c e p s Journal
Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal
Revija Centra za študij edukacijskih strategij
Editor in Chief / Glavni in odgovorni urednik	Igor Radeka - Departmenet of Pedagogy,
Iztok Devetak - Faculty of Education,	University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Špela Razpotnik - Faculty of Education,
	University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Associate Editors / Področni uredniki in urednice	Pasi Sahlberg - Harvard Graduate School
Slavko Gaber - Faculty of Education,	of Education, Boston, usa
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Igor Saksida - Faculty of Education,
Janez Krek - Faculty of Education,	University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Mitja Sardoč - Educational Research Institute,
Karmen Pižorn - Faculty of Education,	Ljubljana, Slovenia
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Blerim Saqipi - Faculty of Education,
Veronika Tašner - Faculty of Education,	University of Prishtina, Kosovo
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Michael Schratz - School of Education,
	University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
Editorial Board / Uredniški odbor	Jurij Selan - Faculty of Education,
Michael W. Apple - Department of Educational	University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Policy Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison,	Darija Skubic - Faculty of Education,
Wisconsin, usa	University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Branka Baranovic - Institute for Social Research	Marjan Šimenc - Faculty of Education,
in Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia	University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Cesar Birzea - Faculty of Philosophy,	Keith S. Taber - Faculty of Education,
University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania	University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Vlatka Domovic - Faculty of Teacher Education,	Shunji Tanabe - Faculty of Education,
University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia	Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
Grozdanka Gojkov - Faculty of Philosophy,	Jon Torfi Jonasson - School of Education,
University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Serbia	University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland
Jan De Groof - College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium	Gregor Torkar - Faculty of Education,
and University of Tilburg, the Netherlands	University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Andy Hargreaves - Lynch School of Education,	Zoran Velkovski - Faculty of Philosophy, SS.
Boston College, Boston, usa	Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Skopje,
Georgeta Ion - Department of Applied Pedagogy,	Macedonia
University Autonoma Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain	Janez Vogrinc - Faculty of Education,
Mojca Juriševič - Faculty of Education,	University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Robert Wagenaar - Faculty of Arts,
Mojca Kovač Šebart - Faculty of Arts,	University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Pavel Zgaga - Faculty of Education,
Bruno Losito - Department for Educational	University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Sciences, University Studi Roma Tre, Rome, Italy	
Lisbeth Lundhal - Department of Applied	Guest editors / Gostujoča urednika
Educational Science, Umea University, Umea, Sweden	Michael Schratz and Vasileios Symeonidis
Ljubica Marjanovič Umek - Faculty of Arts,	Revija Centra za študij edukacijskih strategij
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal
Silvija Markic - Ludwigsburg University	issn 2232-2647 (online edition)
of Education, Institute for Science and Technology,	issn 1855-9719 (printed edition)
Germany	Publication frequency: 4 issues per year
Mariana Moynova - University of Veliko Turnovo,	Subject: Teacher Education, Educational Science
Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria	Publisher: Faculty of Education,
Hannele Niemi - Faculty of Behavioural Sciences,	University of Ljubljana, Slovenia
University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland	Technical editor: Lea Vrečko / English language
Jerneja Pavlin - Faculty of Education,	editor: Terry T. Jackson / Slovene language editing:
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Tomaž Petek / Cover and layout design: Roman
Mojca Peček Čuk - Faculty of Education,	Ražman / Typeset: Igor Cerar / Print: Birografika
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia	Bori, d. o. o., Ljubljana / © 2018 Faculty of Education,
ANa Pešikan-Avramovic - Faculty of Philosophy,	University of Ljubljana
University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia	
c-E-p-s Journal
Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal Revija Centra za študij edukacijskih strategij
The CEPS Journal is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal devoted to publishing research papers in different fields of education, including scientific.
Aims & Scope
The CEPS Journal is an international peer-reviewed journal with an international board. It publishes original empirical and theoretical studies from a wide variety of academic disciplines related to the field of Teacher Education and Educational Sciences; in particular, it will support comparative studies in the field. Regional context is stressed but the journal remains open to researchers and contributors across all European countries and worldwide. There are four issues per year. Issues are focused on specific areas but there is also space for non-focused articles and book reviews.
About the Publisher
The University of Ljubljana is one of the largest universities in the region (see www.uni-lj.si) and its Faculty of Education (see www.pef.uni-lj.si), established in 1947, has the leading role in teacher education and education sciences in Slovenia. It is well positioned in regional and European cooperation programmes in teaching and research. A publishing unit oversees the dissemination of research results and informs the interested public about new trends in the broad area of teacher education and education sciences; to date, numerous monographs and publications have been published, not just in Slovenian but also in English.
In 2001, the Centre for Educational Policy Studies (CEPS; see http://ceps.pef.uni-lj.si) was established within the Faculty of Education to build upon experience acquired in the broad reform of the
national educational system during the period of social transition in the 1990s, to upgrade expertise and to strengthen international cooperation. CEPS has established a number of fruitful contacts, both in the region - particularly with similar institutions in the countries of the Western Balkans - and with interested partners in EU member states and worldwide.
Revija Centra za študij edukacijskih strategij je mednarodno recenzirana revija z mednarodnim uredniškim odborom in s prostim dostopom. Namenjena je objavljanju člankov s področja izobraževanja učiteljev in edukacijskih ved.
Cilji in namen
Revija je namenjena obravnavanju naslednjih področij: poučevanje, učenje, vzgoja in izobraževanje, socialna pedagogika, specialna in rehabilitacijska pedagogika, predšolska pedagogika, edukacijske politike, supervizija, poučevanje slovenskega jezika in književnosti, poučevanje matematike, računalništva, naravoslovja in tehnike, poučevanje družboslovja in humanistike, poučevanje na področju umetnosti, visokošolsko izobraževanje in izobraževanje odraslih. Poseben poudarek bo namenjen izobraževanju učiteljev in spodbujanju njihovega profesionalnega razvoja.
V reviji so objavljeni znanstveni prispevki, in sicer teoretični prispevki in prispevki, v katerih so predstavljeni rezultati kvantitavnih in kvalitativnih empiričnih raziskav. Še posebej poudarjen je pomen komparativnih raziskav.
Revija izide štirikrat letno. Številke so tematsko opredeljene, v njih pa je prostor tudi za netematske prispevke in predstavitve ter recenzije novih publikacij.
The publication of the CEPS Journal in 2017 and 2018 is co-financed by the Slovenian Research Agency within the framework of the Public Tender for the Co-Financing of the Publication of Domestic Scientific Periodicals.
Izdajanje revije v letih 2017 in 2018 sofinancira Javna agencija za raziskovalno dejavnost Republike Slovenije v okviru Javnega razpisa za sofinanciranje izdajanja domačih znanstvenih periodičnih publikacij.
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Contents
7 Editorial
— Michael Schratz and Vasileios Symeonidis
Focus
13 Revisiting the European Teacher Education Area: The Transformation of Teacher Education Policies and Practices in Europe
Pregled evropskega prostora izobraževanja učiteljev: transformacije politik in praks izobraževanja učiteljev v Evropi — Vasileios Symeonidis
35 Student Teachers as Future Researchers: How do Hungarian and Austrian Initial Teacher Education Systems Address the issue of Teachers as Researchers?
Študentje pedagoških programov kot prihodnji raziskovalci: kako madžarski in avstrijski sistem začetnega izobraževanja učiteljev naslavljata vprašanje učiteljev kot raziskovalcev
—	Csilla Pesti, Janos Gordon Gyori and Erika Kopp
59 Exploring the Personal Mastery of Educational Leaders: FieldTransFormation360 and its Validation in the Austrian Leadership Academy
Preučevanje osebnih spretnosti vodij šol: FieldTransFormation360 in njegova veljavnost na Avstrijski akademiji za vodenje
—	Malte Gregorzewski, Michael Schratz and Christian Wiesner
The Missing Link: Teacher Learning for Diversity 79 in an Area-based Initiative in Portugal
Manjkajoči člen: učenje učiteljev za raznolikost v področno zasnovani iniciativi na Portugalskem — Nikolett Szelei and Ines Alves
4 contents
99 Change, Challenge, Transformation: A Qualitative Inquiry into Transformative Teacher Learning
Sprememba, izziv, transformacija: kvalitativna raziskava transformativnega učenja učiteljev — Helena Kovacs
119 Teacher Subjectivity Regarding Assessment:
Exploring English as a Foreign Language Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment Theories that Influence Student Learning
Subjektivnost učiteljev pri ocenjevanju: raziskovanje pojmovanj teorij ocenjevanja, ki vplivajo na učenje učencev, pri učiteljih angleščine kot tujega jezika — Kinley Seden and Roman Svaricek
141 Information Communication Technologies in
Teaching English as a Foreign Language: Analysing EFL Teachers' TPACK in Czech Elementary Schools
Informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije pri poučevanju angleščine kot tujega jezika: analiza TPACK pri učiteljih angleščine kot tujega jezika v čeških osnovnih šolah — Dev Raj Paneru
Varia
165 Introducing Global Citizenship Education into Classroom Practice: A Study on Italian 8th Grade Students
Uvajanje globalnega državljanskega izobraževanja v prakso: raziskava z italijanskimi osmošolci — Valeria Damiani
187 Teaching Strategies and the Holistic Acquisition of Knowledge of the Visual Arts
Strategije poučevanja in celostno pridobivanje likovnega znanja — Eda Birsa
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Reviews
207 Gert J. J. Biesta, The Rediscovery of Teaching,
Routledge: New York, NY, and London, UK, 2017; 122 pp.: ISBN: 978-1-138-67069-3
— Niels Anderegg
211 David J. Connor, Beth A. Ferri and Subini A. Annamma (Eds.), DisCrit: Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education, Teachers College Press: New York, NY, 2016; 279 pp.: ISBN
978-0-8077-5667-6 — Josefine Wagner
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doi: 10.26529/cepsj.593
Editorial
Transnational Perspectives of Transformative Teacher Learning
in an Emerging Europe
The purpose of the present focus issue is to provide insights on transformative teacher learning in an emerging European context, drawing on the work of researchers who participate in the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE), which was developed by a consortium of five universities (University of Innsbruck, Eotvos Lorand University, University of Lisbon, Masaryk University, University of Lower Silesia), collaborating in the field of European higher education over the course of two projects. The first was through the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission (2012-2014), and the second through the Horizon 2020 Innovative Training Networks (2015-2019).
The EDiTE project and the research related to it is a reaction and response to the current challenges in the complex process of the transformation of teachers' lifelong professional development. Research increasingly tells us that 'teachers matter' and that the quality of their work is the most critical factor influencing the quality of students' learning (Barber & Mourshed, 2007; OECD, 2005). Across Europe, several countries have been reforming their teacher education systems in an effort to raise teacher professionalism and improve student performance. On the one hand, teaching in European countries becomes increasingly assimilated through the backwash effect of global large-scale assessment activities, such as PISA, or through ground-breaking research, such as Hattie's Visible Learning (2009), which implies that teaching and learning should become more responsive processes across country borders. On the other hand, there are many national traits of what it means to teach in a particular country, making it difficult for teachers to move their employment to different countries, while little has changed nationally with a cultural perspective towards Europe (Seashore Louis & Van Velzen, 2012).
Within this puzzling context, the work presented in this journal issue focuses on different aspects of teacher learning and pays particular attention to the European situatedness of teachers and their profession. It also aims to raise awareness of what constitutes the 'Europeanness' of teacher education and what it means to be a 'European teacher' (Schratz, 2014) by analysing relevant phenomena in different European countries. The central theme of transformative teacher learning in Europe is important both professionally and institutionally, since present developments in European society are characterised by disruption and systemic disconnects, which tend to create a social division between
8 editorial
what is expected in short-term deliverables (e.g., student achievement in present comparative assessments) and what the long-term educational goals are (e.g., well-being in later life and society at large; Damon, 2009).
In times of social disruptions, schools can no longer merely be regarded as places that transmit knowledge of the past as a robust foundation for the future. Increasingly, they seem to be becoming laboratories of an unknown future, which are expected to prepare the next generation in what Senge (1990) calls 'personal mastery' of their own futures. Therefore, teachers can no longer merely be trained to be instructors conveying knowledge to their students but have to bring in their total human capacity into a dynamic process of responding to others - not only to learners but also to colleagues, superiors and stakeholders of all kinds.
If we only want to optimise teaching or teacher education, we keep in a mode of making it better, which is optimising the way from good practice to best practice. In the paradigm of optimisation, interventions are set to improve by enhancing processes and procedures. To do so, new instruments or methods are implemented to improve the status quo, yet all endeavours contribute to a kind of linear adjustment of what has been done so far. It can be referred to as working in the system. On the personal level, it poses very little threat to the people involved because it does not challenge what they have been doing so far.
Considering the challenges and the complexity of social change mentioned above, optimisation towards best practice is no longer the key to preparing teachers and students for an unknown future, which seems to project new labour conditions with job descriptions that do not exist yet and require new practices. Such projections mandate new ways of teaching and teacher learning which prepare for the next practice under different auspices and apply new approaches and procedures. Changing behaviour and, even more so, changing mental models cannot be imposed on human beings; therefore, we need approaches that allow teachers and students to become aware of the needs and expectations of living in tomorrow's world. Such awareness-raising processes have a transformative impact on people and on how they see their roles in it. Scharmer (2018) refers to letting the old go and letting the new emerge, a moment which he calls 'presencing' (p. 29). Dealing more with the emerging future than with the experiences of the past in teaching and teacher education is a challenge both on the personal and institutional levels. In its essence, transformative learning is a dynamic and ever-emerging process, which raises awareness for a future perspective.
For this issue, we asked participants of EDiTE to present their respective transnational perspectives on transformative teacher learning in an emerging
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Europe, which they substantiate by the findings of their particular research in one or more European countries. In their work, they approach this topic from different angles by drawing on different aspects of teacher learning, including teacher education, school leadership, diversity, innovation, and others.
The focus issue starts with the paper Revisiting the European Teacher Education Area: The Transformation of Teacher Education Policies and Practices in Europe by Vasileios Symeonidis, who explores how and to what extent policy mechanisms and key agents of Europeanisation, internal or external to the European Unioun (EU), influence the transformation of teacher education in Europe. By analysing policy documents and expert interviews with European policy officials, the author provides a conceptual framework for mapping the European Teacher Education Area as a complex policy ecosystem that enables various processes of Europeanisation. It is argued that the EU plays an increasingly significant role in teacher education, involving other sectors such as employment in this process.
The second paper, entitled Student Teachers as Future Researchers: How do Hungarian and Austrian Initial Teacher Education Systems Address the issue of Teachers as Researchers? by Csilla Pesti, János Gordon Gyori, and Erika Kopp conceptualises transformative teacher learning in the context of research-based teacher education. Employing a case study design, the authors explore how the concept of teachers as researchers is addressed in initial teacher education (ITE) programmes of two teacher education institutions, one Hungarian and one Austrian. Findings reveal that research components are integrated into ITE programmes of both institutions, but to different extents, while research activities tend to happen within the university walls, often detached from practice.
The third paper, entitled Exploring the Personal Mastery of Educational Leaders: FieldTransFormation360 and its Validation in the Austrian Leadership Academy by Malte Gregorzewski, Michael Schratz, and Christian Wiesner, analyses the dynamics of transformation in the crucial field of school leadership. The authors introduce an innovative model to help educational leaders assess their personal mastery. By turning the model into a self-assessment instrument, the authors validated the instrument in the Austrian Leadership Academy, where educational leaders meet to further develop their leadership skills. It is argued that the instrument can help in the professional development of school leaders by providing a deeper understanding of their transformative power.
Transformative teacher learning is also essentially connected to diversity and calls for critical thinking and the need to raise students' voices. In their paper The Missing Link: Teacher Learning for Diversity in an Area-based Initiative in Portugal, Nikolett Szelei and Ines Alves explore opportunities for teacher learning for diversity by studying the programme Territórios Educativos de
10 editorial
Intervençao Prioritâria in Portugal. Through analysis of school documents, the authors argue that some of the programme's interventions carry the possibility for teacher learning, but the aspect of diversity largely seems to be missing. Students' academic performance proved to be the main theme around which teacher professional development was organised, overshadowing the potential of teacher learning to transform education for diversity.
The next paper, entitled Change, Challenge, Transformation: A Qualitative Inquiry into Transformative Teacher Learning by Helena Kovacs explores teacher learning in the context of schools that have transformed their pedagogical practices and made a significant impact on how teaching and learning are delivered. Through a qualitative inquiry in two non-traditional schools, one in Hungary and one in Portugal, the author envisages better understanding the aspects contributing to teacher learning and what makes it transformative. It is argued that teacher learning can become transformative in a system that is comprehensively embracing change and consciously encouraging reflection, continuous learning and change of mindset.
The beliefs of teachers about their assessment practices can also contribute to transforming teaching for the purposes of better student learning. In the paper Teacher Subjectivity Regarding Assessment: Exploring English as a Foreign Language Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment Theories that Influence Student Learning, Kinley Seden examines the perceptions of English as a Foreign Language teachers in Czech schools about their assessment beliefs and the impact of those beliefs on their assessment practices. Teachers employed mostly traditional assessment practices of a summative nature and used assessment predominantly for managing behaviour and for certification purposes. In this context, professional development that fosters innovative assessment practices could contribute to transformative teacher learning.
The final paper in the focus issue, entitled Information Communication Technologies in Teaching English as a Foreign Language: Analysing EFL Teachers' TPACK in Czech Elementary Schools by Devraj Paneru, examines the transformative potential of information communication technology (ICT) in language teaching. Through the conceptual lenses of Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (TPACK), the author disaggregates between the formal practice and the functional practice of ICT use in language teaching. Findings indicate that formal practice limits the transmission of knowledge, while functional practice helps to develop a collaborative context for learning that can increase students' creativity potential.
The Varia section covers two contributions. The first is Introducing Global Citizenship Education into Classroom Practice: A Study on Italian 8th Grade
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Students by Valeria Damiani, who presents how a learning unit on global citizenship education (GCE) is implemented in an Italian 8th-grade class. Considering the key elements for students' effective learning and the limitations of the Italian educational system regarding GCE, the study explores the educational implications of translating GCE international models into the Italian classroom practice. The paper concludes with the need to plan and implement GCE jointly, within a whole-school approach, and highlights the relevance of the modalities in which GCE instructional contents are selected.
The second contribution in the Varia section is entitled Teaching Strategies and the Holistic Acquisition of Knowledge of the Visual Arts by Eda Birsa; it presents findings of experimental research related to cross-curricular integration strategies in the visual arts learning process. The research involved fifth-grade students and classroom teachers from seven Slovenian primary schools and concluded that teachers achieved better learning outcomes for students by adopting teaching strategies with cross-curricular integration in the implementation of art tasks in art education than in classes with no cross-curricular integration. Proposed guidelines can help teachers in planning activities for the visual arts, while student learning can be improved by connecting subjects and integrated knowledge of the visual arts.
The present issue also includes two book reviews. Niels Anderegg reviews the book The Rediscovery of Teaching (New York & London: Routledge, 2017) by Gert Biesta, and Josefine Wagner reviews the book DisCrit: Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education (New York, NY: Teachers College Press, 2016), edited by David J. Connor, Beth A. Ferri and Subini A. Annamma.
Michael Schratz and Vasileios Symeonidis
12 editorial
References
Damon, W. (2009). The path to purpose: How young people find their calling in life. New York, NY: Free Press.
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning. New York, NY: Routledge.
Scharmer, C. O. (2018). The essentials of theory U: Core principles and applications. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Schratz, M. (2014). The European teacher: Transnational perspectives in teacher education policy and practice. CEPS Journal, 4(4), 11-27.
Seashore Louis, K., & Van Velzen, B. (Eds.) (2012). Educational policy in an international context. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Senge, P. M. (1990). The fifth discipline: Mastering the five practices of the learning organization. New York, NY: Doubleday/Currency.
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doi: 10.26529/cepsj.509
Revisiting the European Teacher Education Area: The Transformation of Teacher Education Policies and Practices in Europe
Vasileios Symeonidis1
^^ Within the broader landscape of the European Higher Education Area, teacher education receives increasing significance as an academic field that contributes to the quality of the teaching labour force and consequently impacts student learning. This paper aims to explore the European Teacher Education Area (ETEA) by analysing to what extent and how mechanisms, processes, and key agents of Europeanisation, internal or external to the European Union (EU), influence the transformation of teacher education policies and practices in Europe. Transformation is understood in the context of Europeanisation, and emphasis of the analysis is placed on the process rather than the content of transforming teacher education in Europe. To this end, data have been collected through document review and expert interviews with European policy officials. As a result of qualitative content analysis, the data have been clustered and analysed according to the following categories, which mutually reinforce each other: (1) policy coordination; (2) cross-sectoral instruments; (3) evidence-based management; (4) the Bologna process; (5) educational programmes; and (6) stakeholder pressure. Findings provide a conceptual framework for mapping the ETEA as a complex policy ecosystem that includes vertical and horizontal procedures of Europeanisation. The EU has developed extensive capacities to influence teacher education in Europe and increasingly involves other sectors, such as employment, in this process.
Keywords: European teacher education area, teacher education policy, Europeanisation, policy mechanisms, key agents
1 Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Innsbruck, Austria; vasileios.symeonidis@uibk.ac.at.
14 revisiting the european teacher education area
Pregled evropskega prostora izobraževanja učiteljev: transformacije politik in praks izobraževanja učiteljev v Evropi
VASILEIOS SYMEONIDIS
^^ Znotraj širšega Evropskega visokošolskega prostora (European Higher Education Area) izobraževanje učiteljev pridobiva na pomembnosti kot področje, ki prispeva h kakovosti učiteljev, posledično pa vpliva tudi na učenje učencev. Prispevek raziskuje Evropski prostor izobraževanja učiteljev (European Teacher Education Area - ETEA), pri čemer analizira obseg in načine, na katere mehanizmi, procesi in ključni agenti evropeizacije znotraj ali zunaj Evropske unije (EU) vplivajo na transformacijo politik in praks izobraževanja učiteljev v Evropi. Transformacijo razumemo v kontekstu evropeizacije, v analizi pa poudarjamo procese in ne vsebin transformacij izobraževanja učiteljev v Evropi. S tem namenom smo podatke zbrali s pregledom dokumentov in z ekspertnimi intervjuji s funkcionarji s področja evropskih politik. Podatki, ki smo jih pridobili s kvalitativno vsebinsko analizo, so bili grupirani ter analizirani glede na naslednje kategorije, ki se medsebojno krepijo: 1) koordinacija politik; 2) medsektorski instrumenti; 3) na dokazih osnovano upravljanje; 4) bolonjski proces; 5) izobraževalni programi; 6) pritiski deležnikov. Ugotovitve ponujajo konceptualno ogrodje za mapiranje ETEA kot kompleksnega ekosistema politik, ki vključuje vertikalne in horizontalne procedure evropeizacije. EU je razvil obsežne kapacitete za vplivanje na izobraževanje v Evropi, pri čemer v ta proces vse bolj vključuje tudi druge sektorje, na primer zaposlovanje.
Ključne besede: Evropski prostor izobraževanja učiteljev, politike izobraževanja učiteljev, evropeizacija, mehanizmi politik, ključni agenti
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Introduction
Since the launch of the Lisbon Strategy in the year 2000, an accelerating process of Europeanisation of national policies related to teachers and teacher education has been witnessed (EDiTE, 2014), so that researchers are increasingly talking about a 'European teacher education policy community' (Hudson & Zgaga, 2008), a 'European Teacher Education Area' (Gassner, Kerger, & Schratz, 2010) and the 'European teacher' (Schratz, 2005, 2014). Although teacher education systems in Europe are firmly rooted in national histories and conditions (Kotthoff & Denk, 2007), influenced by political culture (Louis & Velzen, 2012), long-standing traditions, and resistance to theoretical and research-based arguments (Buchberger, Campos, Kallos, & Stephenson, 2000), there are a number of common trends leading to convergence across countries (see Caena, 2014; Stéger, 2014a; Vidovic & Domovic, 2013).
The reason behind this development in Europe is identified, on one hand, in accumulated research evidence indicating that students' performance is positively correlated with the quality of teachers (see Barber & Mourshed, 2007; Hattie, 2009; OECD, 2005) and, on the other hand, in processes of harmonisation supported by the European Union (EU) under the objectives of a knowledge society (Domovic & Cuk, 2014) and human capital development (Moutsios, 2007). European policies and actions related to teachers and teacher education have received priority in the formulation of the EU's Education and Training (ET) 2010 work programme but became systematic by the middle of the 2000s (Holdsworth, 2010). Various actors operating within the European education policy space, including the EU institutions, professional and policy networks, social partners and other stakeholders, promote policies and contribute to the knowledge base of effective teaching and teacher education (EDiTE, 2014). These actors also contribute to the emergence of transnational modes of governance, redefining the nature of and relationships between spaces, subjects, and coordination of governing education (Dale, 2009).
