Research-Informed Teacher Learning

Critical Perspectives on Theory, Research and Practice

Lori Beckett, Lori Beckett

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• ISBN:
  9780429655128
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Research-Informed Teacher Learning explores career-long improvements in knowledge building and the skills required in curriculum reform, transformations in teaching methods, alterations to assessment, and restructurings in school administration and management. This extends to meeting the needs and interests of different and diverse students and groups of students, mentoring student teachers and beginning teachers, and supporting experienced teachers, so they are all responsive to their local school-communities, thereby contributing to democratic schooling and the public good.

The book mainly focuses on the professionals working in teaching and teacher education from pre-service training and development through early-mid career and into later stages of career mobility. It pinpoints the ways that practitioners need to be involved in the design and delivery of changing models of teacher education which helps in the development of their own professional activities at all levels of the teaching service. Dedicated to the late Professor Carey Philpott, the book takes his ideas forward, particularly in the current conjuncture when teacher learning is curtailed and constrained by power brokers, politicians and policy makers in various undemocratic ways.

This book will be of great interest for academics and researchers in the fields of teacher education, educational policy and politics, and lifelong learning and development.

1 Research-informed teacher learning as professional practice

Melitta Hogarth

Introduction

As an Australian Aboriginal secondary classroom teacher for some 20 odd years prior to entering higher education to work in teacher education, I was drawn to the work of Carey Philpott, including his book published posthumously. Philpott and Poultney’s (2018) chapter, Mapping the area of evidence-based teaching, took my attention for a number of reasons. It provoked me to critically consider the case about this theory for teacher learning, which lends weight to the idea of teachers as researchers and collaborative professional development. It spoke to me as an early career researcher with an interest in the power of language and the interrelationships between identity, position, lived experience and how we interact with others (Hogarth 2015, 2018a). It was also their eloquence in articulating their own critical understandings that truly drew me in because I was able to find similarities with some of my own ponderings and musings about the world and teacher education as well as the influence of policy and analyses of discourses (Hogarth 2017, 2018b).

I lament that I never got to meet Carey, which is a shame as I think we could have spent many an hour sharing a story or two about our experiences as teachers and researchers. The transnational and transracial conversations of the shared and differing experiences as we transverse the ‘intersections’ would have surely helped us find commonalities and differentiations and broaden our horizons. Therefore, in this chapter, I wish to share some of the conversation that could have been and consider what Carey might have said to me now that I have my PhD and I am building my research portfolio in teacher education with a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Using the introductory chapter of the book, Evidence-based teaching: A critical overview for enquiring teachers (Philpott & Poultney 2018) as a conversation starter, I consider the case of the theory of mapping the area for teacher learning and ponder ‘What is evidence-based teaching?’ in relation to Indigenous education in Australia. I reflect on the inclusion of specific courses/units within Australian Initial Teacher Education (ITE) to build teacher knowledge on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures as well as students/peoples and the underlying assumptions made by policy makers and writers in promoting reconciliation. I investigate the underrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander academics in Faculties of Education in Australia and discuss what this may mean for teacher learning. Finally, I highlight the contradictions between the reconciliatory discourses of government and the lack of Indigenous educators in the teaching workforce, and provide a case study that endeavours to make amends. Much like the statements made by Philpott and Poultney (2018) in their initial chapter, perhaps anticipating the antagonistic reader, these discussions are not to dismiss the policy work that is currently being done but, more to the point, to bring an alternative perspective.

Playing with language

The fact that Philpott and Poultney (2018) began their book with the chapter, Mapping the area, offering a holistic overview of the elements of evidence-based teaching prior to looking intricately at each of the evidentiary methods used, intrigued me from the start. Firstly, as someone who likes to play with words and as an academic interested in critical discourse analysis, the notion of extending the landscape as human experience metaphor that Philpott (2013) had explored in his paper, How is teacher knowledge shaped by the professional knowledge context? Minding our metaphors, appealed to me. The landscape talks to the metaphorical structuring of the human experience and yet retains its links to our connection to the world. Therefore, I wonder if the intent was indeed as I have interpreted it to be – that is, the notion of mapping (visual representations, surveying, description) of the area (phenomenon, evidence-based teaching but also a semi-corpus analysis of the arguments for and against)? Or am I simply overthinking it?

