Factors which have an impact on professional learning within the Scottish FE context: using assessment as a lens through which to view practice

Wilson, Susannah (2024). Factors which have an impact on professional learning within the Scottish FE context: using assessment as a lens through which to view practice. EdD thesis The Open University.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21954/ou.ro.00098184

Abstract

This research reports on qualitative research undertaken within the Further Education context in Scotland, and furthers our understanding of both professional learning for lecturers and the ways in which lecturers implement assessment processes and practices.

This research was conducted during a period when the importance of lecturers’ professional learning was increasingly being emphasised, in part due to changes which require FE lecturers to register with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS). It answers the following research questions:

1: What factors have an impact on lecturers’ professional learning, in a further education (FE) learning context?

2: How do these factors impact on lecturers’ implementation and development of assessment practices, in an FE learning context?

3: To what extent can an action research methodology contribute to professional learning practices, in an FE learning context?

The study is based on two contributing methodologies: constructivist grounded theory (CGT) and participatory action research (PAR). The participatory ethos embedded within this research ensures that the findings reflect the perspectives and priorities of the research participants, who are lecturers working within one FE institution. This participatory ethos is complemented by the CGT approach to analysis. These methodologies result in findings which provide a timely insight into the factors which impact upon lecturers’ professional learning, from the perspectives of the participants themselves.

The findings identify factors within the micro, meso and macro levels which both support and hinder lecturers’ engagement with professional learning. Using Wenger-Trayner et al. (2015)’s concepts of communities and landscapes of practice, the findings also explore the ways in which messages at the macro level, combined with the specific context in which FE lecturers work, can restrict lecturers’ engagement with other professionals and impact upon lecturers’ assessment practices. Finally, the findings explore the ways in which action research structures can be used to support lecturers’ engagement with professional learning.

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