This paper aims to revisit the European Teacher Education Area (ETEA) by exploring to what extent and how mechanisms, processes, and key agents of Europeanisation, internal or external to the EU, influence the transformation of teacher education policies and practices in Europe. Transformation is understood in the context of Europeanisation, as a dynamic process that involves vertical and horizontal procedures unfolding over time and providing asymmetrical effects through complex mechanisms of interaction (Featherstone & Kazamias, 2001). Depending on the level of 'misfit' between European and domestic processes (Borzel & Risse, 2003, p. 58), those mechanisms of interaction
16 revisiting the european teacher education area
can influence change in teacher education policies and practices reciprocally, meaning at both the level of the EU and of the Member States.
By using the term 'European, this paper refers to policies and initiatives developed within the framework of the EU, as well as to policies and initiatives related to the European continent at large. For example, the Lisbon Strategy was developed within the institutions of the EU, while the Bologna Process was initiated by European countries aiming to create a common European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Moreover, teacher education is examined more broadly, encompassing the whole continuum of teacher learning, namely Initial Teacher Education (ITE), induction, and Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
Method
As part of an ongoing study of Europeanisation in teacher education, this paper presents initial findings of qualitative data collected during October 2016 and February 2017, adopting the format of an empirically based report. The first phase of the study included document review of official EU policy documents, developed since the Lisbon Strategy in the year 2000, as well as websites and online materials of European institutions related to teachers and teacher education. Secondary data sources were also reviewed, including published academic texts and policy-related studies in the field of European teacher education.
To complement and qualify findings of the document review, a specific type of semi-structured interview was employed, namely expert interviews with European policy officials. In contrast to biographical interviews, expert interviews imply that 'the interviewees are of less interest as a (whole) person than their capacities as experts for a certain field of activity' (Flick, 2009, p. 165). In this sense, experts are included in this study not as single cases but as key agents representing a group. Experts are, thus, defined as those persons 'who are particularly competent as authorities on a certain matter of facts' (Beeke, as cited in Flick, 2009, p. 165).
Specifically, 13 expert interviews were held with representatives or consultants of the following institutions: European Commission, European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE), Teacher Education Policy in Europe (TEPE) network and European Network on Teacher Education Policies (ENTEP). Interview questions were open-ended and tailored to the interview context and the interviewees, aiming to grasp the experts' specialised and practical knowledge related to mechanisms and processes shaping teacher and teacher education policies in Europe. All interviews were recorded with prior permission of the interviewees, transcribed verbatim and mailed back to the
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participants for final approval. For ethical reasons, the anonymity of the participants is ensured, and each interview is coded with the acronym European Policy Expert (EPE) and a number (e.g., Interview, EPE-i).
Documents and interview data were analysed using the method of qualitative content analysis (Mayring, 2014). In addition, the MAXQDA software was employed to help with coding and managing the amount of data. At first, theoretically derived aspects of analysis emerged from studying the literature on European governance in education. A flexible deductive approach was then used, in which some initial theoretical categories were applied to empirical data. However, the reading of documents and interview transcripts allowed for new themes to emerge inductively. After around twenty per cent of the material was coded, the categories were revised and reduced to some main categories, which were then reapplied to the full extent of the data. The specific categories are used to describe the mechanisms, processes and key agents of Europeanisation in European teacher education and will be presented in the following section.
Mechanisms, processes and key agents in transforming European teacher education
Exploring the landscape of European teacher education, we can identify a variety of mechanisms, processes and key agents, internal or external to the workings of the EU, that mutually reinforce each other towards shaping the process of Europeanisation in teacher education. For analytical purposes, these mechanisms, processes and key agents have been clustered according to their function in the following main categories: (1) policy coordination; (2) cross-sectoral instruments; (3) evidence-based management; (4) the Bologna process; (5) educational programmes; and (6) stakeholder pressure. Several of these categories correspond to what Halász (2013) defined as governance and policy instruments which diffuse EU policies within the European education space and, thus, are also relevant when examining the development of teacher education policy in Europe. The following sections will describe how the specific mechanisms, processes and key agents influence European teacher education.
Policy coordination
Policy coordination in areas of 'soft' law, such as education and higher education, refers to governance mechanisms employed by EU institutions to align policies of the community in accordance to commonly agreed policy goals. Such mechanisms can include policy texts, the Open Method of Coordination (OMC), and presidencies.
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In teacher and teacher education policy, proposals can only be formulated as Communications of the European Commission, which may be approved by the Council of Ministers and consequently turn into Council Conclusions. Since the mid-2000s, several Communications and Council Conclusions on teacher education and the professional development of teachers have been published. Specifically, the Rethinking Education Communication in 2012 is a milestone document, summarising ideas from several background documents, one of which is related to Supporting the Teaching Professions for Better Learning Outcomes (European Commission, 2012). Although regulations or directives cannot be issued in education, Directive 2013/55/EU regulates the recognition of teacher qualifications for free movement in the single market, indicating that the soft competence of the EU in education can be extended if it overlaps with other sectors, such as employment.
Since the Lisbon agenda in 2000, the launch of the OMC appears as the main policy mechanism that opened up the way for a degree of EU intervention in national education systems. The EU employs the OMC as a means of governing education developments by setting commonly agreed objectives, and through peer and informal pressures on the Member States to perform (Alexiadou, 2007). As part of the ET2010 and ET2020 work programmes, various working groups have been established to enhance cooperation between the Commission and the Member States. With regard to teacher education, the first working group on Improving the education of teachers and trainers was established in 2002 and with two subsequent reports proposed the development of teacher competence frameworks. The idea was realised with the Common European Principles for Teacher Competences and Qualifications (European Commission, 2005), a policy document which separated for the first time the area of teachers from the area of trainers, giving an impetus to policy cooperation in teacher education (Interview, EPE-3).
Following this, the Teachers and Trainers Cluster was formulated in 2005 and was later renamed as the Thematic Working Group on the Professional Development of Teachers in 2010, on School Policy in 2014, and on Schools in 2016. Comprised of Member State experts, the working groups aim at setting specific thematic goals for Peer Learning Activities (PLAs), a central tool of the OMC, and created a three-year time frame to increase the output orientation and efficiency of the work (Steger, 2014a). Their results are published as guidance for policymakers, literature reviews, PLA reports, or virtual toolkits (European Commission, 2018a). The focus of those groups has mainly been on the ITE and CPD of teachers (Interview, EPE-2), while the following policy guidelines have been identified by interviewees of this study as most influential for national policy-making: (a) Supporting Teacher Competence Development (2013); (b)
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Supporting Teacher Educators (2013); and (c) Developing coherent and system-wide induction programmes for beginning teachers (2010) (Interview, EPE-4).
Presidencies provide opportunities in which the Member States can coordinate policy in a bottom-up way. Presidency priorities can bring to the attention of EU decision-makers particular challenges and good policy examples, which may result in specific Council Conclusions being accepted during the presidency period (Interview, EPE-6). It is worth noting here the example of the Irish presidency in 2013, for which the Commission was waiting before launching the policy package on supporting teacher educators (Interview, EPE-13), a priority topic for Ireland's education and training agenda ('Ireland's Presidency' 2013). Overall, most presidencies in the decade between 2005-2014 targeted the improvement in the quality of teacher education (Steger, 2014a).
Cross-sectoral instruments
Policy instruments of sectors other than education play an increasingly significant role and influence developments in teacher education. Transferring policies from one sector to another is a common practice in the EU, which often launches initiatives in sectors for which the Member States are more receptive (Ha-lasz, 2013). In this respect, education is often linked to employment priorities, and thus, instruments applying to employment may well be influencing teacher education. Three cross-sectoral instruments can be identified as relevant: the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), financial resources, and the European semester.
EQF supports the Member States in comparing national qualifications systems by defining eight common European reference levels, described in learning outcomes: knowledge, skills, and responsibility and autonomy (European Commission, 2018b). Member States are, therefore, invited by the Recommendation of 23 April 2008 to reference their national qualifications frameworks to the EQF levels, facilitating this way occupational mobility and lifelong learning across Europe (European Parliament and Council of the EU, 2008). Naturally this development influences the field of teacher education which, depending on the level of education, can be referenced between EQF level 4 and EQF level 8, equivalent to postsecondary education diploma and doctoral degree studies. For example, early childhood education in Austria takes place at the postsecondary level and awards university entrance qualification (EQF 4), while university faculties of teacher education can award relevant doctorates (e.g. University of Innsbruck) (EQF 8).
Moreover, as a result of the EQF, the learning outcomes approach has had a significant impact on the different phases of teacher education by changing the way of writing curricula and qualification standards, and eventually the way of thinking about learning in both higher education and school education systems.
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Cedefop (2016, pp. 133-164) analysed the influence of learning outcomes in teacher education, arguing about the impact on the development of ITE curricula, on the collaboration between the different faculties and on the implementation of quality assurance at university and faculty levels. Learning outcomes aim at shifting the perspective from merely content knowledge towards skills and competences which would prepare individuals for the labour market (Interview, EPE-10).
To support the development of learning outcome approaches, some Member States have utilised European social funds (Cedefop, 2016), the second cross-sectoral instrument examined here. Notably, the European Social Fund (ESF) has been extensively used by Member States to support the development of the ITE, CPD, and the competences of teachers and teacher educators (Stéger, 2014a). As an instrument of the Commission's Directorate General (DG) for Employment, ESF aims at supporting job growth and is distributed to Member States and regions to finance operational programmes which are commonly agreed between each Member State and the European Commission for the seven-year programme period (European Commission, 2016a). In an open public consultation of the ESF 2007-2013, 55% of respondents agreed, and 9% disagreed that ESF support for individuals was successful in enhancing the skills of teachers (European Commission, 2016b). In addition to social and structural funds, innovation in the field of teacher education can be funded via Horizon 2020, the biggest EU research and innovation programme with a budget of approximately €80 billion for the period of 2014-2020 (European Commission, n.d.-a).
Another mechanism to bring education-related priorities under the umbrella of employment is the European semester, a coordination tool for economic and employment policies, which reports and monitors the contribution of education to growth and jobs. Each year, the Commission publishes Country Specific Recommendations (CSRs) for each Member State for budgetary, economic, and social policies, which the Council adopts at the end of June/early July, followed by policy advice that the Member States receive before they finalise their draft budgets for the upcoming year. Examining the 2016 CSRs, we can see that they are also aiming at improving quality in education and training. Among various recommendations emphasising the economic and employment relevance of education, with broader influence on teachers, there are concrete recommendations for the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Latvia to improve the attractiveness of the teaching profession and the quality of teaching (European Commission, 2016c).
Evidence-based management
To achieve its policy goals in education, the Commission often employs the tool of knowledge and information spreading (Halász, 2013). Evidence-based
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policy making in education has been a flagship of the Commission since the launch of the OMC in the year 2000, manifested in the establishment of the thematic working groups, in defining benchmarks for monitoring effective practices between Member States, and in publishing statistical analyses for the challenges and progress in education and training systems (European Commission/EA-CEA/Eurydice, 2017, p. 5). In addition to the knowledge produced by the working groups, there are several European agents that contribute significantly to the evidence base for European and national policy development in teacher education. Specifically, EU networks and agencies, such as Eurydice and Cedefop, as well as Europe-wide associations, including the Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE) and the European Educational Research Association (EERA), produce evidence and spread it in the European education space by means of publications, online resources, and public conferences.
Since 2002, Eurydice has published various reports focusing on teachers and teacher education, including the series The Teaching Profession in Europe (2002-2004), the Key Data on Teachers and School Leaders in Europe (20132015) and the Teachers' and School Heads' Salaries and Allowances in Europe (2012-2015). Further, the report Teaching Careers in Europe was published in 2018 (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2018), followed by the publication of a study on Boosting Teacher Quality - Pathways to Effective Policies that gathers evidence on policy measures to enhance teacher quality (European Commission, 2018c). Most of these reports analyse teacher education by comparing ITE programmes, induction and CPD, the supply and demand of teachers, recruitment and selection, the development of teacher competence frameworks, teacher mobility, as well as incentives and working conditions.
As a network of Member States with direct access to national ministries, Eurydice is in the optimal position to contextualise data, considering legislation and national specificities (Interview, EPE-7). However, due to its internal administrative structure, Eurydice cannot produce large-scale assessments and, thus, often relies on other international organisations, such as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in terms of data collection. For example, the report The Teaching Profession in Europe (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2015) is based on secondary analysis of data from the 2013 OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). To this end, the Commission may also finance the participation of Member States in the TALIS survey (Interview, EPE-6).
Cedefop is another unit of the Commission that creates relevant knowledge for teachers and develops cross-sectoral tools influencing teacher education. Although focusing on European vocational and training policies, Cedefop
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is responsible for projects dealing with the implementation of the EQF and NQF, the learning-outcomes approach, the validation of non-formal and informal learning, as well as teachers and trainers' professional development (Cede-fop, 2018). Particularly the European handbook on Defining, Writing and Applying Learning Outcomes (Cedefop, 2017) and the study Application of Learning Outcomes in Europe (Cedefop, 2016) provide concrete policy advice for shaping teacher education curricula. Since 2015, Cedefop has been transferred to the DG for Employment, another sign of the Commission's effort to have a more direct influence on education by connecting it to employment.
External to EU functioning, ATEE has operated as a non-profit European organisation since 1976 and addresses practitioners, including teachers and teacher educators. Aiming to bridge the gap between research and practice in teacher education, ATEE organises widely attended conferences, issues the European Journal of Teacher Education and sets up research and development communities around different themes (ATEE, 2015), including teacher education policy, and the professional development of teachers and of teacher educators. ATEE has contributed significantly to the European thinking of teacher education with studies examining the profile and competences of teacher educators (see Swennen & Klink, 2009). Similarly, EERA with its Network 10 on teacher education research and the annual European Conference on Educational Research provides relevant knowledge platforms for teaching and learning.
The Bologna Process
A significant development with high impact on the structure of higher education, including teacher education, across Europe came with the Sorbonne Declaration in 1998, which led to the launch of the Bologna process one year later. The process proposed the creation of the EHEA through a common restructuring of higher education systems, based on a two-cycle structure of bachelors and masters degrees, in order to make them comparable and compatible. In 2003, a third cycle consisting of the doctorate was added. Although this process was intergovernmental in nature and was initiated outside the EU context, it cannot be understood independently of the EU higher education policy (Pépin, 2007). However, the fact that Bologna was developed outside the EU framework is judged as a reason for the considerable support it received, meaning that it was inclusive for non-EU countries and less bureaucratic (Corbett, 2011). Eventually, the process became more dependent on the Commission, both regarding financial support and policy advice (ibid.).
In the field of teacher education, many countries implemented Bologna reforms because of the need for professional renewal, for making teaching
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a more attractive career choice, and for improving the preparation of student teachers in subject methodology (Steger, 2014b, p. 22). According to Iucu (2010, pp. 63-64), the main consequences of the Bologna process in teacher education relate to the structure of the teacher education systems, the introduction of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), the quality assurance process, and the application of the EQF, which was discussed previously. In addition to the EQF, it should also be mentioned here that the Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area (Bologna Working Group, 2005) has further contributed to the international recognition of qualifications in teacher education (Interview, EPE-13).
With regard to the structure of teacher education, the minimum total duration of ITE has been increased and adapted to the two-cycle model (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2015). Most countries in Europe require a bachelor degree for pre-primary and primary school teachers, while lower- and, mainly, upper-secondary school teachers are often expected to have a master degree (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2013). However, an analysis of ITE systems across Europe revealed that the increasing duration of ITE resulted in allocating more credits to subject matter, often at the expense of practice and the professional preparation of teachers (Steger, 2014b).
The system of ECTS aims at improving mobility, recognition, and transferability both at ITE and CPD of teachers, supporting continuity between initial and continuous education and facilitating recognition of training periods conducted within community programmes (Iucu, 2010). Adopted as the national credit system in most EHEA countries, the ECTS is described as 'a paradigm shift from teacher-centred to student-centred higher education' (European Union, 2015, p. 14), along with the application of the learning outcomes approach.
The quality assurance process introduces the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in European Higher Education Area (ESG) which 'contribute to a common understanding of quality assurance for learning and teaching across borders and among all stakeholders' (ESG, 2015, p. 6). The ESG implies the need to introduce accountability mechanisms into ITE and CPD institutions, in terms of both an internal quality assurance by means of institutional policies and procedures, such as establishing fair and transparent processes for the recruitment and development of the teaching staff, as well as external quality assurance carried out by external experts and specialised agencies (ibid.).
At this point, mention should also be made of the TUNING project, launched in the year 2000 as a Socrates-Erasmus project with the aim 'to offer a concrete approach to implement the Bologna process at the level of higher education institutions and subject areas' (Tuning, 2008, p. 9). Tuning provides a
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methodology to design, implement and evaluate curricula for a variety of academic disciplines, including teacher education, in each of the Bologna cycles. Specifically, the publication Reference Points for the Design and Delivery of Degree Programmes in Education (Tuning, 2009) defines education as a subject that is divided into the scientific field 'education sciences' and the professional field 'teacher education' (ibid., p. 16). Thus, the publication provides cross-national evidence and guidelines for developing a common framework for teacher education in Europe.
Bologna proves to have had a considerable impact on the structure of teacher education systems (Steger, 2014b), but a more profound influence in terms of changing institutional cultures towards learner-centred approaches is an ambiguous issue and requires more time. According to an interviewee, 'in many European countries, the Bologna reform was made in a very superficial way, [...] as a copy-paste of ready-made solutions from the centre into the local environments' (Interview, EPE-8). Without proper contextualisation, Bologna was seen in some institutions as 'cutting degrees in two pieces and modernising with up-to-date literature' (Interview, EPE-8) and not always as an opportunity leading to the 'masterisation of the teaching profession' (Interview, EPE-3). Further, Bologna has often been employed by national or institutional policy actors as a way to promote their own political or institutional agendas (Interview, EPE-8).
Educational Programmes
Educational programmes are widely recognised as the mechanism with the highest impact on the professional development of teachers in Europe (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2015; Halasz, 2013; Zgaga, 2013), although the resources spent here are lower than the ones invested in development interventions through the funding programmes described above. Educational programmes constitute a direct linkage between the education priorities of the EU and local institutions within Member States. Participation is voluntary, and individuals or organisations can apply directly for EU funding and support, resulting in a bottom-up Europeanisation that evades nationallevel policy processes and translations. Since the first generation of education programmes in 1986, the aim regarding teacher education was to promote the European dimension in initial and in-service training through professional mobility and institutional cooperation (European Council, 1988). To date, we can disaggregate physical and virtual mobility opportunities for teachers, supported by the Commission's Erasmus+ programme.
Advertised as one of the EU's 'most successful and iconic programmes' (European Commission, 2017a, p. 5), the Erasmus programme turned thirty in 2017 and celebrated a 40% financial increase compared to its predecessors,
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accounting for €14.7 billion budget between 2014-2020 (European Commission, 2017b). In terms of mobility exchanges, the programme envisages providing opportunities for 800,000 teachers and other staff to gain professional development abroad (ibid.). Within the programmes Key Action 1 - Learning mobility of individuals, teacher education has a very strong dimension (Interview, EPE-6).
However, the internationalisation of teacher education proves challenging compared to other areas of higher education (Zgaga, 2013), since evidence reveals the low number of teachers involved in mobility abroad. Only 27.4% of EU teachers have been abroad at least once for professional purposes, while the proportion of mobile teachers is even lower in several European education systems (European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice, 2015, p. 86). The specific results triggered the First European Conference on Internationalization of Teacher Education in 2017 which described as main reasons behind the low rate of teacher mobility the fact that several countries or institutions do not fully recognise credits and grades acquired abroad or they often require time-intensive compensatory measures (Worek & Elsner, 2017).
In addition to physical mobility opportunities, the Commission has also developed information and technology support platforms, under the Er-asmus+ Key Action 2 - Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices. Specifically, the platforms eTwinning, School Education Gateway and Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe provide virtual opportunities for teachers and teacher educators to exchange ideas and practices across Europe (European Commission, 2017a). The high take-up of such virtual and cost-efficient opportunities is evidenced in initiatives of some Member States to recognise them officially as professional development for teachers. For example, Greece and Italy introduced measures to recognise eTwinning as a relevant activity in support of teachers' career advancement (Interview, EPE-5).
Stakeholder Pressure
Among the various stakeholders influencing European teacher education policies and practices, global and European pressure groups play a highly significant role in providing consultation, in legitimising policies, and in mediating between the EU and national policymaking. Specifically, European social partners, international organisations, as well as networks contribute to educational cooperation in the area of teacher professional development.
European social partners are representatives of employers' organisations and trade unions, which are engaged in the European social dialogue, as stipulated by Article 154 and 155 of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union (Eurofound, 2014). In the field of education, the Committee on European Social
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Dialogue is formed by the European Federation of Education Employers (EFEE) and the ETUCE, the regional organisation of Education International in Europe. However, as previously discussed, when education priorities fall under employment or social policies, then representatives from the industry can also play an influential role in setting the policy agenda (Interview, EPE-9). Further, the sectoral social dialogue in education is supported by the Commission's DG Employment.
Naturally, the social dialogue in education covers issues related to teachers and teacher education. Some of the key areas on which the Committee is currently focusing include: (a) how social partners can help improve teachers' skills and working conditions; (b) supporting teachers, with a focus on continuous professional learning and development; and (c) how the teaching profession can be made more attractive (European Commission, n.d.-b). According to an interviewee 'all policies related to teacher education are informally validated by the unions before publicly launched' (Interview, EPE-3), while another one refers to employers as 'having a subtle influence in a soft, sometimes hidden way, by conversations or organising conferences, promoting the linkage to the needs of the labour market' (Interview, EPE-4). In addition to consultation and lobbying, the social partners produce policy papers and research studies, such as the Teacher Education in Europe, an ETUCE policy paper published in 2008 and often cited in EU documents since then (see European Commission, 2012, 2013). Another technical report that shows the joint action between ETUCE and EFEE presents the results of a common survey on the recruitment and retention of teachers (ETUCE/EFEE, 2012).
The role of international organisations is also widely recognised as crucial in developing policy problems and setting new education policy agendas in Europe (Grek, 2010; Grek & Lawn, 2009). The OECD is identified 'as a strong agent of Europeanisation' (Grek, 2010, p. 401) and an organisation with 'enormous influence on policy making' (Interview, EPE-7). As previously discussed, the European Commission works closely with the OECD, and their teacher policy agendas are overlapping. It is no coincidence that the EU's teacher policy emerged dynamically immediately following the OECD's study Teachers Matter in 2005 (Interview, EPE-13). However, the indirect influence of the OECD is judged as often having a greater impact (Interview, EPE-4).
Another influential organisation with a more global outreach is the World Bank which developed the 'Systems Approach for Better Education Results' (SABER) framework, a policy instrument targeting teachers and teacher education and applied in several countries, including some European ones. Among 10 areas suggested in SABER for teacher policy interventions, two are related to ITE and CPD, while eight policy goals, including the goal of 'preparing teachers
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with useful training and experience, are promoted as effective for improving the quality of the teacher labour force (World Bank, 2013, p. 24). A similar framework was produced by the UNESCO Teachers Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030 to support countries in developing evidence-based national teacher policy (UNESCO, 2015). Since 2018, the Teachers Task Force and the World Bank have been collaborating using SABER to 'see how data can benefit the development of teacher policies' (Teachers Task Force, 2018).
At this point, we should also include the work of the Council of Europe, which initiated the Pestalozzi Programme, an action supporting the professional development of teachers with a variety of teaching and training resources and the organisation of training events (Council of Europe, 2018a). Although the specific programme ceased operating in January 2018, a new capacity building programme is envisaged targeting Ministries of Education and teacher training institutions instead of practitioners (Council of Europe, 2018b).
Last but not least, European networks related to teacher education have shaped European policy and research discourses. One of the first initiatives funded by the European Commission was the SIGMA-European Universities' Network, commissioned to produce a report on European teacher training systems (Sander, Buchberger, Greaves, & Kallos, 1996). The major policy impact of the SIGMA project can be seen in the establishment of the Thematic Network on Teacher Education in Europe (TNTEE) in 1996, which published the Green Paper on Teacher Education in Europe (Buchberger et al., 2000), the first policy paper on teacher
education in Europe produced together with experts from European teacher education institutions (Hudson & Zgaga, 2017). Building on the work of the TNTEE, TEPE emerged in 2006 as an academic network which organises annual conferences and publishes policy-related research in teacher education (ibid.).