I wonder if Philpott and Poultney (2018) would see that I too had played with the notion of mapping the area; or essentially, scanning the environment, in my PhD; namely, through the metaphors of self as the emu and research as an ocean using narrative and story to further position myself within the research (Hogarth 2018a; see also, for example, Hogarth 2018c, Hogarth, under review). I also wonder if they would note the similarities. In the traditionally identified Literature Review chapter of my doctoral thesis, I extended the metaphor of self as the emu by drawing on the physical elements of birds; and more specifically, the emu, and titled the chapter, Gathering the knowledge winds under my wings. Much like Philpott and Poultney (2018), I sought a means of mapping or in my analogy, gaining a bird’s eye view of the area.

Establishing position in research

The importance of a systematic literature review, one of the forms listed by Philpott and Poultney (2018) as drivers towards evidence-based teaching, is advocated for and necessitated in Indigenous research (see, for example: Rigney 1999; Nakata 2007; Smith 2012). As an Aboriginal teacher researcher, the notion of surveying the literature is essential to gain an informed understanding of the knowledges already positioned, maintained and normalised, and to be able to speak back to the deficit discourses and assumptions held about Indigenous peoples, knowledges and issues (Nakata 2007; Smith 2012; Hogarth 2018a). That is, we “defend from the position of knowledge about knowledge” (Nakata 1998, p. 4). To do this, we mustmap the area.

The notion of gaining an understanding of the whole prior to dissecting and investigating each of the elements into their finite details, or in other words – a holistic approach, which Philpott and Poultney (2018) have either consciously or unconsciously done in their book, exemplifies Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing (Martin & Mirraboopa 2003). By taking such an approach, Philpott and Poultney demonstrate the relationality and interrelationships between ideas driving evidence-based teaching. In turn, this positions the ideas within the historical, political, cultural and social constructs that shape and are shaped by society as a whole. Ultimately, they present the arguments for and against evidence-based teaching, providing a holistic overview of the landscape (the current understandings and knowledges) of evidence-based teaching. By positioning these factors within policy and current schooling environments, these authors provide future and current classroom teachers with a broad synopsis of the pros and cons for evidence-based teaching.

By listing the various types of strategies used to provide the basis of the foundational evidence that informs teacher practice, Philpott and Poultney (2018) bring to the forefront some of the actions that teachers tend to dismiss as ‘everyday practice’. In doing so, they highlight to classroom teachers that they are indeed researchers and contribute to the conversation. This came to me in my own latter years as a classroom teacher when I understood my role as both teacher and researcher. I too had fallen victim to diminishing my vocation in the phrase ‘I am just a teacher’ in many a conversation and yet, I had conducted systematic literature reviews, supervised pre-service teachers on practicum as well as participated in and led several professional learning communities.

I would suggest their section titled Key ideas associated with the drive towards evidence-based teaching provides the methods for ascertaining the discoursal landscape used to ensure evidence-based teaching occurs. It was interesting to note that as I read through the various elaborations and definitions provided by Philpott and Poultney (2018), I began looking for alignments and synergies with my own Indigenous lens, albeit with a more holistic view. You see, in recent years, I have been interacting a lot more with educators and academics within the social justice field and have found many synergies in their calls for action to that of the Indigenous struggle.

The definitions and elaborations provided by Philpott and Poultney (2018) in their chapter saw me looking for connections to my own position and means of understanding their purpose and application in Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing. It was here that I could see practitioner research aligning with the notion of self-determination. That is, Philpott and Poultney describe practitioner research as “an idea and a practice that exists independently of the current drive for evidence-based teaching” (p. 4). This suggests that the desire for improving current practice is driven by the practitioners themselves; a notion of self-determination or, moreover, that practitioner research acts as “an emancipatory approach through acquiring knowledge which would in turn help them become ‘extended professionals’” (Hoyle, 1974 as cited in Philpott & Poultney 2018, p. 7).

For Indigenous peoples, self-determination is a human right as articulated in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (United Nations General Assembly 2008). It asserts the rights of Indigenous peoples to “freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development” (p. 4). In educational terms, self-determination ensures Indigenous peoples rights “to govern and control, to determine and participate in the foundations of education decision making” (Hogarth 2018a, p. 90). Discussion on how the notion of self-determination is (or is not) enacted and/or encouraged in Indigenous education is provided later in this chapter.

Key dates on evidence-based teaching

It is really helpful that Philpott and Poultney (2018) provide an extensive list of key dates and documents that have called for the implementation of evidence-based teaching, from Hargreaves’ (1996) lecture for the Teacher Training Agency where he questioned the impact of educational research on practice, through to the British Educational Research Association’s (2017) commissioned report seeking strategies to develop and support partnerships and collaborations between the medical and education fields. Australia’s approach to education and evidence-based teaching has been articulated in commissioned evaluative reports too, almost like a reflection of the happenings in the perceived ‘Mother Country’.

