Individual, School, and National Factors Impacting Teachers' Workplace Learning: Discourses of Informal Learning in North America and Lithuania

Description

By drawing on observation and detailed discourse analysis from interviews with teachers in Lithuanian and North American schools, this text identifies individual, school-specific, and national factors which impact teachers’ informal professional learning. Addressing multiple layers of teacher learning, this text illustrates how factors including socio-economic status, individual learning style, cultural attitudes to education, and political histories support or impede workplace learning. Drawing on three fields of research—teacher education, cultural anthropology, and comparative international—the book posits teacher learning as a multidimensional socio-cultural process. Finally combining a typology of informal learners with other policy-driven factors, the text indicates how practices at school, district, and national levels might stimulate workplace learning. Offering methodological innovations including unique research design and creative ways of using discourse analysis, this book will be of particular use to researchers and doctoral students in education, organizational and educational psychology, cultural anthropology, management, and beyond. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction Overview of This Chapter Study Design, Participants, Data, and Research Approaches The Structure of the Book References Part I: Multiple Layers of Workplace Learning Part I: Multiple Layers of Workplace Learning Overview of This Chapter About This Part References Chapter 1: The Complexity of Teacher Learning Overview of This Chapter Approaches to Teacher Learning References Chapter 2: Researching Informal Teacher Learning Overview of This Chapter Vignette The First Layer of Analysis The Second Layer of Analysis The Third Layer of Analysis Relationship of the Situated Language Use to the Examination of Cultural Patterns A Note on Trustworthiness References Chapter 3: Portraits of Teachers Overview of This Chapter Nadia Marija Ramute Sigute Viktorija Kristi John Bob Note References Part II: Teachers as Learners Part II: Teachers as Learners Overview of This Chapter Teacher Learning as Professional Growth About This Part Different Types of Informal Learners References Chapter 4: Dispositions: Opportunistic—Proactive Learners’ Continuum Overview of This Chapter Introduction Opportunistic Learners Opportunistic/Proactive Learners Proactive Learners Notes References Chapter 5: Sources of Learning: Individual–Social Learners’ Continuum Overview of This Chapter Introduction Individual Learners Individual/Social Learners Social Learners References Chapter 6: Reactions to Dilemmas: Emotional–Cognitive Learners’ Continuum Overview of This Chapter Introduction Emotional Learners Emotional/Cognitive Learners Cognitive Learners Note References Chapter 7: Orientation to Problems for Learning: Self–Teaching-Oriented Problems Overview of This Chapter Introduction Self-Oriented Learners Self/Teaching-Oriented Learners Teaching-Oriented Learners References Chapter 8: Engagement in Learning Process: Spontaneous–Deliberate Overview of This Chapter Introduction Spontaneous Learners Spontaneous/Deliberate Learners Deliberate Learners Summary Emerging Patterns Conclusions References Part III: School Cultures as Contexts for Informal Workplace Learning Part III: School Cultures as Contexts for Informal Workplace Learning Overview of This Chapter Perspectives School Culture through the Lens of Research School Cultures and Knowledge Creation About Part III The Cultural Lens Data Collection and Analysis The Schools Note References Chapter 9: A Midwestern Elementary School in the USA Overview of This Chapter About the School The School’s Missing Mission The School Building Instills Separation The Classrooms Reflect Individual Teachers’ Styles Organizational Arrangements Encourage Collaborative Teachers’ Learning Traditions Extend Contexts for Informal Learning, But Do They in this School? Professional Relationships under Construction Notes References Chapter 10: A Lithuanian School with Instruction in Russian Language Overview of This Chapter About the School The School’s Mission, Goals, and Objectives Are Visible The Building Offers Few Places for Informal Learning The Classrooms Reflect Administration’s Viewpoint Organizational Arrangements Discourage Teachers’ Collaborative Learning Traditions Provide Opportunities for Interactions Professional Relationships Reflect the Stressful Atmosphere Notes Reference Chapter 11: A Lithuanian School with Instruction in Lithuanian Language Overview of This Chapter About the School Educational Priorities Clarify the Mission The Building Reflects the Students’ and Teachers’ Feeling of Ownership The Classrooms Reflect Creativity and Experimentation Organizational Arrangements Provide Teachers with Decision-Making Power Traditions Bring the Teachers Together Professional Relationships Provide Support and Freedom for Creativity Conclusions The Schools Revisited: A Comparative Analysis The School Mission Revisited Traditions Revisited Physical Environment Revisited Organizational Arrangements Revisited Professional Relationships Revisited Implications and Further Anthropological Investigation of Workplace Informal Teacher Learning References Part IV: National Educational Cultures and Teacher Informal Workplace Learning Part IV: National Educational Cultures and Teacher Informal Workplace Learning About Part IV Perspectives on Teacher Identity Formation The Role of Culture in Identity Construction Comparing Teacher Learning in Different National Cultural Contexts The Broad Context: National Educational Cultures and Teacher Informal Learning National Educational Cultures in the United States and Lithuania A Sketch of Recent Education History A Note on the Use of Discourse Analysis in This Part Terms and Qualifications Notes References Chapter 12: Centralization versus Decentralization in Educational Systems Overview of This Chapter Goals, Policies, Curriculum, and Assessment Standards, Curricula, and Planning: Elementary Teachers’ Viewpoint Note References Chapter 13: Teaching Children versus Teaching Curriculum Overview of This Chapter Getting to Know Students and Evaluate Their Progress: Testing Versus Looping Testing as a Way of Learning about Students Looping References Chapter 14 Market-Driven Structure of Professional Development and Evaluation versus Structures Motivating Teachers’ Professional Growth Overview of This Chapter Pre-service Preparation and Professional Development: The Teachers Feel Similar Systems of Professional Development: Attestation versus Fragmentation References Chapter 15: Teacher Identities in a Culture That Is Relatively Stable versus a Culture That Has Undergone a Radical Change Overview of This Chapter Formal and Informal Learning Contexts in a Stable Culture Versus a Culture That Has Undergone a Radical and Rapid Change State and Teachers Assign Different Value to Informal Learning Teachers’ Identity as Learners: Cultural Aspects Conclusions for Part IV Note References Chapter 16: Final Thoughts Overview of This Chapter Individual Teachers as Learners School Cultures National Educational Cultures Informal Learning and Learners Revisited References Index