Another relevant network that includes policy-makers and has a more direct link to the European Commission is ENTEP. Established in 2000, during the Portuguese presidency of the EU, ENTEP contributes with policy work to the development of the ETEA within the broader EHEA and promotes cooperation between Member States regarding teacher education policies (Gassner et al., 2010). Since the mid-2000s, the issue of what constitutes Europeanness in teachers' work has been raised within ENTEP, following the discussion paper What is a 'European teacher'? (Schratz, 2005). To promote the European dimension in teacher professionalism and address mobility problems and obstacles to entering PhD programmes, a consortium of five European universities and ENTEP, in the role of an advisory board, initiated the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE) (Schratz, 2014). EDiTE received financial support from the European Commission, first as a project within the Lifelong Learning
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Programme (2012-2014), and then as a Horizon 2020 innovative training network (2015-2019), with the aim of developing into 'a leading European network for innovation in teacher education, accessible to academics, practitioners and policy makers' (EDiTE Website, 2015).
Towards a European Teacher Education Area?
The complex policy ecosystem of European teacher education consists of a multitude of key agents and mechanisms of interaction which complement or compete with each other in shaping the policies and practices of the specific field. Within this ecosystem, the EU has claimed a strategic role, acting either as the direct initiator or the subtle facilitator in several of the above-described initiatives. Figure 1 below illustrates the mechanisms, processes and key agents of Europeanisation that contribute to the emergence of the ETEA as a new governance space for teacher education in Europe. Using reciprocal interaction, the specific mechanisms, processes and key agents communicate and produce significant effects on policy formation and implementation, transforming the strictly nationally-bound conception of teacher education and resulting in a number of common trends across Europe.
Figure 1. Mechanisms, processes and key agents of Europeanisation in the European Teacher Education Area (ETEA).
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From the perspective of Europeanisation, the emergence of the ETEA is the outcome of a 'circular approach' (Wach, 2017), which combines vertical and horizontal procedures of policy transfer. On the one hand, vertical procedures of downloading (from the European Community to Member States) and uploading (from Member States to the European Community) suggest a system of mutual adaptation between the European and domestic levels. Examples of downloading include the EU policy texts, cross-sectoral instruments, and evidence-based management, while uploading can occur through presidencies, transnational initiatives, such as the Bologna process, and stakeholder pressure. The OMC can be seen as a site of contestation between downloading and uploading policies, while educational programmes function as a direct linkage between the European and local institutions, often evading national level translations.
On the other hand, horizontal procedures imply a system of interaction at the domestic level, in which Europe might provide an impulse for policy change. External horizontal procedures involve policy learning among the Member States, while internal horizontal procedures involve policy learning among domestic actors. It is often at the domestic level that 'creative usages' of Europe take place, modifying actors' preferences and ways of doing things (Radaelli, 2004, p. 5). Horizontal procedures are facilitated by the OMC, benchmarking and the best practice examples, as well as by the exchange of experts in the form of working groups, policy or research networks and associations.
The emergence of the ETEA also confirms what Halász (2013) identified as future trends of the EU's education reform policies. One trend is the growing role of the EU in education policy, including teacher and teacher education policy, and its increasing capacity to influence Member States' educational developments. This occurs, for example, with a plethora of policy recommendations on improving the quality of teacher education, the influence of Bologna on the structure and content of teacher education programmes and the direct impact of mobility opportunities on teachers' professional development.
The second trend is the continuous possibility of other sectors to influence education developments. This becomes evident when teacher-related policies and initiatives fall under the priorities of the employment and social affairs sector, in which the EU has competences to provide arrangements within which Member States must coordinate policy. Often intentionally, instruments or agencies operating within the employment sector have an impact on teacher education (e.g., EQF and Cedefop's work) and may even monitor policy developments (e.g., European semester).
Although signs of convergence on what constitutes European teacher education are evident, teacher education still struggles to find its own way
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within the EHEA. The Europeanisation of the field has the potential to either exacerbate existing tensions or function as a remedy for historically rooted contradictions. In order to allow for new innovative solutions to emerge, the process of Europeanisation should enable teacher education systems to identify their own organisational patterns, considering that different countries may be in different stages of formulating and implementing teacher education policies.
Acknowledgements
The paper is part of the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE) project that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement number 676452.
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Biographical note
Vasileios Symeonidis is a researcher with the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE) in the Department of Teacher Education and School Research at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. He holds a master's degree in international and comparative education from Stockholm University and a degree in primary school education from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His research interests include comparative education, European and global trends in teacher education, education governance and reforms, critical pedagogy, and global citizenship education.
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doi: 10.26529/cepsj.518
Student Teachers as Future Researchers: How do Hungarian and Austrian Initial Teacher Education Systems Address the issue of Teachers as Researchers?
CSILLA PESTI*1, JÁNOS GORDON GYÔRI2 AND ERIKA KOPP3
^^ Even though initial teacher education is a rather short period in comparison to the other phases of a teacher's career, it has a crucial role in shaping student teachers' career-long activities. Many argue that everyday teaching in a classroom setting is comparable to conducting research, as teachers pursue experimenting with different strategies to teaching and learning, as they reflect on their own as well as their colleagues' work, and as they make decisions about their future steps based on these experiences. This paper aims to reveal how the concept of teachers as researchers is addressed in initial teacher education programmes by answering two questions: How is the concept of teachers as researchers represented in these programmes? What kind of experiences do student teachers have regarding practice-oriented research? The research has a case study design with a comparative aspect, in which one Hungarian and one Austrian institution offering initial teacher education serve as the two cases. Results show that both universities have integrated research into their initial teacher education programmes, but in different ways and to different extents. An important notion is that although various courses that deal with research and/or research methodology and could contribute to the development of student teachers' research competences could be identified, the activities of these courses are somewhat restricted to taking place within the university walls (e.g., discussion of research results), detached from practice. The study is expected to contribute to the understanding of structural similarities and differences in initial teacher education systems in the two countries that may foster or hinder the development of student teachers' development during their school-based teaching practice, with a particular focus on those that are required to conduct practice-oriented research.
Keywords: initial teacher education, student teachers, teacher education programmes, teachers as researchers
1	* Corresponding Author. Doctoral School of Educational Sciences, Eotvos Loránd University, Hungary; csilla.pesti@gmail.com.
2	Faculty of Education and Psychology, Institution of Intercultural Psychology and Education, Eotvos Loránd University, Hungary.
3	Faculty of Education and Psychology, Institute of Education, Eotvos Loránd University, Hungary.
36 student teachers as future researchers
Študentje pedagoških programov kot prihodnji raziskovalci: kako madžarski in avstrijski sistem začetnega izobraževanja učiteljev naslavljata vprašanje učiteljev kot raziskovalcev
Csilla Pesti, Janos Gordon Gyori in Erika Kopp
^^ Čeprav je začetno izobraževanje za učiteljski poklic razmeroma kratko obdobje v primerjavi z drugimi fazami učiteljeve kariere, ima osrednjo vlogo v oblikovanju dejavnosti študentov pedagoških programov, ki se bodo odvijale skozi njihovo celotno kariero. Veliko jih trdi, da je v tem, ko učitelji eksperimentirajo z različnimi strategijami poučevanja in učenja, ko reflektirajo o lastnem delu in delu svojih kolegov, ko se na podlagi teh izkušenj odločajo o prihodnjih korakih, vsakdanje poučevanje v razredu primerljivo z izvajanjem raziskave. Ta prispevek skuša z odgovarjanjem na naslednji vprašanji razkriti, kako je koncept učiteljev kot raziskovalcev naslovljen v programih začetnega izobraževanja učiteljev: Kako je koncept učiteljev kot raziskovalcev zastopan v teh programih? Kakšne izkušnje imajo študentje pedagoških smeri z na prakso usmerjenim raziskovanjem? Raziskava ima obliko študije primera s primerjalnim vidikom, pri čemer kot dva primera služita ena madžarska in ena avstrijska ustanova, ki ponujata začetno izobraževanje učiteljev. Izsledki kažejo, da sta obe univerzi vključili raziskovanje v svoje programe začetnega izobraževanja učiteljev, vendar pa sta to storili na različne načine in v različnem obsegu. Pomembno je poudariti, da so, čeprav obstajajo nekateri predmeti, ki obravnavajo raziskovanje in/ali raziskovalno metodologijo in ki bi tako lahko vplivali na razvoj raziskovalnih kompetenc študentov pedagoških programov, dejavnosti teh predmetov precej omejene na izvajanje znotraj univerz (na primer diskusije o izsledkih raziskav) in so torej ločene od prakse. Študija naj bi prispevala k razumevanju strukturnih podobnosti in razlik v sistemih začetnega izobraževanja učiteljev v dveh državah, ki lahko spodbujajo ali zavirajo razvoj študentov pedagoških programov med njihovo pedagoško prakso na šolah, in sicer s posebnim poudarkom na tistih, ki zahtevajo izvajanje raziskovalne prakse.
Ključne besede: začetno izobraževanje učiteljev, študentje pedagoških smeri, programi izobraževanja učiteljev, učitelji kot raziskovalci
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Introduction
An enormous amount of studies argues that the quality and effectiveness of an education system cannot exceed the quality of the teacher labour force; therefore, the relevant educational stakeholders, including practitioners or in-service teachers, researchers, and policymakers should focus on improving the quality of the profession (Eotvos Lorand University EDiTE Team, 2014). Although such an improvement is desirably implemented in collaboration and mutual recognition of actors, in reality, there is a gap between educational research, educational practice, and educational policy making (Commission of the European Communities, 2007; Snoek, 2011). The traditional model of educational research, which is expert-led, peer-reviewed, and in which dissemination is a top-down process, does not decrease the gap between the actors. A new model, where practitioners are at the heart of knowledge creation processes is highly needed and, in such a model, other relevant stakeholders should find a way to approach practitioners (Hargreaves, 1999). Policies in the European Union have turned towards encouraging the cooperation between academics and practitioners in the form of building bridges between the worlds of academia and practice (Eotvos Lorand University EDiTE Team, 2014; OECD, 2003).
Numerous studies deal with the importance of teacher educators' engagement in research (e.g., Cochran-Smith, 2005), and although there are also endeavours to engage student teachers (Smith & Sela, 2005; Ulvik, 2014), it is a less researched issue (Smith, 2015). One long-term solution (or at least mitigation) might be to bring educational research closer to student teachers by preparing them to incorporate the results of educational research in their everyday practice and through shaping their attitude for being active agents of change by participating in research initiatives, and by enabling them to conduct practice-oriented research themselves.
International discourse on the concept of teachers as researchers
The strengthening of educational research is a relevant topic, and numerous publications and research programmes have been initiated to facilitate this process (Snoek, 2011). Although there is no general solution to the problem, basic sciences and educational researchers failing to generate relevant knowledge for practitioners might be considered as the root of the problem (Hargreaves, 2000); therefore, the demand for cooperation (Kalman & Rapos, 2007) in producing knowledge is higher than ever.
38 student teachers as future researchers
A significant number of studies emphasise that teachers admit to conducting no research at all, since they believe that lesson observations, keeping journals, and similar activities cannot be considered to be 'real' research (Keyes, 1999). The general view of teachers not thinking of classroom inquiry as research can be rooted in the notions of research with which they became familiar during their initial teacher education (ITE). Arguably, it is difficult for teachers to accept classroom and school-based research (producing usable knowledge for their everyday practice) as scientific research if, during their ITE, large-scale, nation-wide research projects and programmes were presented to them. However, the education community has recognised the powerful role of teachers as researchers, since the possibility of understanding the complexity of a school community is decidedly increased if practitioners have the skills and opportunities to initiate research activities within their environment (Gray & Campbell-Evans, 2002). Loughran (2002) described teacher-researchers as 'those practitioners who attempt to better understand their practice, and its impact on their students, by researching the relationship between teaching and learning in their world of work' (p. 1).
The power of contexts limits the generalizability of educational research findings, since such contexts in educational research cannot be controlled. Each context is different, and in educational research these differences lead to problems in replication, because all the characteristics of the context must be considered when interpreting the findings or implementing innovations, reforms based on scientific results. (Berliner, 2002). There is a need for strengthening the capacity of policymakers and practitioners to use educational research and evidence. Since educational evidence is deeply embedded in its context, there is no straightforward solution, but the development of a culture of reflection and evaluation might contribute to the improvement of education and training systems (Commission of the European Communities, 2007). Moreover, educational science can be considered the 'hardest-to-do science' (Berliner, 2002); therefore, student teachers should be aware of its characteristics, both as consumers and producers of new knowledge created by educational research. For example, the power of context is a characteristic that suggests the knowledge needed for interpreting a phenomenon is often held by (local) practitioners.
However, significant knowledge and culture changes are desired in the practice of researchers (by accepting that small-scale, self-defined research projects are not likely to influence practice and policy) and teachers (by reaching out for evidence outside their schools) (OECD, 2003). When examining research results and trying to use them in everyday practice, student teachers should be aware of the power of contexts; therefore, they need to learn how to
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adapt research results to specific problems, to specific contexts (e.g., Cain (2015) provided evidence that teachers transformed their propositional knowledge (they were given research findings) into practical knowledge).
The relationship of research and teaching in the higher education context is a fiercely debated issue. While some claim university research is conducted at the expense of teaching quality, others argue the opposite, saying that research enriches the quality of teaching (Healey, 2005). Existing evidence is contradictory: for example, while Hattie and Marsh (1996) found no significant relationship between teaching effectiveness and research productivity, Jenkins (2004) argues that there is evidence showing that students prefer learning in a research-based environment (and, consequently, research-based teacher education programmes are desired).
Teacher education in Hungary and Austria in light of the bologna process
The Bologna process has significantly reshaped the whole higher education scenario, but its influence on teacher education has resulted in interesting and in some cases opposing patterns in its national translations. Looking at the past few years of teacher education in the Hungarian and Austrian contexts, we can see that, despite identifying some similar issues in the national discourse, the implemented reforms regarding the structure of ITE, in a very simplified manner, are conflicting. While it is clearly evident that education, and therefore teacher education, is deeply embedded in the national, cultural contexts, these two cases should be examined comparatively, especially taking into consideration the strong historical relationship between Hungary and Austria that has had an influence on the two countries' development even after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in 1918. Moreover, to discuss the concept of teachers as researchers, the national ITE systems with a special focus on secondary school teachers' preparation shall be briefly presented here.
Hungarian initial teacher education in light of the Bologna
process
As a result of introducing the Bologna system to the Hungarian higher education context, ITE was raised to the master level. Some of the most significant characteristics of ITE this time were the following: student teachers had to choose one major and one minor discipline, pedagogical-psychological contents were emphasised during the master studies, the one semester long teaching practice
40 student teachers as future researchers
took place at the end of the programme (Pesti, Rapos, Nagy, & Bohan, 2017). The actors, including in-service teachers and teacher educators, fiercely criticised this system due to numerous issues; for example, only a few students became teachers after graduation, and there was an increased credit burden for the pedagogical-psychological preparation (Hunyadi, 2010; Pukanszky, 2013).
Five years later, in 2013 teacher education faced another structural reform (Ministry of Human Capacities of Hungary, 2011): it was restored to the so-called undivided system in which the studies are not divided into bachelor and master studies. In this undivided system (currently active), ITE lasts for 5+1 years (the last year is school-based practice). There were some new characteristics introduced with this structural change that reflect European trends of teacher education, such as an increase in practice time (to two semesters). The introduction of the divided system and then the restoration of the undivided system without the impact analysis of the previous one makes Hungary an intriguing case (Pukanszky, n.d.). One of the most debated issue regarding the undivided system is the 'deposition' of practice (at the end of ITE) and (pedagogical) theory (at the beginning of ITE), which reverses the endeavour to decrease the gap between theory and practice.
Austrian initial teacher education in light of the Bologna process
Recent years have also brought significant changes to the system of ITE in the Austrian context. Since 2013, ITE programmes have been offered in close collaboration with universities and teacher training colleges (Simic, Bachmann, & Stancic, 2013). One of the most debated issues of the Austrian public education system is the choice between academic and vocational-technical tracks at an early age; this feature also used to be reflected in the structure of ITE (teachers for the academic track were prepared for the profession at universities, while teachers for the vocational-technical track at teacher training colleges), but there was an attempt with the reform to mitigate the differences during teacher preparation (universities and teacher training colleges offering joint ITE programmes).
Although there were some new characteristics and components introduced (similarly to Hungary) with the reform, some of the traditional characteristics of teacher education remain present (Schratz & Kraler, 2011); therefore, ITE can be considered:
•	discipline-driven (e.g., studying scientific subjects satisfies the concept of a good teacher),
•	theory-driven (e.g., the separation of theory and practice for the benefit of theory),
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•	selection-driven (e.g., only the best teachers and pupils can enter academic secondary schools),
•	state-driven (e.g., the teaching profession is considered a priority profession by the state),
•	bureaucratic (e.g., problem solutions, changes, developments must fit the administrative structure).
In this new system, since 2015, ITE has been divided into bachelor and master studies. One unique feature is that the bachelor studies last for four years (not for three as for most bachelor programmes in most countries), which is followed by the master studies with a length of one to four years, depending on the level of preparation.
Method
As has been presented in the previous chapters, in the international discourse, the concepts of teachers as researchers are significant and highly debated, but there is little research on it in the Hungarian and the Austrian contexts; moreover, most of the international studies focus on the university staff, and not the student teachers' perspective (Munthe & Rogne, 2015). In addition to this, looking at the cases of two institutions from Hungary and Austria in a comparative manner is highly interesting, since there are controversial processes/ reforms in process in the two countries' ITE systems: while Hungary, restored the so-called undivided system after implementing the Bologna system in its teacher education, Austria has just recently introduced a structural change that makes its ITE system conform to the Bologna process. The two countries have a common historical-cultural background (Austro-Hungarian Empire) and, regarding their education and teacher education systems, they follow different traditions; however, as Member States of the European Union, they take part in international discourse and follow international trends to different extents.
Therefore, the present paper aims to reveal how the concept of teachers as researchers is addressed in ITE programmes. The study is guided by the following research questions:
1.	How is the concept of teachers as researchers represented in ITE programmes in the participating two universities from Hungary and Austria?
2.	What kind of experiences do student teachers of ITE programmes have regarding practice-oriented research in the participating two universities from Hungary and Austria?
42 student teachers as future researchers
The research has a case study design with a comparative aspect, in which one Hungarian and one Austrian institution offering ITE serve as the two cases. Although the two universities are located in different types of settlements (one in a capital city, the other one in a statutory city, i.e. one that acts as a district administrative authority), both are universities with long traditions, and they currently play significant roles in teacher education in their regions. Moreover, both universities contribute to research on education and teacher education; therefore, from the perspective of our research topic, they can be considered to be good cases to study the concept of teachers as researchers.
A mixed method approach seemed to be the most suitable for answering the research questions, in which data were collected through document analysis (for answering the 1st question) and interviews (for answering the 2nd question).
Document analysis
In order to set the stage for exploring the nature of research integration into teaching, and to ensure a more detailed understanding of student teachers' points of view, an essential step is to see how (educational) research is represented in ITE programmes. One of the crucial methodological considerations regarding data collection with the method of document analysis concerned the data collection tool itself. In this inquiry, the data collection tool is a code system that was developed based on a literature review and a previous study on teacher education programmes (Pesti, Rapos, Nagy, & Bohan, 2017).
The sample consists of the pedagogical-psychological module's course descriptions included in the ITE programmes within two universities in Hungary and Austria. The institutions' ITE programmes prepare students for teaching general subjects on ISCED levels 2 and 3. The unit of analysis is the course description and, in total, 31 course descriptions (18 provided by the Hungarian university, and 13 by the Austrian) were coded in the spreadsheet. Despite the fact that the degree of elaboration of the course descriptions varied significantly (some provide only very basic information, while others are deeply detailed), we decided not to exclude any of them, because the absence of some aspects in the descriptions also have a message (e.g., the relevant aspect is not considered important enough by the programme developers to include it in the description). The data collected in such a manner is suitable for quantitative data analysis, for which IDM SPSS 21 was used.
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Interviews
To ensure a deeper understanding of the studied issue, giving voice to student teachers seemed to be essential. Since there is little empirical evidence about the specific focus of the research, we decided to start exploring the topic by conducting interviews with the participants; therefore, the purpose of the interviews is mostly of an exploratory nature.
Student teachers enrolled in the perspective universities' ITE programmes formed the sample. Without exception, they were adults voluntarily participating in the research, and each of the interviewees had already been on school-based teaching practice. In total, six interviews were conducted (three at each university).
A qualitative content analysis on the transcripts using MaxQDA 18 software was conducted. When the qualitative analysis is done, the raw data is arranged into conceptual categories, and themes or concepts are created. As Neu-man (2014) suggests, the research question guides the process of coding (which is an integral part of data analysis), but the researcher should keep an open mind and let new questions emerge. We followed Strauss' (1987) differentiation of three types of coding; therefore, we reviewed the data three times, each time with a different type of coding:
1.	Open coding: we located themes and came up with initial codes.
2.	Axial coding: we began axial coding with an organised set of initial codes, the aim was to organise them and identify the axis of key concepts, but we also kept an open eye for additional codes or new ideas that might emerge.
3.	Selective coding: this phase involved scanning all the data and previous codes in a selective manner (looking for cases to illustrate themes).
Having the interview transcriptions coded, we formed categories by grouping related codes; finally, we formulated sub-themes as an attempt to express underlying meanings in two or more categories (Erlingsson & Brysiewicz, 2017).
44 student teachers as future researchers
Results of the document analysis of initial teacher education programmes
The case of the Austrian university
In the Austrian university's programme, more specifically in the module for teacher preparation, there were 13 course descriptions, divided into five sub-modules. Within the context of the focus of this study, it is important to highlight one of the sub-module titles, since it has the word 'research' in it ('Learning, Teaching and Research'). This implies that research in relation to learning and teaching is considered to be a significant issue by the programme developers.
Most of the 13 courses are of a pedagogical nature, but there are two courses (15.4%) that explicitly deal with research methodology (these two courses are entirely based on research). Moreover, these courses also focus on student teachers' research activities and aim to provide support. However, looking at this result from the opposite perspective, this also means that there are two courses in which student teachers learn about research methodology, more specifically about qualitative and quantitative approaches, methods of quality control, scientific approaches, and ways of linking research with concepts, models, theories of learning and teaching.
Examining the type of the courses, we can see that the seminar type is the most common (46.2%), followed by lectures (30.8%), and practice (23.1%). Student teachers are treated as participants in 61.5% of the courses, and not as an audience. The analysis of the various student activities as explained in the course descriptions has revealed that most of the courses in which students are treated as participants incorporate activities that have some relevance to the development of research competence (Figure 1). However, the two most dominant activities (discussion and reflection) mostly take place within the walls of the university, and only the observation (16.7%) and the familiarisation with the school as a research field (8.3%) are directly connected to the practice school, to the pupils. There is no information indicated regarding whether student teachers conduct these activities (especially the latter two) individually, in pairs or in groups.
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Observation (in school)
Familiarise themselves with the school as a research field
Discussion of research
Reflection
Figure 1. Percentage of student activities in course descriptions (Austrian case).
Content-wise, although to a different extent, 30.8% of the courses identify research-related topics. Examining the nature of these topics showed that the research process and problems are emphasised over the research content.
The case of the Hungarian university
The ITE programme provided by the Hungarian university includes 18 courses in its educational module. In contrast to the Austrian case, the titles of the sub-modules have no reference to educational research. However, one of the sub-modules is titled 'Social relationships', implying that the teaching profession reaches beyond the school walls. The courses are pedagogical (38.9%), psychological (50.0%), pedagogical and psychological (5.6%), ICT-related (5.6%); none explicitly identifies the field of research methodology.
Similarly to the Austrian case, the seminar type is the most common (55.6%), followed by the lectures (33.3%), practice (5.6%), and portfolio (5.6%) courses. Student teachers are treated as the audience in 66.7% of the courses, and as participants in 33.3%. Further analysis of the student activities in the course descriptions has led to a rich list; however, the two most dominant activities (discussion on research and reflection) still occur within the walls of the university (Figure 2.). In 16.7% of these activities, it is explicitly indicated that the activity is directly connected to pupils and/or schools. Only one of the course descriptions refer to the possibility of conducting the student activities in pairs or groups.
46 student teachers as future researchers
Figure 2. Percentage of student activities in course descriptions (Hungarian case).
Content-wise, although to a different extent, 22.2% of the courses identify research-related topics. Examining the nature of these topics showed that the research content is emphasised over the research process and problems.
Results of the interviews with student teachers in Austria and Hungary
It is relevant to point out that the preliminary analysis of transcripts showed that the interviewed student teachers (students) in both cases had shared similar experiences and issues; therefore, the codes identified in all of the interviews (not regarding the country) were handled in one collection, and the categories and themes that emerged in this manner guide this chapter where some of the most relevant findings are presented. Three main themes have emerged:
•	studies,
•	school-based teaching practice,
•	and research experience during the school-based teaching practice.
Since the third theme proved to be the most relevant for the present paper, we focus on presenting its sub-themes. However, to truly understand student teachers' research experience during school-based teaching practice some of the most significant findings of the first and second themes are also presented briefly. Each section of this chapter follows the same presentation of results: firstly, we introduce the similarities, which is followed by the differences between the two cases.