In their introductory chapter, Philpott and Poultney (2018) discuss the emphases placed on certain key drivers for evidence-based teaching, namely systematic literature reviews and randomised controlled trials (RCTs). They then ask the poignant question: “Does this mean that the dominant model of evidence-based teaching will become one in which systematic literature reviews based on RCTs will ‘over-rule’ practitioner research in deciding what happens in classrooms?” (p. 6). This has resonance for Australian education and, more specifically, Indigenous education, given a lack of large-scale quantitative studies, but it is worthwhile pausing on what could be considered evidence-based teaching in Indigenous education.

Representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in ITE

In 1979, the National Aboriginal Education Committee reported that there were only 72 teachers who identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander (National Aboriginal Education Committee & Aboriginal Training and Cultural Institute 1979). It is worthy to note that within the historical context, Aboriginal at this time within governmental terms of reference was inclusive of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In the 1980s, Hughes and Willmot (1982) set the target of 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers within the national teacher workforce by 1990 to work towards ensuring population parity and representation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within the schooling sector. However, a parliamentary report in 2001, the National Report to Parliament on Indigenous Education and Training (Department of Education, Science and Training 2001), found that while the challenge set by Hughes and Wilmot had been achieved (with a reported 1,390 Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander teachers employed within the national education workforce), representation was still well below population parity.

This was further evidenced in 2012, when the More Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Teachers in Initial Teacher Education Initiative (MATSITI) found that “the estimated proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers [was] 1.2% of the total teacher workforce [–] well below the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in Australian schools at 4.9%” (Johnson et al. 2016, p. 21). Reportedly, by 2014 and after the MATSITI project, the number increased by just over 1,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teachers; however, this increase in physical numbers only increased representation to just under 1.7 percent of the teacher workforce.

What this means in regard to Indigenous education in Australia is that the majority of the teacher workforce is indeed non-Indigenous. This not only reduces possibilities for role models emulating the benefits of education; the lack of representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at all levels of decision-making in education has also been a consistent concern identified in policy and reports (see, for example: Aboriginal Consultative Group 1975a, 1975b; Schools Commission 1975). This is further exacerbated when we consider the recent changes within Australian educational policy. Let me explain.

The Australian education policy context

Since 1975, there have been calls for the increased representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the educational context (Aboriginal Consultative Group 1975a, 1975b; Schools Commission 1975). However, also included within the recommendations proffered by the Schools Commission in collaboration with the Aboriginal Consultative Group was the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives within the curriculum, which in turn would “create an Australia where the values and cultures of both people thrive” (Aboriginal Consultative Group 1975b, p. 62).

Policies and reviews to date, including but not limited to Australian Directions in Indigenous Education 2005–2008 (Ministerial Council on Education Employment Training and Youth Affairs 2006) and the most current policy, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Strategy (Education Council 2015), have reiterated the importance of addressing what essentially is a cultural gap that exists between schools and classroom teachers and students from diverse cultural backgrounds.

In this chapter for Carey’s memorial book, the cultural gap is understood to be the disconnectedness or lack of cultural understanding of classroom teachers, especially if they come from a largely Eurocentric and/or non-Indigenous background. They simply may not have the necessary crucial insight about or into First Nations’ cultural backgrounds, heritage, identity, histories and cultures. As a result, the classroom becomes a space in which White, middle-class teachers, who are predominantly monolingual and whose cultural backgrounds and beliefs differ to that of their students, are invested with power that gives pause for thought. Driven by certain policies and practices, these teachers are...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of figures
• Book Synopsis
• Dedicated to Carey Philpott (1965–2017)
• List of contributors
• Acknowledgements
• A personal response to the idea of research-informed teacher learning: A vignette
• Prologue: Critical perspectives on teacher learning in the 21st century
• Editor’s introduction: Professional self-determination via teacher learning
• 1. Research-informed teacher learning as professional practice
• 2. Community-oriented pre-service teachers: The limits of activism
• 3. New directions in headship education in Scotland
• 4. Musing on teacher mentoring and calls for clinical practice
• 5. The “view from now”: What are the effects of recent changes to ITE policy for the future?
• 6. The problem with randomised controlled trials for education
• 7. Professional learning communities as sites for teacher learning
• 8. Teacher learning Schön and the language of reflective practice
• 9. Teachers’ professional knowledge work on poverty and disadvantage
• 10. Supporting student teachers with minority identities: The importance of pastoral care and social justice in initial teacher education
• 11. What do we mean when we speak of research evidence in education?
• Epilogue: Developing research-informed teacher learning
• Index