether coaching had been studied. The results identified Aotearoa New Zealand ECE PLD research as predominantly qualitative and descriptive, characterised by practitioner-researcher partnerships and models of PLD based on collaborative inquiry or action research. Overall, there was limited attention paid to how PLD interventions were implemented, including the strategies that facilitators used to support teachers’ professional learning. There was limited attention to coaching. Within the studies that reported using coaching as a PLD component, there were multifarious coaching definitions and descriptions. Results of the systematic literature review suggest coaching is under-researched and possibly misunderstood in Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood education. The first research phase has identified a need for a stronger and more intentional focus on a range of PLD interventions and research, including who is involved, what content is covered, and how interventions are delivered. The second research phase was a study of teachers’ PLD experiences. A nationwide survey was completed by 345 early childhood teachers who answered questions about their recent PLD experiences. A key finding was that isolated workshops predominated as a PLD model. Many teachers also engaged in reflective discussions with PLD facilitators, however, facilitation strategies that are associated with coaching, such as observation and feedback, were not common. Overall, the survey’s findings indicate there is limited emphasis on PLD models that are designed to support teachers in their implementation of new pedagogical practices. The second research phase has identified a need to support teachers’ and leaders’ access to evidence-informed PLD that promotes shifts in teaching practice and fosters positive learning outcomes for children. The third research phase was a study of coaching as a component of PLD. Practice-based coaching protocols were adapted for use in an Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood education setting, and a PLD intervention was developed. The PLD intervention combined practice-based coaching with workshops, with the intention of supporting a teaching team’s implementation of teaching practices to foster toddlers’ social-emotional learning. The relationship between the coaching and the implementation of teaching practices was analysed using single-subject multiple-baseline methods. The single-subject experiment demonstrated a functional relation between the PLD intervention and teachers’ implementation of the social-emotional teaching practices. Results suggest that some teaching practices were maintained 9 weeks after the intervention, despite staff changes. The participating teachers were interviewed to seek their perspectives of the PLD and coaching. Teachers reported that coaching with a focus on social-emotional teaching was a positive experience that improved their teaching which, in turn, improved toddlers’ social-emotional skills. The third research phase has foregrounded the potential of coaching to support and strengthen early childhood teaching. This phase has also identified pathways for further research into, and application of, coaching in the Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood sector. The findings from this thesis with publications challenge current approaches to PLD, emphasising the need for a more coherent and informed approach. The unique professional learning needs of toddler teachers and the importance of PLD that effectively supports social-emotional teaching are highlighted throughout the thesis. Coaching is affirmed as a PLD approach to promote shifts in teaching, enabling teachers to implement new pedagogical practices. Numerous recommendations are made for further PLD research, provision, and potential for maximising positive outcomes. These recommendations include the development of a shared PLD definition and conceptual framework to support rigorous PLD research and application in Aotearoa New Zealand, and to support teachers and leaders to select and engage in PLD experiences that meet their needs. There is an identified need for further research that investigates how, why, and under what conditions PLD works. The thesis advocates for greater attention to evidence-informed and coaching-driven PLD. The research and recommendations within this thesis have been developed to advance and strengthen PLD systems and programmes in Aotearoa New Zealand early childhood education

Seeking equilibrium between a social justice and a charity stance towards global learning among Northern Ireland pupils

Developing pupils' knowledge and understanding of world poverty and how to reduce it requires building teachers' capacity. With this objective in mind, the UK Global Learning Programme (GLP 2013–18) sought to determine the extent to which a social justice mentality was evident among pupils in Northern Ireland schools in tandem with, or instead of, the prevailing charity mentality. Using a qualitative approach, the research examined their conceptions of, and attitudes towards, social justice and equity, and how they had helped make the world fairer. They understood the causes of inequality and saw the contrast between great wealth and absolute poverty. Their growing motivation to help related mainly to charitable actions, but there was evidence of critical thinking about longer-term implications and a social justice stance

Employment Restructuring in Polish Companies During Economic Transition: Some Comparisons with Western Experience

This paper summarizes the results of a survey of downsizing practices in 90 Polish manufacturing companies. Unlike Russia, where very few employment reductions have been carried out, downsizing in Polish companies is pervasive and appears to be accelerating. The factors that drive downsizing in a transition economy like Poland are not the same as those in the west. Nonetheless, the results of this study indicate that downsizing in Poland has had mostly beneficial effects on company functioning

Free-choice learning in school science : a model for collaboration between formal and informal science educators

The informal science education sector has been found to foster engagement with science, whereas formal science education has been criticised as disconnected from students’ lives and experiences. Consequently, there have been calls for greater collaboration between formal and informal sectors. This study aimed to create such a ‘third space’ for science education by linking a university science educator with schools to create spaces for increased student choice in learning. The community of inquiry pedagogical model was used to manage a series of discussions about cutting edge science with 507 students aged 11-14 in 20 state schools in the UK. These classes substituted for school science lessons. Studying learning in free choice environments is challenging due to the range of possible outcomes. Data was collected using participant observations, questionnaires and interviews. Teachers’ and students’ responses were analysed using Falk and Dierking’s Contextual Model of Learning. This allowed us to consider the totality of students’ experiences whilst acknowledging the complexity of free choice spaces. Findings indicate that this third space allowed students to exercise choice and control over their learning, and to connect science with their prior knowledge and interests. However, choice can also act as a barrier to learning if students lack sufficient prior knowledge or are uncomfortable with content. Students identified the role of peers and facilitated discussion as important. This indicates that there are benefits to opening up spaces for free choice learning in school science, and we suggest the community of inquiry as a model to achieve this

Does Brexit blur a low carbon future?

Presentation notes for a presentation by Linda Clarke, Professor of European Industrial Relations at the University of Westminster, to the International Panel held on November 26 2016 in Vancouver, Dark Politics: Climate Change and Labour Transitions in an Unstable World.Adapting Canadian Work and Workplaces to Respond to Climate Chang

The effect of physical activity classes on motor skill in 12-24-month-old children

Background: Children with enhanced fundamental movement skills may benefit from improved physical, social and psychological development, resulting in an increased likelihood of an active lifestyle in later years. Aim: We investigated the effects of a nine-week, child-centred, physical activity programme on cognitive and motor skills in typically developing 12 - 24-month-old toddlers. Methods: In a randomised control trial, 90 toddlers (age 17.0 ± 2.6 months; 52.2% male) were split into two groups stratified by age and sex. The intervention completed was either nine weeks of one-hour per week physical activity classes (n = 45; EXP) or normal physical activity (n = 45; control). Prior to and following the intervention period, safety skills (nine-skill test battery), anthropometric measures (mass and height), motor and cognitive development (Bayley Scales of Infant Development) were assessed. Results: EXP improved overall safety skills score (P = 0.04), toddlers’ abilities to climb over a small-runged A-frame while using a cylinder grip and safe face-the-slope dismount (P = 0.001), and the execution of a safety roll down a foam wedge (P = 0.02). Improvements in development as measured by the Bayley’s Scales were attributed to typical development rather than the intervention. Conclusions: A 9-week, physical activity programme improved toddlers’ safety skills but not overall cognitive or motor development