Unpacking autonomy for empirical comparative investigation

Teacher autonomy has been a topic of growing interest over recent decades. However, what teacher autonomy means remains work in progress. Drawing from existing conceptualisations, which consider teacher autonomy as a multidimensional and context-dependent phenomenon this paper presents an analytical device applicable in international comparative studies. The conceptualisation is presented in the form of a matrix, which distinguishes different domains and levels of teacher autonomy. A sample of existing research is then utilised to demonstrate how the matrix can assist in cumulative knowledge building. The article demonstrates how the matrix can be applied, in particular, to empirical comparative research

The conceptual and methodological construction of a ‘global’ teacher identity through talis

The present article investigates the construction of a ‘global’ teacher identity by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) since the introduction of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) in 2008. We critically examine TALIS-related conceptual frameworks, survey questionnaires and statistically driven scales of teachers’ professional attitudes internationally. A theoretical, education-based framing of didaktik and curriculum pedagogical traditions is used to discuss conceptual bias in TALIS conceptual frameworks as well as the sociologically based idea of TALIS as a pedagogic device used as a technology to gain symbolic power for making the teachers of tomorrow. Methodologically relying on document analysis, we examine TALIS 2008, 2013 and 2018 background documents to highlight the ideologically driven construction of a certain model of effective teachers, and refer to associated TALIS technical reports to examine validity issues in scales that are methodologically and statistically driven in order to increase the robustness of the results. The article identifies biases in the OECD’s construction of a ‘global’ teacher identity that are reflected in TALIS conceptual frameworks and survey questions and statistically justified through associated scales

Bildungsreform zwischen nationaler Politik und internationalen Prozessen. Die schwedische Lehrerbildung und Bologna

Der Artikel beschreibt am Beispiel der beiden Reformen der schwedischen Lehrerbildung 2001 und 2011 die Entwicklung der Bildungspolitik im Spannungsfeld internationaler Prozesse und nationaler Politik. Der Bologna-Prozess hatte grossen Einfluss auf die Lehrerbildung in Schweden, nur wird in verschiedenen Reformen damit unterschiedlich umgegangen. Im Kommissionsbericht zur sozialdemokratischen Lehrerbildungsreform 2001 finden sich viele deutliche Bezüge, die auf Anleihen an den Bologna-Prozess hinweisen. Jedoch werden diese nicht explizit deutlich gemacht. Im Kommissionsbericht zur Lehrerbildungsreform 2011 hingegen findet man viele Referenzen. Doch durch Bezug auf eine internationale Arena will die bürgerliche Reform von 2011 vor allem eine Distanz zu ihrer sozialdemokratischen Vorgängerin markieren

Bildungsreform zwischen nationaler Politik und internationalen Prozessen. Die schwedische Lehrerbildung und Bologna

Der Artikel beschreibt am Beispiel der beiden Reformen der schwedischen Lehrerbildung 2001 und 2011 die Entwicklung der Bildungspolitik im Spannungsfeld internationaler Prozesse und nationaler Politik. Der Bologna-Prozess hatte grossen Einfluss auf die Lehrerbildung in Schweden, nur wird in verschiedenen Reformen damit unterschiedlich umgegangen. Im Kommissionsbericht zur sozialdemokratischen Lehrerbildungsreform 2001 finden sich viele deutliche Bezüge, die auf Anleihen an den Bologna-Prozess hinweisen. Jedoch werden diese nicht explizit deutlich gemacht. Im Kommissionsbericht zur Lehrerbildungsreform 2011 hingegen findet man viele Referenzen. Doch durch Bezug auf eine internationale Arena will die bürgerliche Reform von 2011 vor allem eine Distanz zu ihrer sozialdemokratischen Vorgängerin markieren.The article describes the reforms of Swedish teacher education 2001 and 2011 in a field of tension between national educational policy and international development such as the Bologna process. The Bologna process undeniably has had great impact on both reforms. Still both reforms handle the impact of it discursively in different ways. In the commission report introducing the social democratic reform of teacher education in 2001 exist many obvious references to Bologna, but these references are not declared as such. In the commission report for the reform of 2011 exist many references to Bologna. However, this reform is only a revision of its predecessor. With the references to an international arena the conservative reform project wants to claim the biggest possible distance to social democratic educational policy

Development and Autonomy : Conceptualising teachers’ continuing professional development in different national contexts

This thesis investigates teachers’ perceptions of continuing professional development (CPD) in Germany and Sweden with a questionnaire study comprising a total of 711 mainly lower secondary teachers. Three conceptual terms are elaborated and explained. Teachers act in a CPD marketplace that is constituted by several sources of knowledge which offer opportunities for teachers’ development. How teachers act in the marketplace is a key part of their CPD culture. The study reveals similarities in the two cases regarding the importance of colleagues as well as informal development activities, but there are also significant differences. One the one hand, German teachers can be described as more active in their CPD than their Swedish colleagues in relation to particular aspects of their profession such as assessment, and more suspicious of knowledge from elsewhere, on the other. In order to understand the differences, I argue for an extended focus on the impact of the national context, in terms of socially and historically significant structures and traditions of the teaching profession. The thesis focuses on a crucial aspect with a particular explanatory value for differing CPD tendencies in various national contexts: Autonomy from a governance perspective. This phenomenon, which does indeed change across time and space, is investigated from a socio-historical perspective in both contexts, building on Margaret Archer’s analytic dualism of structure and agency, and a dual pronged model of teacher autonomy. The latter distinguishes institutional autonomy, regarding legal or status issues, from service autonomy related to the practical issues in schools and classrooms. Since these dimensions can be either extended or restricted, different categories evolve which enable us to understand the differences between the two cases. Finally, by using the findings on the German and Swedish teaching profession, a theoretical framework is presented that relates the certain forms of teacher autonomy in particular national contexts to likely CPD cultures that teachers share

