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Stutchbury, Kris and Agbaire, Jennifer
(2024).
URL: https://baice2024.exordo.com/programme/presentatio...
Abstract
Exploring the intersections between teacher development practices and the cultural, social, political and ecological context, requires holistic thinking that examines the perspectives of multiple stakeholders across the system. Drawing on seven years of research and development activity in teacher professional development at scale (TPD@Scale) in Zambia, this poster presents a model for structuring thinking about TPD programs across contexts and suggests how we can identify the cultural, social, and ecological factors which shape the opportunities and constraints for TPD@Scale.
Our main finding is that more needs to be understood about the professional knowledge and the work of those in the middle – the layer of educational functionaries that sit between the policy makers and the schools. Whilst teacher learning and teacher professional development is relatively well-understood, the role of those who are charged with monitoring and supporting teachers at District and Province level is much less clear. These professionals exercise power and influence; the work of this professional group can be critical in the successful implementation (or not) of TPD@Scale.
The model we present, recognises that different groups of professionals hold different professional knowledge and different perspectives. It draws on the principles of systems thinking and socio-cultural learning to identify the links between different stakeholders in the system and provide new insights into the conditions necessary for the scalability and sustainability. It embodies the view that effective learning takes places across three inseparable, mutually constituting planes of development: the individual, the interpersonal and the community. The model recognises that although the focus of TPD is teachers, to achieve sustainability at scale, learning is required at all levels of the system. What and how different groups learn will vary; new research as part of the Empowering Teachers Initiative, aims to provide practical suggestions for the discursive and institutional structures that need to be in place at District and Provincial level to support TPD@Scale.
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)