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First theme: Studies - Personal opinion about teaching and motivation to become a teacher
Since the interviewees from both cases are close to finishing their studies, they already have a strong opinion whether they want to be teachers after graduation, or rather do something within their chosen disciplinary fields. This decision (pursuing the teaching profession or choosing a disciplinary profession) can affect the way students experience their practice, since those dedicated to a teaching career realise that the practice and the related tasks prepare them for the profession. Moreover, this decision also has some implications for the manner in which students conduct the various activities during their school-based teaching practice, including those that are research-related (in case a student plans to pursue the teaching profession, his/her research topic might be more relevant to his/her own practice; therefore it contributes to the student's development as a teacher). An interviewee from the Austrian case summarised it as follows:
[...] because I know that I want to teach, I want to be at school, I want to be a teacher, I want to become a teacher, I want to know more, to learn. And there are the student teachers who are not sure if they want to be at school, if they want to do something with their subjects. They are not that motivated during practice either; they don't do much at the school, they just want to meet the minimum requirements. (Interviewee 1)
Second theme: School-based teaching practice - Encounter with the world of work
The practice can be considered as the first encounter with the world of work - although students have spent much time in schools as pupils, in most of the cases the practice is the first time that they try out themselves as teachers in a school environment. Therefore, the outcome of this experience has an influencing effect at least at the beginning of their professional career as teachers.
An issue that the students face during their practice is the establishment of connections between theory (what has been learnt at the university) and practice (what is possible to realise in a school/classroom environment), and all the difficulties accompanying this endeavour. Some interviewees from both cases explained that many times they fail to uncover these connections on their own, and they did not get adequate support to do so. However, a student from the Hungarian case explained that s/he thought the activities conducted during the practice, including a research project, contributed to the development of his/her competences.
48 student teachers as future researchers
Third theme: Research experience during the school-based teaching practice
Preparation to conduct research
The interviewees from both cases enlisted some ways of the possibilities to learn about educational research in order to enable them to conduct their own individual research projects during the practice (e.g., attending research-related courses at the university and transferring research competence gained during other research experience) which are not necessarily focusing on education.
Students are expected to participate in various activities during their practice; for example, in the Austrian context students are also expected to conduct a small-scale research project. They are allowed to decide on the topic of the research and, in the framework of a university course, they receive support from a university professor throughout this period. However, this course is designed to support students in their whole practical experience; therefore the time available for discussing the research project is limited and usually insufficient. In particular, they did not have many research-related courses at the university in which they could have learnt about social science research, trends in educational research, methods, and other relevant topics.
Some of the interviewees from the Austrian case explained that they were involved as group members in various research projects conducted at their departments (which were natural science departments in both cases). They described this involvement as a valuable experience, because they could transfer some of the research competence gained during disciplinary research into their own educational research projects. However, it is important to emphasise that only a small number of students have the chance to join research groups at the university; therefore, this way of preparation for conducting educational, practice-oriented research is more accidental than systematic.
Interviewees from the Hungarian case did not refer to their involvement in research projects conducted at their disciplinary departments, and although the university offers some research methodology-related courses, the students do not feel these are adequate in preparing them for conducting research on their own:
And it is a big problem, because they expect you to do interviews, to describe how you work with data, and of course. I mean we learn how to write a paper, how to work scientifically, but with literature, not with our own data, our how to collect data. It is all new for us. (Interviewee 2)
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The educational relevance of the research topics
Further analysis of the interview transcripts has revealed that students from both cases usually fail to see how the research projects conducted during their practice could contribute to their development as teachers. However, when the topic of the research has clear educational relevance and the students succeed in reflecting on their experience while conducting research, they admit that it may contribute to their development as teachers.
As described above, in the Austrian context, students can decide on the topic of their research projects. It is of key importance that they think of their research project as a meaningful task that contributes to their development; therefore, it would be reasonable that the topic of the research project, besides being in the scope of the interest of the students, has some educational relevance and direct implications to the teaching practice. One may question if students are empowered to find such topics without being familiar with the general trends and methodological implications of educational research. The interviewees seemed to choose topics that are in their scope of interest and accessible (e.g., research on the use of Facebook, WhatsApp in schools, ICT infrastructure in schools), but the linking of the chosen topic to a relevant educational problem remained untackled in most of the cases.
The interviewees from the Hungarian case emphasised that they had conducted a small-scale research project during their school-based teaching practice, and this served as the empirical part of their dissertation; therefore, they considered it to be a meaningful activity. An interviewee explained that s/ he conducted her research over a period of one semester (questionnaire at the beginning of the semester, implementation of new teaching methods during practice, questionnaire at the end of the semester), and found that this activity and the research results:
[...] contributed to my transition from a student to a teacher, because I dealt with a pedagogical topic in my research. I see now that the method is suitable for increasing student motivation and for developing various competences. (Interviewee 4)
Methodological considerations
The way students think about research, in general, could influence the whole 'conducting small-scale educational research' experience during their practice. When asked what research is, the interviewees from both cases tended to stick to a purely scientific description of it borrowed from one of their studied disciplines, in many cases from a natural science field.
50 student teachers as future researchers
Regarding the Austrian case, for methodological considerations, the educational background of the students also plays an influencing role on their attitude towards educational research in general, and the research project conducted during the practice in particular. Students are encouraged to use qualitative approaches in their research projects. However, there seem to be numerous issues with this:
•	no preparation for conducting qualitative research at the university,
•	qualitative research is not considered to be 'real research' by students with a natural science background,
•	'bad blood' between the university departments also affects the way students think about educational research (since they spend more time in their disciplinary departments),
•	students fail the see the importance of educational research because in many cases these are small-scale projects with small samples and no intention (or possibility) for generalisation or theory creation.
Although some of the issues mentioned in the previous paragraph might be true in the Hungarian context as well, the interviewees did not emphasise them. In general, in the case of these student teachers, the disciplinary background did not come out as such an influencing factor regarding their thinking about research as in the Austrian case.
Among the methods for data collection, the interviewees from both cases cited interviews, questionnaires, and observations as the most common methods, and the participants were usually their pupils and/or mentor teachers. Although students are not restricted to working exclusively with these methods and participants, they tend to 'play it safe' and stick to these. Additionally, there is a possibility that, since it is not included in their curricula, they are not aware of other trends and methods in educational research (e.g., action research, classroom research, practitioner research, etc.).
Actors involved in the research project
In both cases, students usually conduct their research projects individually. However, one interviewee from the Austrian case mentioned that he collaborated with his peer, and the design of the research, as well as the data collection, were implemented in joint efforts. These kinds of collaboration between students are accidental; it is not offered to them as an option when they are introduced with the research project requirement.
Regarding the participants who are involved in the data collection, from the interviewees' responses, in both cases, it became clear that the list of
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participants consists of pupils and mentor teachers. Moreover, having a look at the codes referring to other stakeholders involved in the research project, it was revealed that the interviewees did not consider their research results to be interesting or relevant for other stakeholders (not even for their mentor teachers, or fellow student teachers).
Summary of results
Although the paper aims to present the results in a comparative manner, the data collected from interviews conducted with student teachers did not reveal significant differences between the two cases. However, some nuances could be observed, and Table 1 summarises the significant findings (similarities and differences) regarding the two cases.
Table 1
Summary of the significant findings (similarities and differences) regarding the two cases
Sub-themes	Austria Hungary
Student teachers have a strong opinion about whether they want to be teachers after graduation	They do have a strong opinion They do have a strong opinion regarding their future plans; however, regarding their future plans, and in some cases enrolling in the ITE the interviewees without exception programme is just a Plan B. plan to work as teachers in the future
Establishing a connection between theory and practice	Interviewees reported some difficul- As the school-based teaching ties in connecting theory to practice, practice takes part in the last pha-even though there are some courses se of ITE, the interviewees were offered at the university that are sup- eager to experience the previously posed to support them during their learnt theories and methods to school-based teaching practice. test the hypothesis of their research projects in real life.
Preparation to conduct research	The interviewees identified two The interviewees mainly reported major ways of preparation to conduct a shortage of preparation to research: conduct research. Some research-attending research-related courses at related courses offered by the the university (not adequate, focusing university are mentioned though, on disciplinary and not educational but their practical implications research, focusing on reviewing the were not clear. Moreover, student literature, no practical implications) teachers did not mention the transferring research competence possibility of being involved in the gained during other research experi- activities of research groups at the ence which is not necessarily focusing university. on education (this happens in an ad-hoc way, only a limited number of students is 'lucky enough' to gain research experience this way).
52 student teachers as future researchers
Sub-themes	Austria Hungary
Educational relevance of the research topics	The interviewees faced challenges The interviewees conducted small-with seeing the educational relevance scale research projects during their of their research topics. In many school-based teaching practice, instances, they explained this with and this served as the empirical the research project being qualitative part of their dissertation. and/or with a small sample size.
Methodological considerations	The educational background, the The chosen disciplinary fields of disciplines of the interviewees, play student teachers did not have a an in an important role (students of strong influence on their attitude natural sciences tend to not to see towards educational and/or quali-the relevance of educational and/or tative research. qualitative research). The data collection methods are The data collection methods are mostly restricted to interviews, mostly restricted to interviews, ques- questionnaires, and observations. tionnaires, and observations.
Actors involved in the research project	The research projects were mostly The research projects were con-conducted individually, with the ducted individually, no reference exception of one interviewee (s/he to possible collaborations. conducted it in collaboration with a The student teachers did not peer). mention any stakeholders other The student teachers did not mention than the pupils and their mentor any stakeholders other than the teachers. pupils and their mentor teachers.
Discussion, limitations, and conclusions
The Bologna process has reshaped the entire higher education scenario Europe-wide but, in many cases, its influence on teacher education can be considered unique. The universitisation of teacher education was accompanied by the requirement of submitting theses (often of an empirical nature) prepared by student teachers; therefore, research, in one way or another, appears in ITE programmes.
Both ITE programmes provided by the Hungarian and Austrian universities address educational, practice-oriented research (so there are intentions to prepare student teachers for being consumers and producers of research), but in different manners. In the Austrian programme, research is visible on the module level, as one of the sub-module titles is 'Learning, Teaching and Research'. Although there are some courses that are entirely based on research, according to the course description, with the aim of focusing on student teachers' research-related activities and providing support, these courses represented a small portion of the curriculum (only 15.4% out of all the courses can be considered research-based). Most of the courses address students as participants (and not as the audience), and the activities in these courses may contribute to the development of research competence. However, these activities are more related to the university (e.g., discussion, reflection) than to the schools (e.g., observations). Further analysis of the course descriptions revealed that the research process and problems (theory) are emphasised over the research content (practice).
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Meanwhile, the Hungarian ITE programme indicates in its modulelevel titles that the teaching profession reaches beyond the school walls (with a module titled 'Social relationships'), but there is no explicit reference in course titles to research methodology. Research methodology is more visible in the way student activities are described in the course descriptions: while activities occurring within the university walls (e.g., discussion, reflection) are dominant in this case as well, there are explicit indications that these activities are directly connected to pupils and/or schools (e.g., observations, data collection for the empirical part of MA thesis), to previous practical experience; 22.2% of the courses identify research-related topics, and further analysis showed that research content is emphasised over the research process and problems.
Although the present study forms an integral part of and, by being a pilot, contributes in a great deal to broader doctoral research titled The evolution of teacher education programmes in different countries with a special focus on the role of practice in developing teacher competences, there are some limitations:
•	due to language barriers, the language of the interviews conducted in Austria was English;
•	the small sample size and the sampling method are not adequate for making general conclusions.
Despite the limitations, the analysis of interviews raised a few issues that could both be further studied and relevant for those involved in the development process of ITE programmes:
•	Why don't student teachers conduct research-related activities in pairs and/or in groups?
•	When student teachers decide on a research topic (for a small-scale project or for their thesis) are the needs of the practice school taken into consideration?
•	How could activities of reflection meaningfully support student teachers in their preparation?
•	What are the different ways of collaboration between disciplinary departments, educational departments, and practice schools that would support student teachers in conducting practice-oriented research projects during their school-based teaching practice?
Bakkenes, Vermunt, and Wubbels (2010) also emphasise the importance of teachers as they are 'the agents in shaping education for students and in bringing about change and innovation in educational practices' (p. 1). In preparing students for facing the new challenges of the information age and the
54 student teachers as future researchers
knowledge society, knowledge creation in schools becomes significant, including the need for teachers to redefine their (teaching) skills (Hargreaves, 1999). These are just a few of the expectations that teachers should meet, and although ITE might not equip student teachers with all the knowledge and skills they may need in their everyday practice (both due to the relatively short period of ITE and especially of school-based practices, as well as due to the continuously changing living and learning environment), ITE arguably has a vital role in laying the groundwork and setting the direction for student teachers (ET2020 Working Group on Schools Policy, 2015). Developing future teachers' specific competences by better integration of research into ITE programmes means that student teachers will become consumers and producers of educational, practice-oriented research, as well as active participants in relevant educational discourse in which other stakeholders (such as academic researchers and policymakers) are involved. Moreover, being sensitised regarding educational, practice-oriented research, student teachers will enter the world of work with the ability to transform their everyday, classroom practices in the ever-changing social and cultural context with the aim of recognising and reacting to the newly emerging challenges and needs.
Acknowledgement
The paper is part of the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE) project that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement number 676452.
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Biographical note
Csilla Pesti is a Marie Sklodowska Curie Early Stage Researcher in the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE) and a PhD student of the Doctoral School of Educational Sciences at Eotvos Loránd University (ELTE) in Budapest, Hungary. She is currently working on her dissertation, titled The evolution of teacher education programmes in different countries with a special focus on the role of practice in developing teacher competences. In addition, her research interest includes initial teacher education systems and practice-oriented research.
János Gordon Gyori, PhD, serves as an associate professor in the field of intercultural education at the Faculty of Education and Psychology, Institution of Intercultural Psychology and Education at Eotvos Loránd University. However, his professional interest is much broader: teacher education and teachers' professional development, lesson study methods, gifted education, methodology, innovation in education, shadow education, and many other topics.
Erika Kopp, PhD, is a senior lecturer at Eotvos Loránd University, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Institute of Education. Her main research and development fields include teacher education programme design and complex development of schools. She is currently researching Hungarian Protestant school development activities.
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doi: 10.26529/cepsj.498
Exploring the Personal Mastery of Educational Leaders: FieldTransFormation360 and its Validation in the Austrian Leadership Academy
Malte Gregorzewski*1, Michael Schratz2 and Christian Wiesner3
^^ This paper introduces the innovative model FieldTransFormation360 and its aim to help educational leaders in assessing their personal mastery. Moreover, it presents empirical findings from its first exploratory application in an Austrian leadership framework. In a first conceptual part, the theoretical underpinnings and the context of the origin of the model are outlined with reference to similar approaches in the area of school leadership. In the following part, the application of the model is introduced through the explanation of the methodology and how the model is turned into a self-assessment instrument. Insights into the results of its exploratory application in the Austrian Leadership Academy are presented in the empirical part. Its first application serves as the consolidation and validation of FieldTransFormation360 as a meaningful self-assessment tool for the professional development of school leaders. The results of the exploratory approach with participants in the Austrian Leadership Academy suggest that the model and its instrument can be regarded as a robust assessment tool for the development of a deeper understanding about the transformative power through personal and professional development in the lived experience of educational leadership.
Keywords: educational leadership, transformative learning, school leaders, personal mastery, Austrian Leadership Academy
1	^Corresponding Author. Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Innsbruck, Austria; Malte.Gregorzewski@uibk.ac.at.
2	Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Innsbruck, Austria.
3	Federal Institute of Educational Research, Innovation and Development, Educational Standards Department, Austria.
60 exploring the personal mastery of educational leaders
Preučevanje osebnih spretnosti vodij šol: FieldTransFormation360 in njegova veljavnost na Avstrijski akademiji za vodenje
Malte Gregorzewski, Michael Schratz in Christian Wiesner
^^ Prispevek predstavlja inovativni model FieldTransFormation360 in njegov namen pomagati vodjem šol pri oceni njihovih osebnih spretnosti. Poleg tega predstavlja empirične izsledke njegove prve uporabe v okviru vodenja v Avstriji. V prvem, konceptualnem delu so predstavljeni teoretična izhodišča in kontekst izvora modela s sklicevanjem na podobne pristope znotraj področja vodenja šol. V naslednjem delu je predstavljena aplikacija modela z razlago metodologije in tega, kako je model postal instrument za samoocenjevanje. V empiričnem delu prispevka so predstavljeni rezultati njegove uporabe na Avstrijski akademiji za vodenje. Njegova prva uporaba služi kot utrditev in potrditev modela FieldTransFormation360 kot pomembnega orodja za samoocenjevanje profesionalnega razvoja vodij šol. Izsledki raziskave kažejo, da je lahko model in njegov instrument močno orodje za ocenjevanje razvoja globljega razumevanja moči spreminjanja prek osebnega in profesionalnega razvoja v dejanskih izkušnjah vodenja v izobraževanju.
Ključne besede: vodenje šol, učenje spreminjanja, vodje šol, osebne spretnosti, Avstrijska akademija za vodenje
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Introduction
Aspirations for educational systems and what schools can accomplish seem to be moving apart (Bryk, 2015, p. 467). Conventional reforms of teacher education have led to new reform models and restructured programmes, but they could not keep up with the challenges, which seem to increase at a much faster rate. That is why transactional approaches and Research-Development-Dissemination (RDD) models often do not keep up with social transformation in everyday contexts. As a consequence, so-called transformative models have been introduced, which are closely linked to the concept of learning organisations. In such an understanding, both teacher learning and the learning of educational leaders can be seen as transformative processes, which means that interventions affect how they think and act in everyday work.
Leadership also has a crucial role in forming, developing and designing organisational culture, which has a strong influence on the quality of organisational learning (Senge, 1990) due to the dynamic relationship between the characteristics of organisational learning and the leadership capacity within an organisation (Senge, 2006). Consequently, in the education system, school leadership can influence teachers with regards to their values (Sergiovanni, 1992), their approach to learning (Townsend & MacBeath, 2011) and, last but not least, leadership can be essential to improve the efficiency and equity of schooling (Pont, Nusche, & Moorman, 2008, p. 2). Moreover, Gurr (2015, p. 145) specifically stresses
the importance of the school context and how school leaders actively influence this through developing a shared vision and mission and a positive culture, having appropriate structures, people and processes in the school, the active engagement of stakeholders within and outside the school, and the promotion of high expectations for all.
Leithwood, Jantzi, and Steinbach (1999) argue that indeed a culture of empowering and support by the leadership team make their staff believe that a (positive) transformation's key element is constituted, which makes a difference in the classroom. Meanwhile, countless studies and reports have been published on the 'pivotal role of school leadership' (Pont, Nusche, & Moorman, 2008, p. 19) and the 'increasing evidence that within each individual school, school leaders can contribute to improved student learning by shaping the conditions and climate in which teaching and learning occur' (ibid.). Educational leaders as 'system thinkers in action' (Fullan, 2005) can help to shape the educational system of tomorrow - these are
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[...] leaders at all levels of the system who proactively and naturally take into account and interact with larger parts of the system as they bring about deeper reform and help produce other leaders working on the same issues. They are theoreticians, but they are practitioners whose theories are lived in action every day. Their ideas are woven into daily interactions that make a difference. (ibid., p. 11).
However, it proves to be essential that school leaders are also able, willing, and ready to take upon their leadership with an emphasis on its transformative power (Scharmer, 2009) as 'transformative teachers are leveraging twenty-first-century connected technologies and participatory practices to take leadership roles in improving education from the ground [up]' (Baker-Doyle, 2017, p. 4). Furthermore, transformative teachers bear the possibility of creating a path for transformative teacher leadership (Schultz, 2017) to change their profession in order to develop a greater responsibility of teachers for and towards social justice and equity in education (Baker-Doyle, 2017).
This paper aims to introduce the innovative model FieldTransForma-tion3<5° to explore the personal mastery of educational leaders and to present the first empirical findings from its exploratory application in an Austrian leadership context. In a first step, selected leadership-based self-assessment models are presented before the application of FieldTransFormation360 is contextual-ised and the methodological approach is introduced. Hereafter, the results and findings of this exploratory research are presented before the final remarks conclude the article.
Leadership based self-assessment models
Different approaches have been developed to assess leadership competences from different theoretical and practical perspectives. Two of them are presented here to exemplarily illustrate possible and different ways of how to, on the one hand, explore human behaviour generally within a holistic framework and, on the other hand, how to assess the relevant competences of school management more specifically. Both models aim to self-assess the competences of educational leadership. School leaders or other personnel are invited to reflect on their respective answers and learn from the findings with a view to improving those competences accordingly.
The Role Diagrammatic Approach (RDA), shown in Figure 1, serves as 'an established tool for identifying and characterizing human behavior' (Baráth, 2013, p. 219) as it 'is suited to measure the behaviour at different levels and that
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gives information about where possible development is needed' (ibid.). Furthermore, value-based models like the RDA help 'to define recommendations, since a person is only willing to make efforts to change his/her behaviour if s/ he feels it is important, in whatever s/he deems valuable' (Barath, 2013, p. 220) assuming that '[v]alues serve as the driving force for the behaviour of individuals. They function whether you are consciously aware of them or not' (ibid.). As an example, models able to plot certain values can be applied to 'compare a job profile [...] with a personal profile' (Barath, 2013, p. 225).
Figure 1. Role Diagrammatic Approach. From The art and science of leading a school - Central¡: A central European view on competences for school leaders (p. 222), by M. Schratz, A. Laiminger, F. MacKay, E. Krizková, G. A. Kirkham, T. Baráth, G. ... T. Soderberg, 2013, Budapest: Tempus Public Foundation.
The RDA is interpreted by its author as an integral model which includes more than 30,000 words and expressions to characterise the different kinds of behaviour from a 'holistic view of mankind' and 'does not only pay attention to effective behaviour but also to ineffective behaviour' (Baráth, 2010, p. 37). The data that individuals can generate through self-assessment should support leaders in their personal and professional development.
The Competence Profile School Management (CPSM) model by Huber, Wolfgramm, and Kilic (2013) describes competencies based on job requirements on various levels of educational leadership or for various functions, from teachers to team leaders to school leaders who are in charge of the school in its entirety as well as the school administration. Similarly to the RDA approach, this self-assessment tool offers leaders personal feedback, enabling them to
i Relation oriented Content oriented ►
Dyn
Si
— Leading
Operational
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reflect on their leadership qualities by identifying their strengths and weaknesses in general and activity-based competencies, shown in Figure 2. The model is based on leadership strategies, which are known as leadership by adjectives.
Figure 2. Competence Profile School Management (CPSM) model. From "School leadership in German speaking countries with an emphasis on Austria: A re-vision" by C. Wiesner, A. George, D. Kemethofer, & M. Schratz, 2015, Ricercazione, 7(2), p. 82, on the basis of "Jahrbuch Schulleitung 2013", by S. G. Huber, C. Wolfgramm, & S. Kilic, 2013, Köln: Carl Link.
Structural elements in the CPSM competence model (Huber et al., 2013) are situated at a general level of performance like analytical reasoning and text comprehension, speed of thought, and planning skills. Furthermore, a general level of commitment as readiness for duty, a level of motivation and avoidance of failure is assessed. Within the framework of CPSM, 'dealing with others' such as empathy, an ability to accept criticism and also sociability is considered. A leader also needs to deal with change, has to have an innovative spirit and a motivation for shaping change. Moreover, the ability to work under pressure and to have confidence in one's own abilities are considered to be important, also when dealing with internal resources. The authors of the CPSM model developed an online tool on integrated assessment items that generate individual data covering the leadership areas mentioned, which can be processed through an online assessment with individual findings for the participants.
Why do we present another model if there are already several available, of which two particular ones were presented above? Leithwood, Day,
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Sammons, Harris and Hopkins (2006, p. 7) argue that 'leadership by an adjective is a growth industry', and therefore it is currently also en vogue to present models as an additive sum of competences. However, leadership in action is not a static phenomenon but is deeply rooted in a leader's personal mastery of challenges he or she is confronted with. For Senge (1990, p. 141) '[p]ersonal [m]astery goes beyond competence and skills, though it is grounded in competence and skills' as '[p]eople with high levels of personal mastery are continually expanding their ability to create the results in life they truly seek' (ibid.). Moreover, 'the ability to focus on ultimate intrinsic desires, not only on secondary goals, is a cornerstone of personal mastery' (Senge, 1990, p. 148). Senge's concept of personal mastery served as an underlying framework for the newly developed model called FieldTransFormation360 (FTF3<5°).