Development and Autonomy. Conceptualising on the teaching profession in different national contexts

One aspect of teachers’ CPD that is rather underexposed is the question of the impact of the context as Guskey already writes in 1995 and as it is echoed again in Bolam & McMahon (2004). Instead CPD is often treated as a phenomenon that is universal for all teachers in the world. The character of the field of research on teachers’ CPD as being fragmented in a plethora of often highly context-related individual studies could not contribute to a further conceptualisation of the impact of the context on CPD yet (ibid.). Mostly it is only stated that studies in different national contexts often produce the same results which is seen as prove that there exist universal principles [Sprinthall et. al., already in (1996), as example: Avalos’ review on teachers’ CPD from (2011) in Teaching and Teacher Education]. Consequently, models for successful school and teacher improvement are imported and exported as they were common goods from developed to the developing countries, whereas the respective status can be seen at the league tables of international large scale studies (Steiner-Khamsi, 2010). When such models do not work out then, often teachers’ hostility against reform and change is blamed. This chapter tries to tackle this situation by considering guiding mechanisms that have impact on teachers’ CPD in different national contexts. The idea is to investigate crucial aspects of the teaching profession and examining then their impact on teachers’ CPD. Such an approach might contribute to an understanding of different CPD habits of teachers in different national contexts. In this chapter I focus on one very crucial aspect of the profession: Teacher autonomy. What teachers are allowed to do in their practice is highly context related. By comparing the professional development of teachers in Germany and Sweden as example of teaching professions having different kind of autonomy, I will argue for theoretical considerations – though on a very explorative level – on how particular teacher context related autonomy relates to their continuing professional development. The chapter starts with the presentation of my understanding of teacher autonomy as a multidimensional phenomenon. Then shortly both comparative cases, Germany and Sweden are presented regarding their specific teacher autonomy. In the third part German and Swedish teachers’ perceptions on CPD are presented as they appeared in my PhD studies. In the last part both sections are combined in the earlier mentioned aim of this chapter, a theoretical framework on the relation of teachers’ CPD to teacher autonomy.Teacher autonomy in Sweden, England, Germany and Finlan

Internationellt jämförande pedagogik - en introduktion

Skola och utbildning utformas på olika sätt i olika länder. Samtidigt har globaliseringen blivit en viktig del i hur vi tänker och genomför utbildning. Sverige och andra länder påverkas i allt större utsträckning av globala rankningar av utbildningssystem, såsom PISA-undersökningen. I många utvecklingsländer är utbildning dessutom förknippad med biståndspolitikens villkor. Hur kan vi förstå skillnader och anpassningsprocesser i världens olika utbildningsystem? Varför började man överhuvudtaget att jämföra olika utbildningskontexter och hur genomför man bra forskning om utbildning utifrån ett internationellt jämförande perspektiv? Internationellt jämförande pedagogik vill ge svar på dessa frågor.I bokens första del beskriver författarna forskningsfältet och ger en översyn över olika forskningstraditioner och deras viktigaste metodologiska och teoretiska ingångar. I den andra delen presenterar och kommenterar de fem studier som kan användas som en metodologisk vägledning för hur man kan förstå och själv genomföra internationellt jämförande studier om skola och utbildning. Boken riktar sig dels till studerande inom pedagogik och lärarutbildning på grund- och avancerad nivå, dels till lärare, doktorander och forskare som vill skaffa sig en överblick över internationellt jämförande pedagogisk forskning

Decision-making in Context : Swedish and Finnish Teachers' Perceptions of Autonomy

This article presents the results from a survey investigating 708 Swedish and 1583 Finnish teachers' perceived autonomy with a focus on the teachers' perceptions of who makes the most important decisions in school. Teacher autonomy is seen as exercised at different levels; by teachers individually in the classroom or by teachers as a collective in school; and in different domains of teachers' work, since the degree of decision-making by teachers is likely to differ between educational, social, developmental and administrational issues. Finnish and Swedish teachers' perceived autonomy varied in somewhat different ways between the domains. Finnish teachers generally perceived themselves to be more individually autonomous, while Swedish teachers were more collegially oriented

Silent and explicit borrowing of international policy discourses. The case of the Swedish teacher education reforms of 2001 and 2011

The article presents different models of comparative education by discussing the government committee reports (SOU) which prepared the Swedish teacher education reforms of 2001 and 2011. These serve as examples for different kinds of policy borrowing from an international Bologna process discourse in national government document. The article facilitates Waldow (2009) term of “silent borrowing”. The reform of 2001 shows distinct references to international discourses without making this explicit. The reform of 2011 is then an example for explicit borrowing. The related government committee report refers very obvious to the Bologna process. However, this is seen as strategy in order to mark its distinction to its predecessor reform. Our cases are assumed to show how socio-historical and political contexts condition national discourses’ resources of legitimation