Teacher learning has been widely deemed as a key element to achieve the effectiveness
of education and the improvement of studentsā learning outcomes (Cumming, 2011; Kelly, 2006). Of various forms of teacher learning
and development in the world, the short INSET course
has been widely used to bring about changes in teachersā professional lives. This is very true in China.
With the implementation of national education reform in China, teacher professional development
has been given great importance since teachers are the key implementers of the new curriculum
. The new English curriculum presents a considerable range of changes which pose tremendous challenges to teachers. The goal of education has been shifted from knowledge accumulation
to studentsā whole-person development
. Teachers are expected to develop their educational views and teaching skills to realize these reform ideas through changing their teaching behaviour in classroom. To help teachers cope with the challenges, in-service teacher education has become an essential part of preparation. To try to understand the extent to which such INSET course
s help teachers to understand the reform ideas and change their practice seems important for both education reform and teacher education.
This study tries to clarify understandings of the impact of the
INSET course
on
teacher learning
with a focus on examining the
process of teacher learning
and the learning outcomes both articulated by the teachers and reflected in their practice. Three research questions will be answered:
To what extent do teachersā knowledge and beliefs change during the INSET course
?
To what extent are teachersā practices influenced by the course?
What factors contribute to the impact of INSET on teacher learning
?
Findings to these questions will help understand the teachersā own perspectives on their learning and the impact of the INSET course
as well as the wider context on their implementation of the new curriculum
. The findings are also expected to provide further evidence to the existing body of research on teacher education and the development of teacher education programmes
.
This book comprises eight chapters in total, including this introductory chapter. Chapter 2 places in-service English teacher education in the background of educational reform and examines the general features of in-service teacher education both worldwide and in China. Chapter 3 focuses on the nature of teacher learning and develops a theoretical framework for this study based on existing literature on teacher cognition. Chapter 4 introduces the study and research procedures, and the case study findings are listed in Chapter 5. Chapters 6 and 7 are a detailed discussion of the findings in terms of the features of teacher learning for change and the influential factors. Chapter 8 makes a conclusion of this study.
References
Cumming, C. (2011). CPD: Support strategies for professional learning, national initiatives and major curriculum reform. Improving Schools, 14(2), 145ā155.Crossref
Kelly, S. (2006). The CPD Coordinatorās Toolkit. London: Paul Chapman.
2.1 Understanding the Complexity of Educational Reform
Educational reform has been a common phenomenon around the world in recent decades. Policy makers may initiate a large-scale reform for various reasons, such as the development of national competitiveness in a rapidly changing world or improving the quality of national education provision. The literature on
educational reform indicates that āthe perennial universal theme of change in all cultural and educational context globally [is] to solve problems, or bring about changes in the education system, and in the classroom teaching and learning processā (Yan & He,
2012: 2). What is implied in this assumption is that change is a complex process which might cause conflict and chaos between peopleās established ideas and/or behaviours and new ones in the reform process. Here, Morrisonās (
1998) definition of educational reform is adopted to outline the relevant aspects:
a dynamic and continuous process of development and growth that involves a reorganization in response to āfelt needsā. It is a process of transformation, a flow from one state to another, either initiated by internal factors or external forces, involving individuals, groups or institutions, leading to realignment of existing values, practices and outcomes. (13)
This definition indicates three important aspects influencing the success of educational reform . The first is related to the felt needs from internal and external factors, such as the needs perceived by national policy makers for change to support the development of society or as a response to international trends. This implies that educational reform may be more than an issue within the field of education,but is also thought āto support desirable wider changes in other aspects of society as a wholeā (Wedell, 2009: 14). The second aspect emphasizes that educational reform is a process, proposing a hoped-for state different from the current one. The core of this process lies in its classroom implementation with teachers as key participants contributing to the success of reform (Edwards, 2012; Lieberman & Pointer Mace, 2008). The last aspect concerns the real changes that are needed for true educational reform to take place. Educational reform may usually be started or initiated by policy makers through publication of new documents and/or plans, but what lies at the heart of these are changes in the existing values of the people involved in the reform and consequently changes in their practice. These three aspects indicate that, within the context of curriculum reform, achieving the expected goals is a complex process which may challenge existing teaching and learning norms and practices across the education system. Therefore, the success of any education/curriculum reform does not depend purely on technical attempts to introduce new teaching approaches, but rather on the responses of all relevant participants.
Existing literature suggests a number of...