FTF3<5° is based on the theories of interactional patterns, pathologies and paradoxes (Watzlawick, Beavin, & Jackson, 1967), depth psychology (Riemann, 1961), Theory U (Scharmer, 2009) and the methods and models clarifying conversations within conflicts in professional frameworks (Thomann, 2014) combined with the outcome of the analytical examination of interpersonal communication in education (Wiesner, 2010). Senge (1990, 2006) dealt with personal mastery from a more organisational point of view towards the capacity of learning of an organisation as a whole, the learning organisation; therefore, personal mastery is interpreted as a more value-based, intrinsic and motivational statement on the individual as well as on the organisational levels. Consequently, personal mastery aims at the professional self, but not just as professional knowledge, also with oneself as a whole and to make oneself aware (Schratz, Paseka, & Schrittesser, 2011).
Within this context, leadership is associated with 'being visionary, motivational, inspirational and innovative' (Schley & Schratz, 2011, p. 276) towards emerging future possibilities (Scharmer, 2009) as 'the experience of letting go and then going forth into another world that begins to take shape only once we overcome the fear of stepping into the unknown, is at the very heart and essence of leadership' (Scharmer, 2009, p. 467). In fact, leadership 'creates the vision, faces the emerging future, and turns feelings of uncertainty into clarity and attractive goals' (Schley & Schratz, 2011, p. 288) while 'the heartbeat of leadership is a relationship, not a person or process' (Sergiovanni, 2005, p. 53).
FTF360 consists of different fields (quadrants in Figure 4), which are set up between the poles of stability and development on the one hand, and relationships and content, on the other.
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relationship
values
Figure 3. FieldTransFormation360. Adapted from "School leadership in German speaking countries with an emphasis on Austria: A re-vision" by C. Wiesner, A. George, D. Kemethofer, & M. Schratz, 2015, Ricercazione, 7(2), p. 82.
In the FTF3<5° model, the first square (bottom left; hereafter clockwise), each containing four thematic fields, represents 'rational processes' of reason and sanity, the second 'strategic processes' of objectives and goals, the third 'creative processes' of ambition and creation and the fourth 'identity processes' of grounding and values regarding educational leadership [...]' (Wiesner et al., 2015, p. 82). Working with the model gives leaders and researchers an understanding of the leadership culture in the dynamic framework between stability and development as well as distance (factual content) and proximity (emotional relationship), which determines the space of opportunities for each leadership action (Schratz et al., 2016, p. 232).
All the 16 fields and their processes in the FTF360 model should support the enlargement, enrichment, and empowerment of educational leaders in shaping their attitudes (Schratz et al., 2016; Steinkellner & Wiesner, 2017; Wiesner et al., 2015). FTF3<5° thus makes it possible to describe one's personal mastery (Schratz, 2015; Senge, 1990, 2006; Wiesner et al., 2015) allowing the movement of field activations to be recorded and also to be reported on. In this sense, FTF3<5° goes beyond competence and knowledge or experience and interprets the movements in and between its fields as a creative work. The model represents a creative, resonant, and conforming conception of life and thus fits more into the overall systemic context of personal mastery according to Senge (1990, 2006) through the systematic structure of and throughout the 16 fields (quadrants in Figure 3).
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FTF36° might help in making the next step in building a theory of acquisition of a system of ethical and desirable attitudes (Haltung) through the mediation and appropriation of knowledge, experience and in such a way that educational leaders can choose and identify their position in the context of their social world, and to unfold a personality and gain sense and values of life and action (Schley & Schratz, 2011). FTF36° systematically identifies success conditions for effective, goal- and value-oriented school leadership and, thus, successful school improvement while allowing both structured and evidence-oriented research. Herewith, the model goes beyond conventional competence schemes of school leadership or expert knowledge and understands the enactment of personal mastery as a representation of a creative, resonant, and co-responsive approach towards the world. The authors of the instrument assert that the importance, understanding, and application of school transformation for educational leaders are at the core of effective school development as a com-municational change process between different fields.
FieldTransFormation360 in use: context and methodology
It seems, that '[d]espite the well-known impact of principals towards school quality improvement, Austrian school research is not strongly developed in the field of school leadership research and therefore has little effect on policy and practice' (Wiesner et al., 2015, p. 66). Furthermore, 'it appears inevitable that full attention will have to be paid to school leadership research [...]. A new, broad and exciting field of school leadership research is therefore currently emerging' (Wiesner et al., 2015, p. 83). In the following, the context and methodology of the application of FTF36° are presented.
Context
FTF3<5° originates from an Austrian initiative funded by the Austrian Ministry of Education called 'Leadership Academy' (LEA), which serves as an initiative to further professionalise people holding leadership positions in the Austrian education system (Leadership Academy, 2018). The mission of the LEA
[...] is to help develop more effective leadership capable of meeting the social, technological, and political challenges creating change in Austrian education. Graduates of the LEA should have the skills to implement the significant new educational reforms underway at national and provincial levels and constitute a critical mass of proactive, system -wise leaders capable of transforming the system. (Stoll, Moorman, & Rahm, 2007, p. 4)
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The concept of the LEA assumes that school climate and school quality are significantly influenced by school leadership and that school leaders are amongst the most critical change agents in schools. Against the background of the social framework, political conditions and new challenges to the school system, school leaders must be competent in dealing with transformation (Schratz, Hartmann, & Schley, 2010, p. 29). To satisfy the required needs, the self-assessment model had to be based on the current state of research as well as differentiated practical knowledge from the field of school leadership qualification. It should cover a competence structure of social and situational actions, conflate existing tasks and requirements of school leadership, and show possible ways towards transformation in the emerging future (Wiesner et al., 2015). In this sense, leadership is a specific attitude and watchful care, Haltung (Steinkellner & Wiesner, 2017), directed towards the future, which is to be enacted in the present as leaders have to act in the present by sensing the future in a given present moment (Scharmer, 2009).
Until 2015, the participants of the LEA were asked to take part in an online 360-degree assessment on results-based leadership, which had been adapted from the work of Ulrich, Zenger, and Smallwood (2000); their instrument was originally developed in the economic realm and was eventually adapted for educational leaders (Pool, 2007). Over the years, this instrument proved to be less effective in assessing desired leadership capacities with a particular view towards educational leadership improvement. That is why the directors of the LEA started looking for a new model that would be more in line with the curriculum of the LEA, which led to the development of FTF36° presented in Figure 3.
FTF3<5° relates to the capacity of educational leaders to transform teaching environments through inspiring teachers as well as pupils through better learning opportunities, as the model, for example in the Austrian LEA, assists in 'building self knowledge [which is] needed to marshal personal resources for emotionally and intellectually stressful challenges of leadership' (Stoll et al., 2007, p. 17) as well as 'opening participants up to the habit of changing their "mental models" and assumptions of "the way it is"' (Stoll et al., 2007, p. 18) as '[a] leader has to know about [...] the different facets of personality that shape any person's action, and be able to balance those inner voices to become authentic' (Stoll et al., 2007, p. 24).
Based on this framework, an online questionnaire was developed in 2015 in collaboration with the Federal Institute for Educational Research, Innovation and Development of the Austrian School System (BIFIE). The application of the instrument in the LEA was meant to serve two purposes. Firstly, on the
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personal level, the participants used the results, which they receive as a diagram (Figure 5), immediately after having answered the online questionnaire as self-assessment of their leadership mastery, which offers them orientation and direction.
Secondly, on the collective level, the aggregated data are used for monitoring purposes during the LEA, where they are presented in a plenary meeting and serve the individual participants as reference points in relation to their own assessment results. Moreover, the data from the different generations of participants at the LEA can be used collectively to gain empirically based knowledge for leadership research and thus provide monitoring data on their leadership journeys during the year-long programme.
Method
For understanding the concept of personal mastery of the FTF3<5°, there is a need to recognise and reflect on the interpersonal and organisational processes of conceptualising, designing, learning and unlearning as well as formative implementing, transforming, and evaluating: To include multiple perspectives, the online questionnaire was developed and based on a literature review, on intensive experience with leadership and teacher development by the LEA directors and also a deep understanding of policy culture matters (Schratz, 2012). The statements regarding the 16 fields differ in the assessment of the general significance of a field and the assessment of one's own personal mastery. This creates a juxtaposition between the general assessment of significance and the assessment of existing, lived and experienced reality. At the beginning there are statements referring to the personality (personal self-image) which are provocatively formulated between extreme poles of the respective field, both to prevent an assessment by the outer edges of the scale as well as in the further course of the survey as well as to prevent all questions being answered solely in a socially desirable way.
Drawing from these processes, a 64-item questionnaire with a 5-point Likert-Scale (1 - strongly disagree, 2 - disagree, 3 - can't decide, 4 - agree, and 5 - strongly agree) was developed by Christian Wiesner, Michael Schratz, Wilfried Schley and David Kemethofer taking the theoretical approach of FTF3<5° into account. Within the 16 thematic fields in 4 main squares in Figure 3, there were additional questions about school culture, evidence-oriented school development or working with evidence in everyday school life. The questionnaire was designed according to the main concepts of the 16 FTF3<5° fields, and the items in each domain were found to be highly reliable (Wiesner et al., 2015).
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The design of the instrument prefers a middle value of points to be achieved by each participant in all 16 fields of FTF3<5°. The highest agreement of the statements of one of the 16 fields in Figure 3 would be 8 points, the lowest 1 point. The aim is to normally have a middle value of points between 4 and 5 in all fields. When a leader reaches this middle score, he or she can move between the fields extremely flexibly and use all of the 16 fields equally and without blind spots, like a dance 'that enables developing and stabilising actions as enlargement, enrichment and empowerment' (Steinkellner & Wiesner, 2017, p. 266). With an attained score of 1 to 3 points, the affected fields have potential for development, expansion and the fields could be a blind spot, a topic and questions of a specific subject that an educational leader does not consider in his/ her decision process. With a score of 6 to 8 points, the fields are very powerful and probably internalised, but it also creates an effect of certain fields to be at the expense of others.
For the first time data was collected for validating the theoretical concept of the model for reflecting the interpersonal and organisational practice from 50 participants of the 13th LEA Generation in Spring 2015, in a research partnership between the University of Innsbruck and the BIFIE. A second dataset for validating the theoretical concept was collected in autumn 2016 with 123 participants of the 14th LEA Generation in the same research partnership. This second dataset is presented in this article. A total of 123 persons in the field of educational leadership participated in the second step of the research process. The data included 68 women (55%) and 55 men (45%) with differing experience in educational leadership between 6 and 21 years. In this second application, the instrument of the FTF3<5° was further enhanced by putting the 16 thematic fields in comparison so that the participants had to choose a field in favour of the other due to the confrontative presentation of the statements in the online questionnaire. The deliberate confrontation and the conscious choice should help to stimulate the process-oriented character of the model. All participants received a personal evaluation immediately after the online-survey as evidence, which serves the purpose of personal reflection in their professionalisation process.
Results
In line with the aims and expectations of the professionalisation of leaders in Austria, the self-assessment instrument was developed according to the theory of FTF3<5°, assuming that all educational leaders as a community should reach a common systemic position between 3 and 4 points. Figure 4 presents the aggregation of all individual data of all the online-questionnaire participating
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attendees of LEA Generation 14 (n =123). Clearly, the aggregated points of each field are located around this middle position. The diagram has a shape like a circle and displays a satisfactory result in terms of the FTF360 concept. The diagram represents the theory that a system always has all components and mastery to work well-structured, well-functional in a well-being way of a dynamic structure between stability and development as well as proximity and distance in relationships and partnerships. The data show the participating leaders' overall aggregated cumulative results between 4 and 5 points as a conflux. The diagram (Figure 4) with the results of the members of LEA Generation 14 shows that all leaders together seem to have a common and collective systemic mastery without any obvious blind spots in the 16 fields of FTF360; however, the individual cases may show more discrepancies, as presented further below (Figure 5).
Figure 4. Mean values of data relating to the 16 fields of the FTF36° of educational leaders in LEA Generation 14 (n=123).
A significant, statistically meaningful difference between the sexes exists when p < .050 (T-Test). Such a value can only be found in the field evidence, p < .042 (t-test) and Cohen's d = -.37. Women on average scored higher than men, and the mean was higher among female than among male participants. Men as educational leaders tend to operate from the fields of congruence, cooperation, optimisation and transformation. Overall, however, gender does not appear to be a very significant factor in the evaluation of the 16 fields (Table 1).
transparency
rituals
optimisation
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Table 1
Differences FTF360 findings between Women and Men in LEA Generation 14
Squares & Fields		Cronbach's a	Gender	M (SD)	p	d
	Goals Imagery (Zielbild)	a = .90	w	4.39 (1.05)	.744	-.05
			m	4.34 (.92)		
Ui 0	Change (Wandlung)	a = .70	w	4.15 (.80)	.176	.25
ar CO	as development and alteration		m	4.36 (.90)		
>>	Self-Impact (Wirkkraft)	a = .87	w	4.46 (1.03)	.678	-.08
0 fC			m	4.38 (.95)		
CO	Agility (Agilität)	a = .87	w	4.64 (1.17)	.552	-.10
			m	4.52 (1.18)		
c	Emergence (Emergenz)	a = .87	w m	4.57	(1.05) 4.58	(1.11)	.960	.01
75 to 0	Intuition (Intuition) and visionary	a = .89	w m	4.21 (1.03) 4.58 (1.27)	.073	.32
>	Cooperation (Kooperation)	a = .85	w m	4.10 (1.01) 4.31 (1.01)	.269	.21
£ ö	Resonance (Resonanz)	a= .93	w m	3.93 (1.30) 3.96 (1.19)	.877	.02
	Optimisation (Optimierung)	a = .96	w	4.41 (1.02)	.374	.16
	as improvement		m	4.58 (1.14)		
c 3	Transparency (Transparenz)	a = .93	w	4.46 (1.07)	.521	-.12
			m	4.33 (1.20)		
C O w fC	Standards (Standards)	a = .77	w	5.10 (1.22)	.294	-.19
	as guidelines and norms		m	4.87 (1.14)		
	Evidence (Evidenz)	a = .77	w	5.23 (1.21)	.042	-.37
			m	4.79 (1.14)		
	Congruence (Kongruenz)	a = .91	w m	4.38 (.77) 4.60 (.88)	.143	.27
c tu "O	Values (Werte)	a = .95	w m	4.54 (.90) 4.65 (1.07)	.537	.11
> c e	Rituals (Rituale)	a = .77	w m	4.85 (.90) 4.77 (.98)	.309	-.09
33	Confidence (Vertrauen)	a = .93	w m	4.49 (.97) 4.39 (1.07)	.581	-.10
	n (w/women) = 68; n (m/men) =	55				
Note. N = 123.
Another - very different - result is found at the individual level of the FTF360, where several very personal shapes are visible. Because the instrument juxtaposes the 16 fields, in answering the questionnaire the participants had to decide among the different field statements according to their everyday decision-making in school life. Figure 5 shows two individual evaluations of the diagrams that all participants immediately receive as evidence
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of their self-assessment results after finishing the online survey of the FTF36° questionnaire.
Figure 5. Self-assessment diagrams of two participants of LEA Generation 14 relating to the 16 fields of FTF36°, showing different sets of values.
The left diagram in Figure 5 presents the results of an educational leader whose field activations are highest in agility, emergence, cooperation and standards. These findings could help him or her to reflect on the results with lower numbers, such as goal orientation and strategic thinking in change management issues. The results in the right diagram of Figure 5 present a very different shape of the self-assessment. The field activations are highest in the areas of creativity and identity according to Figure 3. The person's leadership interventions seem to be more towards the proximal side of the spectrum being resonant with his or her staff and creating confidence in identity building with goals for change processes in mind. However, his or her results in other strategic issues like agility and impact are lower, which is also the case with optimisation, evidence and standards.
The image and shape of the individual participants' diagrams should stimulate cognitive and creative thinking about their own personal and organisational sources of communication, commitment, values, beliefs and energy, bringing them in resonance to their own supportive reflection. The shapes of the school leaders' own assessment of personal mastery as shown in Figure 5 can help them to analyse their performance holistically and to build new prototypes of action accordingly. Within the context of the LEA, the individual results primarily serve participants to provide evidence-based support for their own personal professional development processes.
Working with this particular leadership model opens up a comprehensible
emergence
emergence
optimisation
optimisation
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'classification of one's respective leadership into the dynamic structure between stability and development as well as proximity and distance, which determines the scope for leadership' (Schratz et al., 2016, p. 232). Successful as well as sustainable results emerge from everyday identification and transparent reasoning while forming new self-contained shapes requires mobility and field activations. The respective particular form at a location always corresponds to the specific realisation of the development: identity processes as a source of experiencing the agile power of one's own strategic thinking and acting; creative processes as an experience of belonging to a community and sharing the world cooperatively, to understand others and to be understood by them; rational processes to understand the world appropriately and in a sensible way, to be able to act on it and to expand them. Reflecting on the individual results of the FTF36°, an educational leader can sustainably work on her/his further professional development. Looking at the results of one cohort of an LEA generation, areas for development can be discerned, as well as particular areas of strength and excellence both on the individual and collective levels. The results indicate that showing the direction for innovation and change and enabling the development of organisational achievement are crucial elements of the leadership challenge. Furthermore, the results indicate that defining a direction of innovation and development and generating organisational performance(s) are amongst the challenges faced by leaders in the Austrian education system.
Conclusion
In this paper, FTF3<5° was introduced, which can be applied and used to explore the personal mastery of educational leaders by means of an online questionnaire. After the discussion of two established models that have been used successfully in their respective contexts, the founding context of the and its theoretical underpinnings are described.
Researching traits of personal mastery based on the data and facts applying FTF3<5° provides insights about pedagogical leadership. We see the full potential of FTF3<5° on the personal level as FTF3<5° provides detailed feedback, which can support the participants to search for effective indicators and successful conditions for school and quality development processes, also by comparing it to the aggregated data.
However, several limitations of FTF3<5° should be mentioned: Some limitation may remain within the 16 fields. The formation of these fields was based on an extensive literature review and lengthy professional experience in theoretical educational leadership; however, not all activations of the 16 fields can
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be made visible due to the complexity of the concept of personal mastery. This might have a relevant influence on quality evaluation within the axes between stability and development, reasonable factual analysis and cooperative community and joint value development. Another limitation occurs when one of the fields receives too much emphasis, which causes a loss of balance. As with a scale with four scales, it could represent a dynamic movement that easily maintains an imbalance but appears relatively stable with a high weight on one side. Finally, FTF36° might be approached by participants in a socially desirable manner, or in a way that the participants would like to see themselves - hence, participants of FTF36° are asked to respond in a differentiated and self-critical way and to carefully transfer abstract statements of the questionnaire to their current every day and leadership situations.
Future research might shed light on, for example, how to further analyse data collected over time from the same or different leaders, also within different contexts. Applying the assessment tool again after some time could help to see different results of the individual school leaders since they might change in personal mastery over time. Furthermore, it might seem appealing to look more closely at selected school leaders to explore in more detail how they use the results of FTF36° for their continuous professional development, for example, by conducting interviews with their staff members and other stakeholders.
Acknowledgement
The paper is part of the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE) project that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement number 676452.
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Biographical note
Malte Gregorzewski, Dipl.-Vw., is an early stage researcher within the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE) working with the Department of Teacher Education and School Research at the University of Innsbruck, Austria as well as the Institute of Education at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. His main research interests include school development and improvement, school leadership with an emphasis on leadership for learning, and policy enactment in outstanding schools.
Michael Schratz, PhD, is a professor emeritus at the Department of Teacher Education and School Research and was founding dean of the School of Education University of Innsbruck, Austria. He is scientific director of the Austrian Leadership Academy and director of EDiTE (European Doctorate in Teacher Education). His main research projects are in educational leadership, learning and teaching as well as policy development. His publications have been translated into several languages.
Christian Wiesner, MA, is head of the Educational Standards Department and leads its formative integration into the Austrian school system at the Federal Institute (BIFIE). He is responsible for the scientific development and improvement of educational standards. His primary areas of work include innovation research; leadership; the development of personality, teams, organisations, and schools, as well as feedback.
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doi: 10.26529/cepsj.513
The Missing Link: Teacher Learning for Diversity in an Area-based Initiative in Portugal
NlKOLETT SZELEI*1 AND INES ALVES2
^^ As an attempt to promote educational success in socio-economically disadvantaged contexts, area-based initiatives are often launched in Europe, such as the programme Territorios Educativos de Intervençao Prioritária in Portugal. Given the importance of teaching quality to enhance student learning and considerable student diversity in the schools included in this initiative, this article explores opportunities for teacher learning for diversity within the programme. Documentary analysis was conducted on 188 school documents from 95 school clusters in the programme. The following research questions were asked: Does the programme promote teacher learning? In what ways is teacher learning promoted? Does teacher learning address diversity? The findings suggest that some interventions provide the possibility of teacher learning, such as the processes of learning together, pedagogical supervision, reflection, and attending professional development courses. However, diversity seemed to be largely missing from these initiatives. Furthermore, two cornerstones of teacher learning for diversity were absent: teachers' critical reflection on students' inclusion/exclusion; and learning from/with students, families, and communities. Additionally, most professional development opportunities were organised around and measured by students' academic results, thus positioning teacher learning as instrumental in raising school success, rather than a core of transforming education for diversity. These results call for policies within the Territórios Educativos de Intervençao Prioritária programme to include teacher learning that engages with and fosters critical thinking around diversity and to involve communities' and students' voices in order to truly tackle social exclusion. The findings can contribute to the debate on the approach to diversity in area-based initiatives in Europe.
Keywords: area-based initiatives, diversity, professional development, teacher learning
1	*Corresponding Author. Instituto de Educaçâo da Universidade de Lisboa, Potrugal; nszelei@ie.ulisboa.pt.
2	University of Glasgow, Scotland.
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Manjkajoči člen: učenje učiteljev za raznolikost v področno zasnovani iniciativi na Portugalskem
NlKOLETT SZELEI IN INES ÁLVES
^^ Področno zasnovane iniciative, kot je na primer Territorios Educativos de Intervengao Prioritária na Portugalskem, so v Evropi pogosto izvedene z namenom spodbujanja edukacijskih uspehov v socialno-ekonomsko deprivilegiranih kontekstih. Glede na pomen kakovosti poučevanja za izboljševanje učenja učencev ter glede na znatno raznolikost učencev in učenk v šolah, ki so bile vključene v omenjeno iniciativo, ta prispevek raziskuje priložnosti za učenje učiteljev za raznolikost znotraj omenjenega programa. Izvedena je bila analiza 188 šolskih dokumentov iz 95 šolskih skupin v programu. Postavljena so bila naslednja raziskovalna vprašanja: Ali program spodbuja učenje učiteljev? Na katere načine spodbuja učenje učiteljev? Ali učenje učiteljev naslavlja raznolikost? Ugotovitve kažejo, da nekatere intervencije nudijo možnosti za učenje učiteljev, kot so na primer: procesi skupnega učenja, pedagoška super-vizija, refleksija in obiskovanje kurzov za profesionalni razvoj. Kljub temu pa se zdi, da raznolikost v tovrstnih iniciativah pogosto uman-jka. Dva temelja učenja učiteljev za raznolikost sta bila namreč odsotna: kritična refleksija učiteljev o vključenosti/izključenosti učencev; učenje od učencev/z učenci, od družin/z družinami in od skupnosti/s skupnostmi. Ob tem je bila večina priložnosti za profesionalni razvoj organizirana in merjena s šolskim uspehom učencev, kar pomeni, da je učenje učiteljev le instrument za izboljšanje šolskega uspeha učencev, ne pa kot jedro spremembe izobraževanja za raznolikost. Ti izsledki kličejo k politikam znotraj programa Territorios Educativos de Intervengao Prioritária, ki bodo morale, če se želijo resnično spoprijeti s socialno izključenostjo, vključevati učenje učiteljev, ki upošteva in goji kritično razmišljanje o raznolikosti, ter glasove skupnosti in učencev. Ugotovitve lahko prispevajo k razpravi o pristopu k raznolikosti v okvirih področno zasnovanih iniciativ v Evropi.
Ključne besede: področno zasnovane iniciative, raznolikost, profesionalni razvoj, učenje učiteljev
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Introduction
Education is a fundamental right for all; however, schools are generally not geared to respond to the growing student diversity in a way that guarantees equity. Student diversity has become one of the most significant challenges for schools in the 21st century (Ainscow, 2016). This challenge seems to be more present in socio-economically disadvantaged areas where area-based initiatives (ABIs) (Kerr & Dyson, 2017) are often launched (Dyson, Raffo, & Rochex, 2014). Student diversity is sometimes overlooked in ABIs, where 'areas' are treated as administrative units rather than human ecologies (Lupton, 2010). On reviewing the results of ABIs, Dyson et al. (2014) indicate the need to collect data that allows controlling for the impact of gender, ethnicity and social class (Dyson, Raffo, & Rochex, 2014) and not only focus on the impact on students' school results in general. Teachers are a crucial component in students' success (Darling-Hammond, 2017; Hattie, 2003). However, teachers working in such policy contexts that define success narrowly in terms of school results, often experience tensions between the claimed values of inclusion and diversity and the priorities with which they must comply (Dyson, Gallanaugh, & Millward, 2003). Little is known about how teacher learning for diversity is promoted in TEIP, an ABI in Portugal.
TEIP, an area-based initiative in Portugal
Area-Based Initiatives (ABIs) are often initiated in order to tackle under-achievement, disadvantage, and social exclusion in Europe. Zones déducation prioritaires in France, Excellence in Cities in England, or the Territorios Educativos de Intervengao Prioritária in Portugal are examples of ABIs. Dyson et al. (2014) suggest that educational priority policies can target individuals (e.g., SEN), groups (e.g., Portuguese as non-mother-tongue language (PNML)), schools (e.g., establishing better leadership), and geographical areas (ABIs, e.g., TEIP). ABIs may combine these three targets.
The TEIP policy was first introduced in Portuguese educational policy in 1996. It was interrupted for a number of years and then was restarted in 2008 as TEIP2 and in 2012 as TEIP3 (Ferraz et al., 2014). Presently, TEIP3 includes 137 school clusters and aims at reducing school dropout, truancy, and indiscipline, and promoting educational success. The TEIP programme covers diverse contexts (Abrantes et al., 2013): socially excluded urban areas, diffuse peripheral zones, heterogeneous urban zones with social inequalities and conflicts, and poor rural areas. Abrantes, Mauritti, and Roldao (2011) identified that TEIP
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documents were mostly concerned with preventing school failure, indiscipline, and improving school results and family-school relations. Their research also reviewed the areas of TEIP actions: organisational interventions, pedagogical practices, integrating and monitoring students, as well as extracurricular and community activities. The detected pedagogical strategies predominantly provided more individualised teaching and learning in or outside the classroom, facilitated by a co-teacher or support staff, broadly aiming at improving teaching, reinforcing the subjects Mathematics and Portuguese, experimental Science teaching, and valuing achievement. However, they concluded that measuring TEIP outcomes through the students' school results at national exams might 'reduce the conceptions and practices that guide these actions, limiting the potential of pedagogical and organisational innovation' (p. 28). Although previous studies on TEIP acknowledge the decrease in dropout and indiscipline, the improvement of academic results and educational management, and that some responses have been given to socio-cultural diversity, several authors still question its overall success in transforming education (Abrantes et al., 2011, 2013; Dias, 2013; Rolo, Prata, & Dias, 2014; Sampaio & Leite, 2015; Silva, da Silva, & Araújo, 2017).
Additionally, Canário (2004) shed light on the TEIP schools' deficit approach to the ABIs' communities and students' families. The author problema-tises the perspective that longs for homogeneity, undervalues students' experiences, and considers pupils and their families as the sources of problems in schooling. Given the importance of teacher learning to student learning, teachers' learning for diversity could be a crucial driving force in TEIP. However, despite the number of studies conducted on TEIP, less is known about how teacher learning for diversity is framed by the TEIP intervention.
Teacherlearning
Teacher effectiveness has rapidly risen to the top of the education policy agenda, as many nations have become convinced that teaching is one of the most important school-related factors in student achievement (OECD). And teacher preparation and development are key building blocks in developing effective teachers. (Darling-Hammond, 2017, p. 291)
Several authors regard teacher learning as conducive to student learning (Guerriero, 2017; Hattie, 2009, 2015; Vermunt, 2014). Teacher learning can be an overarching concept 'that sees teachers as lifelong learners and includes teachers' formal learning in initial teacher education, induction and continuing
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professional development, as well as informal learning such as professional collaborations or networking' (Révai & Guerriero, 2017, p. 65). Teacher learning is conceptualised as ongoing, social, situated, distributed, and actively constructed (Borko, 2004; Putnam & Borko, 2000; Webster-Wright, 2009). According to Vermunt and Endedijk (2011), teacher learning is a dynamic interaction between learning and regulating activities, teachers' knowledge, beliefs and learning motivation, and is affected by several contextual and personal characteristics. In this article, we focus on teacher learning in terms of in-service professional development for teachers in TEIP schools.
Changes to the school population and educational reforms require considerable changes in classroom practices. According to Borko (2004), these changes can only happen through supported and guided teacher learning (p. 3). However, Darling-Hammond (2017) states that professional development remains inadequate and 'in-service seminars and other forms of professional development are fragmented, intellectually superficial' (p. 465). In contrast, teachers also learn in their school context by doing, experimenting, reflecting, and interacting with others (Bakkenes & Vermunt, 2010; Meirink, Meijer, & Verloop, 2009). Consequently, teachers should be given opportunities for embedded forms of professional learning and sharing their experiences and expertise in various ways in order to continue developing, learning and being enthusiastic about the teaching profession. These opportunities can include teachers' work with curriculum development through collaborative planning, lesson study, and action research of various kinds (Darling-Hammond, 2017, p. 303). Caena (2011) outlined seven forms of effective professional learning: analysing school culture, peer observations, classroom studies about students' assignments, analysing student data, forming study groups, being involved in development and improvement processes, and studying students' classroom behaviour.
However, often teachers still struggle or resist learning new knowledge and changing practices (Bakkenes & Vermunt, 2010), especially in the field of diversity (Gay, 2013). In order to enable in-service teacher learning and professional development, a variety of learning experiences and activities explicitly aiming at developing in-service teachers' knowledge, skills, practices, abilities, and values (Cordingley & Buckler, 2014; Day & Sachs, 2004; Guskey, 2000; Timperley, 2008;), must be provided. Professional development programmes are most adequate when competency- and reflection-based approaches are integrated in a dynamic model, including the acquisition of specific skills connected to teachers' practice, content responsive to teachers' needs and contexts, teachers' active participation, collaboration, formative evaluation, and sufficient
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timeframes for development (Creemers, Kyriakides, & Antoniou, 2013). This integrated vision of professional development is important in order not to simply acquire a set of prescribed contents and skills, but to develop moral responsibility to contribute to socially just schooling (Creemers et al., 2013).
Professional development can occur at a variety of sites, such as in school, in networks of schools or in partnerships with other institutions (Day & Sachs, 2004). Current understandings of professional learning point to the need for professional development to be continuous, related to teachers' actual needs and practice, collaborative, based on research evidence, engaging and empowering for teachers, and aimed at enhancing student learning (European Commission, 2013; Gilbert, 2011; Gimmert, 2014; Menter, 2010). To meet these demands, the school itself is an essential platform for professional development. Situated in the boundary of school contexts, teachers' co-learning and collaboration have been found to be an effective form of teacher learning (Avalos, 2011; Burbank & Kauchak, 2003; Vescio et al., 2008). According to Vangrieken et al. (2015), teachers' collaboration can occur in teacher teams, learning groups, communities of practice, professional learning communities, and other forms, such as critical friends or networks. Additionally, effective forms of learning together can also be, among others, lesson study (Murata, 2011), mentoring (Kemmis et al., 2014), and peer coaching (Cordingley & Buckler, 2014). Specifically, in Portugal, 'pedagogical supervision' has been promoted as an effective form of professional development (Carlos et al., 2017).
Regarding teachers in Portugal, Flores (2005) found that teachers undervalued formal learning opportunities provided by teacher education institutions; instead, they preferred school-based activities, such as reflecting on their own practices, analysing students' reactions, and trying out new strategies on a trial-and-error basis. Professional development in Portugal is regulated by the Decree-Law 22/2014, stating that improving the quality of education is one of the key challenges and, with a view to reaching this target, professional development is considered a priority. It furthermore requires professional development to take into account the contextual and individual needs of teachers, and to be based on a needs assessment, followed by a 'Professional Development Plan'. DL22/2014 portrays professional development as a way to support teachers in developing educational and curricular projects, improving their performance, quality, and efficacy and thereby adding to the quality of education and of student results at large.
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Teacher learning for diversity
Diversity, a traditionally somewhat overlooked area of teacher learning, has been gaining more attention in European policy guidelines (European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education, 2012; European Council, 2009, 2016; European Commission, 2015, 2017; OECD, 2010) over the last decade. In this article, the concept of diversity is understood as multifaceted, socially constructed, and dependent on context. This holistic view on diversity (Cardona Moltó et al., 2010; Essomba, 2010; Timperley & Alton-Lee, 2008; Waitoller & Artiles, 2013) covers several aspects such as culture, ethnicity, language, disability, social and economic status, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and so on. These dimensions do not stand in isolation, but their possible intersections as manifested in student populations (Waitoller & Artiles, 2013) and in the demographics of ABIs are taken into account. Consequently, teacher learning for diversity in this article refers to professional development for inservice teachers addressing a wide scope of student diversity, thus tackling all types of marginalisation and exclusion (Unesco, 2005).
Although diversity has become a regular component in initial teacher education, teachers still report unpreparedness in responding to diversity across Europe (Arnesen et al., 2008; Burns & Shadoian-Gersing, 2010; European Commission, 2015, 2017) and in Portugal (Flores & Ferreira, 2016). A few frameworks have been developed for professional learning for diversity. Timperley and Alton-Lee (2008, p. 342) outlined a model that embeds professional development in the socio-cultural and learning environment and regards contents for diversity, teachers' learning activities and learning processes as an interactive system, leading to responding to diversity, and eventually, impacting diversity. Florian (2012) argues that professional development for diversity has to cover three main themes: understanding learning where difference is taken into account, understanding social justice, and becoming active professionals in developing new ways of working together. Waitoller and Artiles' (2013) review on professional development for inclusion described that the main forms of professional development were formal courses (university, on-site or online) and action research projects or collaborations with universities, researchers, and specialists. These projects involved teacher inquiry, as well as several forms of observation, coaching, and collaboration by and with external experts. However, more studies are necessary in order to understand professional development for diversity as it is organised by schools. Some investigations support the idea of lesson studies (Messiou et al., 2016; Simon, Echeita, & Sandoval, 2018), professional learning communities (Read et al., 2015; Torrico et al., 2016), and
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coaching (Teemant, 2015); with a specific focus on listening to or engaging with students' voice in these approaches (Messiou et al., 2016, Schultz, 2003; Simon et al., 2018). It also has been found fruitful for teachers to work with and learn from communities in diverse contexts (Coffey, 2010; Lees, 2016).
Ainscow (2005), when referring to teachers' 'levers for change', considers 'policy documents, conferences and in-service courses' as low leverage activities, since they do not necessarily create 'interruptions that help to 'make the familiar unfamiliar' in ways that stimulate self-questioning, creativity and action' (p. 116). Ainscow (2005) also states that deeply rooted assumptions about diversity might undermine pedagogical innovations when teachers believe that students are 'disadvantaged and in need of fixing, or, worse, as deficient and, therefore, beyond fixing' (p. 117).
Consequently, drawing on these theoretical perspectives, professional development for diversity includes 1) developing subject content and pedagogical content knowledge in which diversity is included; 2) learning from/with students, families and communities; 3) reflecting critically on one's own beliefs and assumptions about diversity, as well as on how teaching practice contributes to socially just schooling. As previous research has shown, it is advisable that these learning processes occur in collaborative environments. There are several possible factors influencing teacher learning due to its situated nature (Avalos, 2011; Borko, 2004; Hoban, 2002; Putnam & Borko, 2000; Vermunt & Endedijk, 2011). In this article, teacher learning is approached as represented in school documents in the TEIP policy context.
This study aimed at describing how teacher learning is promoted in the proposed TEIP actions. Furthermore, it was explored how diversity was situated within those teacher learning possibilities. The following research questions were asked:
1.	Does TEIP promote teacher learning?
2.	In what ways is teacher learning promoted?
3.	Does teacher learning within TEIP address student diversity?
Method
To study teacher learning for diversity, contextualised in TEIP, a microlevel policy analysis was conducted including publicly available documents produced by TEIP schools. Documents were regarded as sources revealing distinct aspects of social realities, in this case, how teacher learning for diversity was shaped in the local TEIP interventions. Following the vision of Atkinson and Coffey (2011) that documents are not '[...] transparent representations of
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organisational routines, decision-making processes or professional practice' (p. 79), it was assumed that documents create a particular 'documentary reality'. Three types of documents were identified as insightful in answering the research questions: the schools' TEIP Improvement Plan, Educational Plan, and Professional Development Plan. These documents were obtained through a manual online search on the websites of the 137 TEIP school clusters. School clusters that did not display TEIP Improvement Plans were excluded from the search (42 school clusters). A typology was developed for delineating the documentation types of the school clusters 1) schools with only TEIP Improvement Plan (17 school clusters); 2) schools with Improvement Plan and Educational Plan (59 school clusters); 3) schools with Improvement Plan and Professional Development Plan (4 school clusters); 4) schools having all three documents (15 school clusters). A total of 188 documents from 95 TEIP schools were analysed.
The analysis was guided by the principles of contextual policy analysis (Ritchie & Spencer, 1994) that identifies the forms and nature of a certain existing phenomenon in policies. The analysis followed the procedures of inductive content analysis (Mayring, 2014) using NVivo version 11 software. Mayring's (2014, p. 80) steps of inductive category development includes 1) focusing on theories and research questions; 2) defining selection criteria; 3) initial category formulation; 4) revision and definition of categories half-way through the material; 5) coding the rest of the material; 6) building main categories; 7) intra/ inter-code agreement; 8) final results, interpretation. Following these steps, an initial selection protocol was developed, guided by theoretical perspectives and research questions. The material was divided between the two researchers and was analysed independently. After an analysis of around 50% of the whole data, the initial codes and categories were reviewed, discussed, and agreed upon between the researchers, and the rest of the data was analysed independently. The researchers then reviewed their individual analysis for refinements and main category building. The final step involved an audit of each other's analysis and inter-coding agreement. The first level analysis investigated the forms of teacher learning and identified four main themes that were used as the structure of the Findings section. The second level analysis explored the contents of each form of teacher learning, specifically focusing on if and how diversity was situated within those forms of teacher learning.
Results
The first level analysis revealed four main potential forms of teacher learning 1) learning together; 2) pedagogical supervision; 3) reflection; 4)
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professional development courses. These themes will be described, coupled with the second level analysis of how diversity was situated within each theme.
Learning together
A strong theme emerging was 'teachers working together' to reach the TEIP goals. However, this initiative took a variety of forms and was signalled by mixed terminology, often using 'working together', 'cooperation', and 'collaboration' interchangeably or simply as a list of descriptive words without theoretical distinction. Therefore, we will refer to this category as 'learning together', while acknowledging its many levels and modes existing in the documents. Despite the variability, there are some trends based on the programmes 'Mais Sucesso Escolar/ TurmaMais' and 'Fenix', which mainly target literacy- and numeracy-related 'school failure'. For example, a set of interventions recruited an extra support teacher. The work of the two teachers included: splitting classes into two groups and teaching students separately with or without prior teacher cooperation; the support teacher helping students within the classroom, individually or in small groups, following the main teacher's curriculum; and co-teaching with two teachers planning and conducting lessons collaboratively. The TEIP documents are consistent in arguing that such actions were necessary to provide differentiated, individualised teaching and learning as a means of responding to students' needs.
Other forms of 'learning together' consisted of establishing working groups between teachers, departments and disciplines; teamwork (including interdisciplinary teams), working in partnerships/networks with external experts, and the idea of a learning community was also mentioned. These forms usually aimed at teachers developing together assessment instruments, lesson plans, teaching strategies and materials, and projects. Another aim of these forms was to share good practices, experiences, instruments and resources among the teaching team. Almost no reference was made on how these forms of collaboration address diversity, and only a few documents mentioned that teachers should work together with a Special Education teacher.
The actors of 'learning together' were teachers' horizontal (subject) and vertical pairs and groups, teachers with support staff, leadership and external experts. Even though TEIP aims to strengthen school-community relations, which could easily imply teachers learning with/from students and families, community-related actions were mostly associated with support staff (social workers, psychologists, and animators) rather than teachers.
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Pedagogical supervision
Even though pedagogical supervision could be clustered under the 'learning together' theme, as it implies teachers observing each other's lessons and reflecting on them, it emerged in the data as a standalone activity that leads to modifying practices. 'Pedagogical supervision', also referred to as 'intervision' in some schools, meant either middle leadership or peers to observe lessons. Pedagogical supervision was regarded as an effective form of professional development that contributed to the improvement of teaching practice, and eventually, student learning. Lesson study, critical friends, and coaching were also mentioned a few times, meaning a similar type of action. The aims and contents of these dynamics were kept on the level of 'improving practices' or 'modifying strategies' without specifically targeting diversity.
Reflection
Reflection was often mentioned in school policy documents, with schools stating that reflecting was a significant cornerstone to the refinement and adaptation of teaching strategies and TEIP actions, ultimately raising school results. Thus, reflection meant both 'reflecting on practices' and 'reflecting on results' mostly related to TEIP targets: academic results, the frequency of indiscipline, absenteeism, and dropout. In other words, reflection was often associated with the schools' self-assessment and monitoring of the development and impact of TEIP actions, which was performed by teams of teachers but was not centred on teachers' self-development. Critical reflection was mentioned only a few times, and there was a lack of specifying reflection on practices in terms of responding to diversity, or in relation to mechanisms of exclusion and inclusion in society and in school. Apart from what was mentioned regarding 'pedagogical supervision', there was no clear sign of encouraging teachers to reflect on themselves, their own assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes towards students, families, and communities.
In-service courses
The majority of the TEIP school policies analysed provided a list of courses available for teachers. These courses or workshops differed in contents, lengths, and ways of being organised. The courses were mostly provided through the centres for continuing professional development connected to the schools. The teachers were allowed to visit other schools and institutions for
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professional development, and the TEIP 'external expert' also seemed to provide in-school workshops. Regarding content, courses were mostly provided around three main areas: subject-specific contents, transversal knowledge and classroom management, and knowledge and skills related to the specific TEIP actions.
Regarding subject-specific courses, contents were mainly related to Portuguese, Mathematics, and experimental teaching of Sciences. Transversal knowledge and skills involved a variety of contents, such as differentiated curriculum and pedagogy, using ICT, active teaching, assessment methods, and classroom management. Classroom management was generally related to student behaviour and to the TEIP target of 'Preventing Indiscipline'. Courses related to TEIP actions, such as specific teaching strategies (TurmaMais, Fénix, tutoring), monitoring and self-assessment, and pedagogical supervision, were also offered.
Contents related to diversity appeared in the transversal category, mostly around special education and inclusion. To a smaller extent, 'inter/multicul-turality, 'integration', and 'PNML' were also present. The titles and terminologies of these courses differed across the schools and tended to use overlapping concepts of inclusion, integration, and inter/multiculturality. For example, 'inclusion' was mostly used in referring to 'SEN', or to diversity in general. 'Integration' was often mentioned broadly or in terms of 'Roma ethnicity', 'SEN' or 'PNML' students. 'Inter/multiculturality' was usually a broad topic without specificities. However, in a few cases, the course titles presented problematic perspectives of diversity, for example, 'Integrating students of Roma ethnicity to school: a problem or an opportunity? Managing cultural diversity in school'.
Discussion and Conclusions
This article aimed to explore if and how TEIP promoted teacher learning in general, and specifically learning for diversity, through its initiatives for in-service teachers' professional development.
Starting with whether TEIP promoted teacher learning, it was clear that school policies mentioned several opportunities for teacher learning, such as working and learning together, pedagogical supervision, reflection and professional development courses. Improving teaching was regarded as a crucial component of TEIP, and it was consistently assumed to lead to improving student learning, and ultimately, school results. Aligned with previous literature (Van-grieken et al., 2015, Vescio et al., 2008), the schools have shown awareness of the need for building collaborative working cultures, and encouraging teacher
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learning through a variety of initiatives to work and learn together. However, the monitoring of the impact of TEIP actions was often reduced to measuring three TEIP targets: student grades, levels of indiscipline, and school dropout. Despite the clear commitment in TEIP school policies to support teachers' professional development in collaborative environments, it is ambiguous whether these initiatives can have a strong impact on actual teaching practices when constrained by such narrowly defined indicators of assessment.
Learning together activities mostly involved teachers, school leadership, support staff, and external experts, but students, families, and communities seemed to be completely missing from these initiatives. As previously pointed out (Abrantes et al., 2013; Ferraz et al., 2014), TEIP actions for strengthening school, family, and community relationships remain underdeveloped. Our analysis found a variety of activities targeting the involvement of parents and communities in school life, but they did not seem to be opportunities for teacher learning, rather the other way around, the actions promoted 'parents learning' by learning from support staff and school. Therefore, it seemed to be assumed in TEIP-related documents that students, families and communities are not legitimate sources of teacher learning, in other words, are not regarded as equal partners in the teaching-learning process. Despite the fact that engaging with communities and student voice (Coffey, 2010; Lees, 2016; Messiou et al., 2016; Schultz, 2003; Simon et al., 2018) is crucial in transformation for diversity and equity, TEIP actions seemed to reinforce an image of school and teachers that might hinder the development of inclusive schools.
Diversity appeared in the TEIP documents when describing the schools' contexts, students, and families, mostly pointing to the dimensions of SEN, ethnicity, nationality, language, socio-economic status, and educational success as measured by grades and grade repetition. In most cases, diversity was simultaneously presented as an opportunity in the school values sections, and as a challenge or problem, in the schools' contextualisation and specific TEIP actions. However, the lack of diversity focus was evident in the initiatives for teachers' professional development.
There was a clear awareness of the need to differentiate teaching, and for teachers to learn about differentiation; however, the rationale for this was not diversity but the improvement of students' grades, especially in Portuguese and Maths. Reflection, another strong component of teacher learning in TEIP, was consistently identified in the documents as a crucial process for improving practice. Teachers were encouraged to reflect mainly on the students' results and on teaching practice in general, and to modify practices, leading to improved school results. Similarly to teachers' 'learning together' activities, the
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aims and contents of these reflections either remained on a global level, without an emphasis on diversity or focused on reflection about grades, indiscipline and school dropout. Consistently with what was presented by Canario (2004), the teacher reflections may lead to explanations of 'problems' as being within students and their families, which can create further obstacles in developing a critical reflection on how TEIP practices contribute to or hinder tackling social inequalities. Without an understanding of diversity and social justice practices, these initiatives might eventually lead to the opposite effect, such as labelling and tracking students in fixed ability groups, contributing to certain groups of students to remaining in low-achieving paths of academic and professional life. Critical reflection on the self, one's beliefs, and assumptions seemed to be completely absent from the reflection processes. Thus, if teachers hold low expectations and negative views about their students (Ainscow, 2005), transformation is unlikely to happen. Therefore, the teachers' ability to act and think critically is crucial in counteracting such ambiguities (Dyson et al., 2003), for example by understanding and modifying group compositions and arrangements from an inclusive point of view, keeping high expectations for all learners and examining ones' biases.
Regarding professional development courses, largely promoted topics of teacher learning indirectly connected to diversity were 'differentiated pedagogy' and 'curricular differentiation', but these seemed to remain on a superficial or technical level, which does not necessarily engage with how diversity is targeted through these actions. In contrast, the more specific courses, focused on 'special education', 'inclusion', 'integration', 'inter/multiculturality', and 'PNML', will depend greatly on how these issues will be approached and by whom, risking complying with superficial approaches that do not engage teachers' in critical thinking and questioning the status quo of schooling. Additionally, some of the courses seemed to apply confusing principles related to ethnicity, language status, integration, and inclusion. Furthermore, a variety of crucial topics were seemingly missing from these courses, including (among others) equity and social justice, multilingual pedagogies, cultural responsiveness, discrimination, and racism. Some dimensions of diversity remained overlooked, such as gender, sexuality, and religion. Approaches that view student diversity through inclusive, intersectional lenses also seemed to be absent. However, the documents only provided the titles of the courses, and this analysis cannot offer a conclusion about their actual contents.
Ultimately, the success of the TEIP actions being assessed through its impact on students' academic achievement or indiscipline creates a strong barrier to developing inclusive and equitable schools and transforming education
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in TEIP (Abrantes et al., 2011, 2013; Dyson et al., 2003). Our analyses found that these standards of measurements, in fact, disregard both diversity and teachers' professional learning for diversity. Consequently, despite the fact that professional development is essential to improve student learning (Hattie, 2003; Vermunt, 2014), teacher learning within TEIP documents seems to remain instrumental to raising school success, rather than being at the core of transforming education and schools into an asset for a more equitable and socially just society.
These results call for TEIP policies to support teacher learning for diversity, in other words, continuing professional development that fosters critical thinking and engages with communities' and students' voices in order to respond to diversity aiming to create equitable practices and tackling exclusion. These findings might serve as starting points to renew TEIP, as well as other ABIs in Europe.
Acknowledgement
The paper is part of the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE) project that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement number 676452.
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Biographical note
Nikolett Szelei is an early stage researcher in teacher education at the Institute of Education, University of Lisbon. Her main areas of research include cultural and linguistic diversity in schools, focusing on critical mul-ticulturalism, social justice and students' voices; and teachers' context-based experiences and professional development on the same fields. Other areas of interest include preschool and primary school education, teacher collaboration, mentoring, and music education.
Ines Alves, PhD, is a Lecturer in Inclusive Education at the University of Glasgow. Her research interests are inclusive education, social justice and equity, human rights, and disability. She is interested in the conceptualisation of difference, and in the schools' responses to pupil diversity, namely through the use of inclusive pedagogy and Universal Design for Learning.
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doi: 10.26529/cepsj.510
Change, Challenge, Transformation: A Qualitative Inquiry into Transformative Teacher Learning
Helena Kovacs1
^^ In its essence, transformative learning is a dynamic and ever-emerging process, according to the core literature that deals with it. As such, when examined from the perspective of teacher professional development, transformative learning ceases being solely related to an individual and becomes a composition within which the individual creates and expands forms that need change. Thus, teacher learning that focuses only on new technology, methodology, and classroom management remains informative and valuable, but without a transformative character. This paper explores the underpinning principles of transformative learning by observing the notions of transformative change from the perspective of two non-traditional schools: one in Hungary and the other in Portugal. As such, the analysis and conclusions are formed using the data collected through a qualitative inquiry of teachers and principals from the two selected schools. The results suggest that teacher transformative learning in the two specific settings is intimately related to the awareness and need of change in education provisions, as well as with the challenges that this change brings. The gathered insights pave a way to a better understanding of the intricate and delicate tapestry of teacher learning in occasions in which it embraces an everlasting reflective and transformative character.
Keywords: transformative learning, educational change, teacher collaboration, school development
1 Eotvos Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary; helena.kovacs@ppk.elte.hu.
100 change, challenge, transformation
Sprememba, izziv, transformacija:
kvalitativna raziskava transformativnega učenja učiteljev
Helena Kovacs
^^ Transformativno učenje je v svojem bistvu glede na temeljno literaturo področja dinamičen proces. Kot takšno transformativno učenje, preučevano skozi perspektivo profesionalnega razvoja učiteljev, ni več povezano samo s posameznikom, ampak postane kompozicija, znotraj katere posameznik ustvarja in razširja oblike, ki terjajo spremembo. Učenje učiteljev, ki se tako usmerja samo na novo tehnologijo, metodologijo in na upravljanje razreda, sicer ostaja informativno in dragoceno, vendar brez transformativnega značaja. Ta prispevek raziskuje temeljna načela transformativnega učenja z opazovanjem pojmov transformativne spremembe s perspektive dveh netradicionalnih šol: ene iz Madžarske, druge iz Portugalske. Analiza in sklepi so oblikovani z uporabo podatkov, pridobljenih v kvalitativni raziskavi učiteljev in ravnateljev obeh izbranih šol. Izsledki nakazujejo, da je transformativno učenje učiteljev v obeh kontekstih tesno povezano z zavedanjem in s potrebo po spremembi v načinih nudenja in zagotavljanja izobraževanja pa tudi z izzivi, ki jih takšna sprememba nosi. Zbrani vpogledi tlakujejo pot do boljšega razumevanja zapletene in občutljive tapiserije učenja učiteljev v situacijah, ki zaobjemajo njen neskončno reflektiven in trans-formativen značaj.
Ključne besede: transformativno učenje, edukacijske spremembe, sodelovanje učiteljev, razvoj šol
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Opening: Mens sana in corpore sano
The Roman saying mens sana in corpore sano points to a basic concept that in order to achieve a healthy spirit, a person needs a healthy body. A scholar on human learning, Peter Jarvis, notes: '[t]he person is both body and mind, not just personality in the psychological sense' (2006, p. 48). The idea that individuals are constantly in the process of 'becoming' reflects the very notion of change and re-creation of the same yet transformed person as a whole. Unlike Kolb's learning cycle, in Jarvis' perception, learning entails a rather complex system and transformation resulting from learning includes a socially constructed experience, a reflection process, and both action and emotion. As the author would illustrate: the change of body, mind and self (Jarvis, 2006).
Change is a process that does not come easily to a school setting. For education systems around the world, enabling change and innovation comes with a bit or much difficulty because the system and the practices formulated around education are complex, rigid, and strongly traditional (Resnick, Goldman, Spillane, & Rangel, 2010). Furthermore, the school-based practices are constructed in highly emotional relationships that are often overlooked when proposing change (James, 2010). The power of feelings plays a crucial role as learning is relational conduct between different school actors.
It seems essential in education to have a conscious and deep understanding of what works and why, as well as to reflect and critically develop those aspects that do not work. In order for teachers to feel well with their practice, they need a sense of routine (Hammerness et al., 2007; James, 2010) and one that has an impact and can make a difference, regardless whether it is related to the classroom approach, way of collaboration with others, relationship with the school leadership, or their interaction with students. Education is a conduit to the future through which society, and schools in particular, prepare generations for whatever is waiting. Thus, professionals in schools need to have a clear idea of their conduct and, more so, be able to transform the problematic frames of reference that are incoherent (Mezirow, 2009).
It is argued in this article that transformation does not come without a notion of change, nor does it come without challenges. More distinctively, transformative teacher learning does not happen alone, in isolation of change and challenges that occur in their professional environments. The purpose of this article is to find an answer to what constitutes transformative teacher learning in two schools that engage in student-centred reflective pedagogical practices and, as such, what are the changes and challenges that these schools face in supporting such transformations. The relevance of this work lies in the
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somewhat unknown notions of transformative teacher learning in schools that act as innovative learning environments and, more so, understanding the structural and human constructs that make transformative learning a reality.
Theoretical considerations of the three-segment logic
When placed in a particular order, change, challenge and transformation seem to imply a logical gradual thread. The section below attempts to justify the logic and presents how one notion creates a base for the other to be built on. In doing so, the article attempts to provide a basis for how the literature and the data are viewed, analysed, and discussed and to answer the questions of the dynamics of transformative teacher learning.
Much has been said about the need for a change in the way schools operate; Schleicher (2015) argues that it is of utmost importance to (re)build schools in order to become responsive to the needs of the 2ist-century learners. This often includes changing the way school leadership is perceived, as well as working with teachers to become more confident in engaging in innovative work (Schleicher, 2015). School can also be seen as complex adaptive systems that need to manage the change mainly through altering two core behaviours connected to learning: the way continuous professional development is handled and the way teaching and learning is perceived (Horvath, Verderber, & Barath, 2015). Echazarra et al. (2016) argue that schools have changed very little since they were first established and, as such, are failing to provide good preparation for the students facing current and future challenges. The 'four Cs' - creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration -need to become integral to any curriculum and classroom practice; for this, several changes are needed within schools and education systems. For instance, the way students learn can no longer rely on memorisation alone; learning thus needs to become more versatile and independent (Echazarra et al., 2016).
Additional to this, school change is often closely connected to effective leadership approach which empowers the teachers and is focused on creating learning opportunities. Those schools that seem to perform better have a systematic approach to leadership, where the strategy is to distribute the power and create ownership among key stakeholders (Gregorzewski & Kovacs, 2017; Hargreaves, Halász, & Pont, 2007). The topic of effective leadership also connects to the understanding of school development (Day et al., 2009), and generates the basic idea that shared ideas of the needs, processes and outcomes should be owned by teachers and principals, but also educational policymakers and parents.
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In literature, school change has often been connected to a scope of a larger educational reform. Thus, Snyder et al. (1992) constructed three approaches that explain the processes of curriculum reform implementation and in what way it gets absorbed by the school. The three perspectives differ according to the initial engagement of stakeholders in the process of developing the curricular instruction, and more critically according to what is expected from teachers in their role as implementers of the curriculum. The role of teachers can go from being very passive to being an active agent of change as described in the curriculum enactment perspective. In the latter, teachers and students are considered to be active players and are invited to engage in curriculum design, as well as in the further co-creation of the curriculum through implementation in the classroom. The syllabus, accompanied by the formally devised materials, are used as tools for learning, free to be modified and adapted to the specific situations (Snyder et al., 1992).
Nonetheless, it is not all that simple and straightforward; James (2010) argues that by observing the educational change from the perspective of system psychodynamics, teaching involves a high level of affective intensity; thus, feelings hold a powerful influence over any change. Change can be energising and uplifting but also a cause for high anxiety and feeling of loss as it touches on routines and rituals that are logical for the school staff, therefore collective engagement over setting new ones holds great weight (James, 2010).
To change is to embrace the challenge that quite often is invisible and relational. In contrast, the visible part of it is often given in the form of an alternative methodology, a non-routine practice, or in other words, an educational innovation, most notably such that benefits the students. In a school setting, in most cases, this does not come with ease:
No-where is the challenge of innovation greater than in the education sector, where centuries-old practices of teaching are embedded in political and organisational structures which are resistant to new ideas - even in the face of growing evidence that traditional ways of working are not 'paying off'. (Resnick et al., 2010, p. 286)
In some of the literature, the resistance to change that is presented as the challenge to bringing innovation in schools is curable through systematic investment in developing a coherent school organisation and through a focus on school practice. Resnick et al. (2010) argue that developing learning communities helps not only to improve knowledge creation and management among the staff but is also useful for modifying teachers' practice.
The capacity for schools to be learning organisations (Senge, 1990) is an essential element in the puzzle. Senge notes that successful organisations are
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those that have the capacity as learning organisations, 'where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together' (Senge, 1990, p. 10). Put into perspective, learning in organisations implies individual learning and active engagement. While these are utmost necessary, they are not entirely sufficient in order to have a successful pattern of organisational learning (Ellstrom, 2001). It is the intricate web of coherent and complex relational, managerial, and organisational patterns that allow both professional and personal gains. In the teaching profession, satisfaction with professional growth and achievements plays a high role in performance and overall classroom success (Bakkenes, Ver-munt, & Wubbels, 2010; McCharen, Song, & Martens, 2011; Timperley, Wilson, Barrar, & Fung, 2007).
Following the conceptual ideas of the learning organisations, Giles and Hargreaves (2006) innovative schools have historically contained some (but not usually all agree that the idea could easily be applicable for schools that nurture the capacity for professional teacher learning, have a structural approach to innovation and can flexibly engage with solutions to emerging situations. The success of these knowledge-intensive school environments rests on the components such as collaborative work, consistent teaching, and learning strategies, and analysis of the results over time (Giles & Hargreaves, 2006). Nevertheless, in the teaching profession, creating professional learning communities comes with its own set of challenges, one of which is the phenomenon of 'closed classroom doors', when teaching is considered to be private conduct. Other such challenges can be seen as high turnover or low retention in the teaching profession, as well as the lack of time and financial resources (Talbert, 2010).
It is argued here that transformative learning comes with a very distinct flavour and it is greater than mere informational learning that focuses on developing skills and knowledge. Kegan (2009) notes that the over-use of any term, including 'transformation' in learning, carries a risk of losing its essential meaning. In such a way, 'transformation begins to refer to any kind of change or process at all' (Kegan, 2009, p. 41). With the aim of preventing this from happening, the author argues it is crucial to understand and define the form that transforms because without the form there cannot be a transformation.
Jack Mezirow who coined the term, defined transformative learning as: 'the process by which we transform problematic frames of reference (mindsets, habits of mind, meaning perspectives) - sets of assumption and expectation -to make them more inclusive, discriminating, open, reflective and emotionally able to change' (2009, p. 92).
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Change and challenge are crucial for this process as defined here. The mere realisation of change in terms of identifying the problematic frame of reference, as well as working along challenges to arrive at the point where reformulation is possible, is of great significance. In such a way, we can talk about transformative learning as 'an adult dimension of reason assessment involving the validation and reformulation of meaning structures' (Mezirow, 2009, p. 93).
While it is elemental to increase the scope of knowledge and the spectrum of skills, build upon the established cognitive structures and expand the corpus of resources, Kegan reminds us that all such learning 'is literally in-form-ative because it seeks to bring valuable new contents into the existing form of our way of thinking. [...] Trans-form-ative learning puts the form itself at risk of change' (2009, p. 42). The existing form, or in Mezirow's terminology the frame of reference, is challenged and modelled in a manner different from what it was.
From this perspective, Jarvis (2006, 2009) argues that transformative learning is a moment in which there is an interaction between a person and the experience. A person comes as a whole (body, mind, self) in a life history and the experience is a socially constructed episode in this life history. Learning that holds a transformative potential touches the person's emotions, enables thought and reflection, and causes internal action. In such a way, the individual is changed as a whole, body, mind and the self (Jarvis, 2009).
If applied to teacher professional development, transformative learning needs to be seen beyond mere work-based learning, encompassing the dimension of expansive learning (Engestrom, 1987), integrating the knowledge of practice (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999) and providing a sense of empowerment and emotional satisfaction. While professional learning is already difficult to precisely define due to its highly tacit and implicit character, it is important to consider that transformative professional learning as both a process and an outcome might be even more demanding.
That said, the article further investigates teacher learning in schools that openly and intensely embrace change, thus questioning what characteristics of school staff's conduct encompass the notions of transformative learning.
Method
The idea of change is unavoidable and distinctly present in schools that cope with the challenges our societies face today. Therefore, the selection of the schools for data collection for the purpose of this paper has been focused on those that positively embrace change, observing it as an opportunity. Working within the scope of a larger research project entitled Teacher learning in
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innovative learning environments, in the context of educational reforms and developmental interventions has enabled this short study to get direct access to a corpus of qualitative data. The countries, Hungary and Portugal, were predetermined by the aforementioned research that is part of the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (Cervinkova & Kalman, 2016).
A qualitative research approach has been used in both cases. The collection of data happened between October 2017 and April 2018. The qualitative inquiry included semi-structured interviews and small focus groups, and the data was analysed manually. For this paper, input from principals and from four teachers in both cases has been used in the analysis. In the case of Portugal, there were five interviews that were not voice-recorded due to the country's ethical code of conduct; therefore, the notes from the interviews and the interviewees quotations were analysed following the pattern of the three conceptual notions of this article: change, challenge, and transformation. In the case of Hungary, there were five respondents, two were interviewed individually (the principal and one teacher), and three were interviewed using a format of a small focus group. The responses were audio-recorded and transcribed, after which they were initially coded and further analysed using the same three-level pattern as in the Portuguese case. Even though the fact that national context matters significantly in discussions of how schools function, the unit of analysis for this paper is the school within which the transformative learning happens. Once coded, the schools were analysed with the help of the theoretical concepts described in the previous chapter.
From the perspective of contextual understanding, these two particular schools are set in complex and to some extent contradictory national settings. In the case of Portugal, school-based experimentation was introduced in the middle of the last century as exceptions to the rule that do not impede the routines (Roldao, 2003). Next to this, focusing more on the universal right to education and bringing real equal opportunity for all students were identified as two of the core principles the country should follow at the turn of the century (Amaro, 2000). In the past, changes at the system level in Portugal did not always persist at the school level, and learning from such challenges did support development of the latest educational provisions encouraging schools to take greater autonomy (Kovacs & Tinoca, 2017).
In Hungary, the political and social transformation at the end of the 1980s and even more at the beginning of the 1990s provided an impetus for educational change, providing freedoms for funding schools and acting against discrimination (Ministry of Education and Culture, 2008). Similar to the Portuguese reality, experimentation was not uncommon in Hungary, yet it did not entirely transform the educational system. At the turn of the century, the
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investment and provisions shifted to specifically targeted programmes and strictly regulated provisions primarily led by the state through European Social Funds (Halasz, 2015).
The condensed outline of the national educational perspectives serves to indicate that both countries fluctuated with their tactics towards schooling and teachers' work, which nevertheless is necessary for understanding the setting. It is also vital to know that the two schools selected for this study slightly differ from the traditional provisions and seem to create an extra layer that needs elaboration. They both use a mix of inclusive and collaborative educational methods to address what they identify as educational goals. The initial selection of the schools, including the two in this study, followed expert advice within the two respective countries. The selection of the schools for the study can also be seen as a limitation of the study as they are not representative of the two countries; they thus provide insight only into their own practices. The particular selection of the two schools for this article was made based on the size and common ideas and structures the schools follow, which restricts the study from making generalisations and broad conclusions.
Part one: The change
In the Portuguese case, it was with the change of the leadership that facilitated a small private school to transform itself into an exciting learning space where knowledge thrives amongst students, teachers, and other school staff. The principal that arrived about five years ago brought energy and inspiration, having extensive previous work experience within the country and abroad. In particular, her work quite frequently focused on teacher education and continuous development that included different teaching and learning methods.
It is not a secret that some techniques and methodologies in teaching and learning help in changing the mind-sets and the attitudes of both teachers and learners. They, and especially the teachers, need to become more reflective, to have a continuous process of reflection and to put in doubt whether their work is successful and why. (Principal, PT school)
The change from the traditional instruction to a more active and reflective one changed the way the teachers worked on their preparation and lesson delivery. The initial great deal of uncertainty in whether their work is effective required feedback and collaboration, thus collegiality soon became a support system. Furthermore, it brought acceptance to the notions of pair-teaching in which additional engagement became a satisfying professional activity.
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Comparatively, in Hungary, the change was integral to the school development in the first place. Close to three decades ago, a group of teaching professionals, including the current principal, decided to use the momentum of favourable educational policies and make a school that would be more student-oriented. At that time, Hungary had a liberal approach to education, allowing a vast number of experiments (Halasz, 2003).
In the '80s in Hungary, it was kind of a pedagogical revolution with a great opportunity to develop new methods and new kinds of schools. We knew we wanted to place the child in the centre of our work, so several of us like-minded pedagogues gathered and researched what would be the best approach to establishing a child-centred school. (Principal, HU school)
The non-traditional methods were novel to the country and understanding them required searching and reading about the examples, as well as visiting other schools and talking to other teachers. The aim was simple and clear for everyone - a child is the central concern - so in order to get there, they started mixing different approaches they found appropriate.
Similar to the Portuguese school, the perspectives of differentiated learning that the Hungarian school implements brought in a dimension of collaboration, pair-teaching, and working as a team. The classroom practice in all their subjects required a vast number of worksheets and individualised learning templates that have been merged into the school's own books.
Part two: The challenge
The school in the Hungarian case approached change at its very establishment; when the group of teachers got together to form a school, it was clear 'what kind of school and practice we wanted, and we knew exactly what we did not want' (Principal, HU school). The idea of the school's mission was to be completely child-centred, and even if at the time it was not clear what kind of pedagogical methods and approaches they would install in practice, they all agreed with certainty about the goal of their educational conduct. Thus, they have dedicated time to read, observe, visit alternative schools and discuss developing the complex classroom methodology that will allow their educational conviction to thrive. After 27 years of perfecting it, they are considered to be a successful school.
Nevertheless, this was and still is not challenge-free. New, fresh-from-training teachers, but also those that have years of experience, found that they
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needed to dedicate more time and attention at the beginning of their work in the school in order to familiarise themselves with the methods and the logic of the specific classroom practice. Teachers explained how it was when they first started:
At the beginning it was hard. The first three-four months, until you find your way and understand how it is all going, it is very difficult. (Teacher 1, HU school)
When we start here, we need to pass a type of a specific school training through which we are introduced with the methods. We are also assigned a teacher-mentor that works with us in the first period until we can gain self-confidence. (Teacher 3, HU school)
The Hungarian school tackled the challenges by creating a sense of belonging, collaboration and ownership. All interviewed teachers mentioned that they had immense support from their colleagues and they never felt left alone to deal with the difficulties. Nevertheless, the school had situations in which the novice teachers could not adapt to this community-oriented working culture, as the teachers in the focus group mentioned:
We did have teachers coming here and wanting to do their job on their own, without really collaborating with the rest. This didn't really work for anyone, for them or for us. (Teacher 3, HU school)
He [the non-collaborative teacher] was not happy, we were not happy. This attitude for collaboration is the only thing that is necessary here, everything else is learnable, like the methods and stuff. But, the personality and the openness to work together - it is really necessary here. (Teacher 4, HU school)
The notion of 'happiness', accompanied by the feeling of accomplishment, seemed to be a recurrent idea that supported teachers through the challenges and contributed to the transformative aspects of their work. This was also evident in the Portuguese school:
Working at this school is very gratifying, and frankly, I do not know if I would ever be fully fulfilled as a teacher at a conventional school. (Teacher 1, PT school)
The Portuguese school has created a very strong support community among the teachers, and all have mentioned the importance of working and
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learning together. They gather for a meeting every second week to discuss the challenges and the opportunities that await in the following period. Furthermore, they all dedicate extra time to design the complex classroom and cur-ricular practice; thus, their workload usually is not the anticipated eight hours per day. Similar to the school in Hungary, their classroom practice consists of a mix of independent work, small-group/project work and a joint part. In addition to this, the school has started experimenting with an all-year story-telling curriculum that integrates different subjects into one learning unit and offers a more illustrative, imaginative, and inter-disciplinary way to learn. The challenge is that it takes at least three weeks of joint teacher work to map out and fully develop the programme.
In the attempt to create a school-wide learning organisation, the Portuguese school also had problems:
At the beginning, it was very difficult, and some teachers that were here for a very long time were not very receptive of the new methods. They would argue that they have been working the same way forever and it seemed to them as pointless to change. (Principal, PT school)
Collaborative work is very important in the success of our school. In order to have interdisciplinary projects, there must be a constant articulation between the specialists of the different areas. (Teacher 1, PT school)
Teamwork is like one of the biotic relationships. (Teacher 4, PT school)
It is very common to exchange ideas when we need one or another piece of advice. We feel that the collaboration between each other is for the greater good. (Teacher 3, PT school)
Having a strong conviction that creating a community based on good relationships, trust and respect, will solve the challenge of the 'lone teacher', the Portuguese school principal developed a team and devised a school-wise programme that touches every single subject and puts teachers to work closer together. Eventually, as described above, this made some teachers leave the school, causing a 'small crisis' (Principal, PT school). It also created a sense that teamwork and collaborative attitudes are unavoidable, thus opening the door to a potential transformation.
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Third part: The transformation
In the Portuguese school, the change came with a handful of challenges. Nevertheless, it did open an array of possibilities, one of which was the development of a new pedagogical programme. In translation from Portuguese, the abbreviation of their pedagogical programme means 'to fly', and the conceptual idea behind this approach is indeed intended to enable children to fully spread their wings through learning. The programme is based on the idea of learning relationships, on autonomy and responsibility, as well as on the idea of opportunity. The programme transformed the teaching role from being a traditional transmitter of knowledge to connecting with students on a deeper level in different capacities according to the students' needs, including in the form of a personal tutor/mentor.
They are fundamental pillars. For instance, the personal relationship between the teacher and the student, the tutor and the student and between the adult and the student, they are all very important, as we discuss in our frequent meetings. You cannot reach a student for whom you mean nothing. The diverse connections we make with the children provide a source of safety and trust. (Teacher 3, PT school)
The change of teacher practice through transformative professional learning is quite often reflected in understanding the aspects of professionalism and responsibility in educating the whole child. Apart from expanding the teacher's professional capacity to the roles of tutors, curriculum planning in the Portuguese school also took a turn at which subjects are thought in an interdisciplinary way, as noted here:
We dared to take another step forward, and this year in the 7th grade we are developing an interdisciplinary project work with the participation of several disciplines simultaneously. It is called the 'landscapes project', and in practice, it means colleagues of geography, natural sciences and history need to come together for classes and for planning. (Teacher 3, PT school)
Next to this, as noted in the principal's viewpoint regarding the necessity for continuous reflection, the teachers seem to indeed continuously expand and work on themselves as professionals:
The practices at the school led to profound changes in the way I work. The reflective process we develop for students is also put into practice for the daily work of teachers. We are invited, on a regular basis, to
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question, reflect and debate our practices, which leads to new strategies, solutions, creativity and overall the capability to doing even better work. (Teacher 1, PT school)
Teachers see their transformation in the way and to the extent that they see their students developing. All of them expressed that the importance of their development is tied to better serving students, yet the emotional satisfaction and encouragement were evident as well:
There is a part of me that thinks we can be making way for future paradigms to change in other schools and dare to educate in the true meaning of the word. We can be writing history! - that's what I sometimes think. (Teacher 3, PT school)
Likewise, interviews in the Hungarian school provided evidence of a large emotional effect that the outcomes of transformative professional learning have on teachers.
It satisfies me to see that the children are happy, when they say they don't want to go for holidays because they want to stay longer in the school. It makes me feel I have done something good. (Teacher 3, HU school)
We really love the work here, and it is not difficult to do anything. (Teacher 4, HU school)
For the Hungarian school, placing the child in the centre of pedagogical and personal attention is paramount. The school welcomes children with different abilities and needs and is classified as an inclusive special education school. Using the differentiated approach, the school can address the needs of all its students, but the connection that teachers make by trying to personally know each child makes the level of respect and commitment even higher. This transcends into aspects of societal change:
We need to change the way society sees disability, and by starting here in the school, we talk a lot about these topics in order to raise sensibility. It is a complete change of viewpoint for everyone to understand different abilities, rather than to feel sorry for a certain disability regardless of which it is. (Teacher 2, HU school)
We do want to do the job well, but also everyone here feels they also own this school. If you think that this is yours, you are responsible for it and you will do everything best you can. (Teacher 4, HU school)
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Enabling a critical and reflective approach to the social norms and creating a sense of ownership for processes, content, and relationship that goes along with the commitment to the purpose of education was indeed the intention of the Hungarian school principal, who also engages in teaching in the school. She noted that the true sense of ownership brings the teachers closer to each other and to the school, and they are happier to engage in the learning process by and for themselves. From the perspective of both the principal and its teachers the school is in the process of constant and never-ending change, and while the aims towards the child-centred approach will always remain the same, the form in which this is achieved will consciously keep on transforming.
Discussion: Teacher learning cannot be transformative alone
The three-part story comes together here, as change, challenge and transformation become summarised through what was provided by the literature and the data. Transformation in terms of changing the form (Kegan, 2009), either in classroom practice, teacher learning or school organisation, does not come without the need for change. Actively understanding status-quo as ineffective fundamentally questions the form that needs to change. Furthermore, the initial change without a challenge might not bring a transformation.
Moreover, the challenge quite often is the change or stems from the elements of change (Resnick et al., 2010). Challenge within the change process inspires endurance with the idea and, once overcome, provides confirmation and expands the initial foundation (Kegan, 2009; Mezirow, 2009). Therefore, the initial form is debated, questioned, challenged, and changed with the meaning structures entirely reframed (Mezirow, 2009).
These concepts form an intricate web that contains great implications for transformative teacher learning. It confirms that transformative teacher learning cannot be considered as any type of learning, regardless of how informative or beneficial it might be for the teachers themselves. Furthermore, teacher learning is a type of strongly embedded work-place adult learning that involves great amounts of emotions; thus it is necessary to understand its essential place in the frame of the school, the local and spatial realities within which teachers work, and perhaps even wider in the frame of the education system. Only by comprehending this, is it possible to see the validity in the argument stated at the beginning, namely that teacher transformative learning cannot happen in isolation. There are at least two ways to argue this.
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Firstly, as noted just above, the transformation does not come without challenges and without realisation of the need to change. It was obvious from the data collected in the two schools, that change is necessary for accomplishing the missions set by those that implement education. This change was more intrinsic than caused by external factors, thus the 'original form' became questioned by the research participants. It could be easily argued that without identifying the need for change and without the determination to persist in it, the transformation could not be possible. The challenges came as noted by the participants, and again it was with the persistence in finding the solutions and keeping the focus on the change that the schools managed to maintain the transformation.
Moreover, in both cases, this was considered to be an ongoing process, which opens the possibility of a continuous changing of form, which is most likely to bring the teacher learning to a level of transformation. The transformation, often named as 'change of mindset', followed Ellstrom's idea (2001) that integration of relational features within a tight working community needs to go along with strategical leadership and enabling organisational patterns. In both the Hungarian and Portuguese schools, pair teaching that supported closer bonds between teachers was blended with a feeling of ownership and responsibility towards the educational processes and uplifted by the inspirational principal. The 'form that transforms' (Kegan, 2009) the conventional educational provision is the actual attempt to develop and merge classroom practice to those that suit the student population, their personalities and needs, as well as supporting the school's vision. Teachers are thus enabled to 'transform the problematic frames of reference' (Mezirow, 2009) and continuously (re)create their practices. Arguably the glue that sticks all this together is the feeling of accomplishment and joy; the Hungarian and Portuguese teachers feel that their efforts lead to 'something good' and potentially changing the ways of future societies. Hence, the importance of creating deeper relationships between everyone involved in teaching and learning in the school can be considered as an essential component for transformation.
Secondly, and largely based on what was previously stated, teacher learning cannot be transformative alone. As rooted in the workplace, the teacher environment has to be transformative as well. This is why the focus often is directed to creating learning organisations (Senge, 1990) and knowledge-intense innovative school environments (Giles & Hargreaves, 2006). However, such attempts often contain little substance and provide no real effect and opportunity for teachers to truly enact change (Snyder et al., 1992). Furthermore, caution needs to be applied with one-size-fits-all solutions, as teacher learning is a
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highly tacit process that cannot be evaluated with standard measures, and requires personalised approaches that only learning-dedicated teams can achieve (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999). It can be argued that teacher transformative learning goes jointly with the level and quality of interaction between professionals, as well as the students and the community. The research participants have shared from their experiences that the practices in the schools, the community that they belong to, the possibilities they are encouraged to see and the distributed power and responsibility all support how they work (Schleicher, 2015) and how they feel about their teaching. The emotional part was again rather significant as it measures the commitment and the bravery to challenge the form by knowing that the outcome can only be beneficial for all, in whatever way it comes. This comes closely with the way leadership is dispositioned in the school and how the goals of education are perceived.
Conclusion: The healthy mind and body
Keeping one's body and mind healthy requires being aware of how they are interlinked. Mens sana in corpore sano might mean that one should not neglect the physical self while exercising the mind, but it also teaches that healthiness of the body is connected to how healthy our thinking is. Similar to the Romans, Jarvis (2009) seems to agree that when it comes to learning, and especially transformative learning, body, mind, and the self (identity) are not to be viewed separately. This can be analogously observed in teacher transformative learning; teachers that are in healthy professional environments operate with healthier minds, and vice versa - schools need teachers with exercised critical brains in order to have well-functioning school collectives. Therefore, examining the metaphor of body and mind, schools could be the body and the school staff can equate the mind. They are intertwined and cannot be 'healthy' separately. Transformation requires the healthy functioning; thus, the 'body' requires changing the organisational patterns in order to enable reflective practices to flourish, and the 'mind' needs to feel the purpose, the encouragement and satisfaction in order to keep the 'body' healthy. The identity or the school self is comprised of its community, and as such needs to be trained to be critical, enduring and empowered from changes and challenges that it faces. Thus, transformation encompasses the mind and the body and the identity of education as a whole; the challenge and the necessity for change stem from this.
Transformative learning touches the person's emotions, causing reflection and internal action (Jarvis, 2009) through which the problematic frames of reference are set into question and transformed to being more open, reflective,
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inclusive, discriminating and emotionally able to change (Mezirow, 2009). From this perspective, teacher learning is yet a piece of the puzzle that becomes transformative only by having the remaining of the system providing the potential for transformation.
Acknowledgements
As the author, researcher and a fellow educational colleague, I would like to express my gratitude and special thanks to the schools that have provided the data used in this article. I was humbled by the generosity, openness to discuss educational ideas, and the efforts to accommodate my request for data collection. Working with professionals from these two schools has enhanced the joy in my work and I am thankful for the knowledge I have gained from them.
The paper is part of the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE) project that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement number 676452.
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Biographical note
Helena Kovacs is an early-stage researcher with the European Doctorate in Teacher Education at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary. She holds a master's degree in Lifelong Learning: Policy and Management from Aarhus University, Denmark. Her current research focuses on teacher learning in innovative learning environments; her research interests also include educational policy, comparative education, and identity and education.
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doi: 10.26529/cepsj.500
Teacher Subjectivity Regarding Assessment: Exploring English as a Foreign Language Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment Theories that Influence Student Learning
Kinley Seden*1 and Roman Svaricek2
^^ Evidence shows that teachers' beliefs about the purpose of assessment are relevant with regard to how assessment is planned and implemented in classroom settings. Using a range of data sources, this qualitative interpretive study examined how 10 English as a Foreign Language teachers in Czech lower secondary schools perceived their assessment beliefs (subjective theories) and how these beliefs influenced their assessment practices within the classroom. The findings showed that although the majority of the teachers used a wide range of sources to construct their subjective theories of assessment, most of their assessment practices are still based on old-fashioned routines and in contradiction of previous research findings. An analysis of the importance of assessment practices revealed that grading, testing, questioning, and verbal feedback were used often, while self-, peer, written, and portfolio assessments were the least exercised options. Furthermore, the results indicated that the majority of the teachers used assessment for managing behaviour and for certification rather than to improve teaching and learning. The results also suggested that introducing targeted professional development courses that aim to create innovative assessment practices could contribute to transforming teaching and learning for better student learning.
Keywords: EFL teachers, subjective theory, assessment practices, assessment planning, assessment implementation
1	* Corresponding Author. Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, the Czech Republic; kseden.sce@rub.edu.bt.
2	Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, the Czech Republic.
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Subjektivnost učiteljev pri ocenjevanju: raziskovanje pojmovanj teorij ocenjevanja, ki vplivajo na učenje učencev, pri učiteljih angleščine kot tujega jezika
Kinley Seden in Roman Svaricek
^^ Podatki kažejo, da so prepričanja učiteljev o namenu ocenjevanja pomembna za načrtovanje in implementacijo ocenjevanja pri pouku. Kvalitativna interpretativna študija je z uporabo širokega razpona podatkovnih virov raziskovala, kako deset učiteljev angleščine kot tujega jezika v čeških višjih razrednih osnovne šole dojema svoja prepričanja o ocenjevanju (subjektivne teorije) in kako ta prepričanja vplivajo na njihove ocenjevalne prakse pri pouku. Ugotovitve kažejo, da je večina ocenjevalnih praks osnovana na nesodobnih postopkih in da je v nasprotju s preteklimi raziskovalnimi rezultati, čeprav večina učiteljev uporablja širok razpon sredstev za konstrukcijo lastnih subjektivnih teorij ocenjevanja. Analiza pomena ocenjevalnih praks razkriva, da so bili pogosto uporabljeni ocenjevanje, testiranje, spraševanje in ustna povratna informacija, medtem ko samoocenjevanje, vrstniško in pisno ocenjevanje ter osebne mape predstavljajo manj uporabljene možnosti. Rezultati nakazujejo tudi, da je večina učiteljev uporabila ocenjevanje za upravljanje vedenja učencev in certificiranje namesto za izboljševanje poučevanja in učenja. Rezultati tudi kažejo, da uvajanje usmerjenih programov profesionalnega razvoja učiteljev, ki skušajo v pouk vpeljati ino-vativne ocenjevalne prakse, lahko prispeva k spremembi poučevanja za boljše učenje učencev.
Ključne besede: učitelji angleščine kot tujega jezika, subjektivna teorija, ocenjevalne prakse, načrtovanje ocenjevanja, implementacija ocenjevanja
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Introduction
Research indicates that teacher subjectivity has been proven to be an effective way to approach educational issues that can be explained from the perspectives of teachers (Diaz, Martinez, Roa, & Sanhueza, 2010). Therefore, examining these conceptions is useful in understanding and explaining classroom assessment issues.
While a large body of research has already examined teachers' conceptions of the purpose of assessment (Barnes, Fives, & Dacey, 2015; Brown & Remesal, 2017; Brown, Hui, Flora, & Kennedy, 2011; Harris, Irving, & Peterson, 2008; Remesal, 2007; Wang, Kao, & Lin, 2010), this remains an unexplored area in Czech schools. Since assessment and feedback are crucial to improving teaching and learning, this study will describe how English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers approach assessment, with a special focus on the ways these teachers create subjective theories about assessment in order to understand how it can support and enhance student learning.
Literature Review
The continuing need to develop the potential of classroom assessment to support learning has been emphasised by a number of researchers in the field (Assessment Reform Group, 1999). In particular, Black and Wiliam (1998b) called for research that supports teachers in attempting to establish new practices in formative assessment. In addition, Biggs (1996) claims that assessment can enhance learning only when there is constructive alignment between learning, instruction, and assessment. Recently there has been unprecedented interest shown in the link between assessment and learning, commonly referred to as formative assessment (Gardner & Gardner, 2012). Teachers' understanding of formative assessment has proved to be central to the implementation of assessment for learning (Lee & Coniam, 2013). At the same time, teachers who investigate and build on students' experiences, understanding, and thinking can better support students' development of understanding and engagement by functioning as a scaffold for students (Black & Wiliam, 2009; Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 1999).
Sato, Wei, and Darling-Hammond (2008) highlight that the implementation of formative assessment has generated consistent learning gains for students and that there were respectable outcomes for well-articulated strategies. Black and Wiliam (1998a) stated that continuous use of formative assessment practices by teachers in their everyday classroom interactions had a strong
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relationship with increasing standards and improving student achievement. Several other studies have also reported positive impacts from assessment on learning (Crooks, 1988; Kluger & DeNisi, 1996; Natriello, 1987); all supported the claim that the use of targeted formative assessment strategies such as questioning, feedback, self-assessment, peer assessment, and formative use of sum-mative assessment can double the speed of student learning. More importantly, formative assessment must actively contribute to reducing the achievement gap for low achievers (Black & Wiliam, 1998b).
Despite abundant evidence that assessment is useful in enhancing student learning, Scheerens, Ehren, Sleegers, and Leeuw (2012) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD, 2005) noted that emphasis remains on summative assessment that measures what students have learned through testing and examination. The situation in the Czech Republic is no different. Research based in the Czech Republic has consistently shown the prevalence of summative assessment. For instance, Santiago, Gilmore, Nusche, and Sammons (2012) and Strakova and Simonova (2013) claim that although students in the Czech Republic are tested through both externally based examinations and ongoing formative assessments, student assessments seem to be more focused on summative results, which clearly indicates that summative assessment continues to dominate Czech classrooms.
Generally, effective assessment in the classroom occurs only rarely (Hat-tie, 2009; Hill, 2011). In addition, a lack of alignment and little balance between methods and results have been found in the intended use of varied assessment approaches or purposes (Santiago et al., 2012; Strakova & Simonova, 2013; Volante & Fazio, 2007) or between instructional goals and assessment (Campbell & Evans, 2000; OECD, 2013). Education policies in Europe have placed growing emphasis on assessment and drawn policy attention toward the consolidation of assessment for learning in the classroom. Increasing support has been given to the concept of assessment as learning, which focuses on students reflecting on and monitoring their progress to inform their future learning (OECD, 2013). Nevertheless, several researchers have observed gaps in the capacity of teachers to implement rigorous programs of assessment for and as learning in their classrooms (Antoniou & James, 2014; DeLuca, Luu, Sun, & Klinger, 2012; Scheerens et al., 2012). In the Czech Republic, student performance is assessed by a plethora of instruments, from externally based examinations to ongoing daily formative assessment in the classroom; however, the OECD (2013) pointed out that assessments implemented to date at all levels of education have mirrored the weaknesses of Czech education policy and the low level of expertise in the area of assessment and evaluation in the Czech professional community.
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Researchers state that these assessments have not been well designed and had unclear goals and methodological flaws, with the most critical flaws identified in student assessment (Santiago et al., 2012). Furthermore, a content analysis study points out that classroom assessment lacks planning, portrays a wide variation in the depth of coverage with little focus related to assessment planning, and lacks theoretical connections between assessment and instructional practices (Fives, Barnes, Dacey, & Gillis, 2016). In addition, most studies claim that teacher assessment must support learning, but several studies of lower secondary students' perceptions of teacher support have found countless opinions expressing low teacher support (Gamlem & Munthe, 2013).
Gamlem and Munthe (2013) claim that there is a need for greater knowledge of the quality aspects of formative feedback interactions to support student learning, which was further elaborated upon by Brookhart (2011). The latter pointed to assessment-related knowledge and skills required by teachers, including being able to: (1) construct and communicate learning objectives; (2) design, draw, and use inferences from and provide feedback to students on a range of assessment options; (3) administer, interpret, and communicate the results of external assessments; and (4) help students use assessment results to inform their decisions.
Thus, at this juncture, a paradigmatic shift from teaching to learning that is generally measurable based on student learning (Kraler & Schratz, 2012) is needed, and this calls for greater collaboration, coordination, and participation from various stakeholders, especially teachers, to take student-centred learning forward. In addition, it will require innovative ways of thinking about assessment and creative theoretical approaches that could help refine traditional concepts. Furthermore, assessment should be made more transparent and should be designed to provide greater student involvement in their assessments, as all these elements have significant potential to overcome some of the loopholes in existing approaches and connect assessment more explicitly to educational goals (Broadfoot, 2017). This can be addressed if teachers take drastic steps to develop and align their assessment practices to cater to the diverse needs of 21st-century learners. Thus, the overarching question for this study asks how EFL teachers in Czech lower secondary schools construct their subjective theories of assessment.
In exploring this question, the following sub-questions were used to guide the study:
1.	What thought processes occur when teachers plan assessment practices to support learning?
2.	What factors or critical incidences influence the development of teachers' subjective theories about assessment?
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As this literature review has identified a gap in the knowledge of contemporary research on Czech teachers' conceptions of assessment, the study expects to contribute to local as well as current international research on teachers' conceptions of assessment. The study may also reveal some useful measures and suggestions for the overall improvement of assessment practices with greater outcomes at producing knowledgeable and skilled teachers.
Method
In response to the research questions, the current study adopted a qualitative interpretive research design to understand the current perceptions of lower secondary teachers' conceptions about assessment and assessment practices. This research design was found to be appropriate as it allows the researcher to study participants in a natural setting, attempting to make sense of actual experiences of the participants or interpret phenomenon in terms of the meanings people bring to them (Creswell, 2003; Denzin & Lincoln, 2011). Mishler (1990) claims that a study need not conform to an exact methodology standard; instead, each researcher can bend the methodology to the peculiarities of the setting. Agreeing with this, Miles and Huberman (1994) assert that the researcher should look behind any apparent formalism and determine what will be useful for a study.
Data consist of interviews together with lesson observations and document analysis of student work, which were used to develop the interview guide and to attain a better understanding of teachers' construction of assessment planning and implementation. The lesson observations were not recorded; however, the observer kept a diary about the observation. The observation was conducted prior to the interviews to learn more about EFL teachers' classroom assessment practices and to seek explanations and clarification to classroom observation and student work during the interviews with the teachers. One of the aims of this study was to contribute to further understanding of teachers' thought processes while planning and implementing classroom assessment practices, and so the research design was built with the purpose of investigating how classroom assessments were conceived and implemented to support learning.
Interviews were held in late fall 2017 and early spring 2018 and were conducted in an available room at the school. An interview guide was used, and the interviews were semi-structured (Kvale, 2007), developed from existing theory on classroom teaching, learning and assessment practices and assessment practices utilised in lower and elementary classes (see Appendix 1). The interviews were recorded and lasted for 60 to 90 minutes.
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Context and Participants
The setting is a government (state) school in the Czech Republic, and the schools are lower secondary in Years 7-9 (ages 13-15).
The participants were 10 EFL teachers from Czech lower secondary schools. The participants taught EFL to students between the ages of 13 to 15. The EFL teachers were selected because English as a subject is a recent addition in Czech schools; therefore, there is a need to study how EFL teachers relate assessment practices in the EFL lessons, as assessment is significant in addressing the learning needs of students. Educational programmes designed for EFL learners (i.e., students whose first language is not English) should typically be based on objectives unique to the needs of those students. Assessment in such programmes should include assessments that attend to individual needs as well as their accomplishments. Therefore, assessment in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) is explored as the majority of the assessment practices in EFL are mostly based on theories, research, and textbooks, unlike in many other subjects. In addition, the abundance of international studies on assessment in connection to EFL provides the avenue to compare findings from this study with those of the international studies.
The participants' teaching experiences ranged from two years to two decades. In the beginning, the purposeful sampling strategy was employed to elicit rich and in-depth information of an expert sample (Creswell, 2009, 2011). However, after the first few interviews, snowball sampling was used to recruit participants for the study. E-mails were sent to schools and in most instances directly to the teachers, requesting them to participate in the study. The school's principal and all the individual teachers gave informed consent to participate in the study, which had appropriate institutional ethical approval.
Data collection and analysis
A total of 15 classroom observations were made, depending on the availability of the teachers. Five teachers were observed twice while five teachers were observed once, owing to their busy schedule. The researcher kept notes on all 15 observed lessons. About 33 documents, including gap filling tests, essays, portfolios and other test materials were analysed.
The data were analysed manually following a thematic process. This approach was chosen to analyse the data because thematic analyses allow the researcher to unearth the salient themes in a text at different levels, and thematic networks aim to facilitate the structuring and depiction of these themes
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(Creswell, 2007). The analysis process started with studying the interview transcripts, classroom observation notes, and student documents carefully to note any expressions that emerged from the data that could be used as a solid basis for interpreting the findings. The process continued for several rounds before the final analysis yielded three themes, which are discussed below. Many researchers feel the need to employ a third-party consultant who can review codes or themes in order to determine the quality and effectiveness based on their evaluation of the interview transcripts (Creswell, 2007). The reliability of the data analysis was validated and confirmed by an expert. Pseudonyms were used when quoting the participants' statements.
Results
The findings of this research will be presented starting with the teachers' classroom practices and what they were thinking when they performed those practices.
EFL teachers' classroom activities and assessment practices
Although the teachers used a wide variety of classroom practices, which depended on the activities and intended purposes of the tasks carried out in the class, many of the assessment practices were mandatory. These practices included oral questioning; whole-class, individual, or pair discussions; informal observation and commenting on learners' performance; and student interaction with the teacher or peers. A variety of writing, reading, speaking, and listening exercises related to grammar and vocabulary was also included. The activities comprised exercises from the workbook, the textbook, and magazines; audio recordings; text-embedded tasks; and teacher-made tests. These activities were guided by their monthly curriculum. Most of the EFL teachers started their class with a test followed by a discussion of the tests, exercises, and workbook tasks. The small initial test was generally a gap-fill test related to vocabulary and grammar. Questioning and testing were common practices used by these EFL teachers to check students' understanding of the lesson. A few teachers were also found to use questioning as a strategy to guide classroom discussion on reading-based writing. These teachers provided a set of critical and analytical questions to assist students' reading-based writing task. The following statements by the teacher confirm this:
In class, I use mostly oral feedback and questioning. And if they are
doing a writing assignment or if they are doing a test, then I use grade
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schemes or rubrics, and I make notes about what they have done correctly, what they have done incorrectly, where they need improvement, and how they can be helped. And for major assignments, I actually type up detailed notes about each criterion that they are being assessed on and hand them out, so they can see it and work on it for further improvement. (Paul)
From the above statement, it can be concluded that some teachers emphasise detailed oral and written feedback following the rubrics while some teachers used critical questions that allowed students to reflect on their work, even though the majority of teachers' questions concentrated only on recalling factual details. Hence, such a technique failed to reflect on what was being assessed.
In relation to the actual conduct of teacher assessment, most assessments seemed to take place in whole-class situations essentially to address common mistakes made by the students and mainly because such assessments do not consume much time. The empirical material indicates that the most common assessment practices in these classes consisted of testing, verbal feedback, non-verbal feedback, grading, and questioning. In many EFL classes, the teachers tested their students followed by grading and a discussion of the test. The latter was carried out with the aim of improving student learning. It was also observed that the teachers made extensive use of questioning to review and test student understanding of the topic and, at the same time, clarify and trigger more discussion of the topic during instruction, to keep students attentive and, in the end, to check whether the students had followed the lesson. Although many of the teachers' questions were found to be rhetorical and close-ended or low-level questions connected to the recollection of facts or what had been done during the lesson, the observational data revealed that some teachers used thought-provoking or open-ended questions to achieve student understanding, initiate interactions, and to promote further learning. Most of the questions were analytical and critical in nature, which fostered the development of meta-cognitive questioning skills in the students. A sample of the questions can be found below:
•	Why do students prefer using interrail?
•	Sometimes we tend to read the same line again and again when it didn't make any sense. Why does this happen?
•	What is the mood of this passage?
•	How do you know?
•	Is this a narrative or descriptive text?
•	What happens in the end?
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Apart from questioning and testing, the teachers also regularly used verbal feedback to communicate students' mistakes, strengths, and areas needing improvement. Such verbal feedback was generally given to the whole class, although a few teachers also took the initiative to offer feedback based on one-to-one conversations. These practices were common to all teachers. The following statement by a teacher illustrates this:
During class, I mainly use oral assessment and questioning. I tell them using different techniques. I ask them what they understand, what they don't understand. I tell them where they made mistakes, where they need to work, and how it can be done. (Taylor)
The emphasis on these assessment practices seems to be strong among all ten teachers across all the lower secondary schools in the study. Each classroom observation indicated the prevalence of these practices. These were practised extensively as they were mandatory and prescribed by the institutional and education policies and also by cultural and social factors, as there is a strong culture within school and parents to determine the students', the teachers', and the schools' performances based on the grades students obtain. Therefore, these assessment practices flourish widely in all of the classes, as is voiced by one teacher:
Well, actually, school policy does not influence my beliefs, but it influences the practice of assessment because when everything has to be graded, you must show the grades. The first thing is to give a grade if they do well or not and the grades are 1-5. 1 is excellent, and 5 means fail, and so this is what most students and their parents are interested in because this is the objective expression of how well they are doing at school. (Carla)
Apart from questioning and testing, the teachers also used written assessments. These were mostly based on tests, essays, exercises from magazines, daily textbook exercises that students completed in class, and homework. Such assessments consisted mostly of corrections of grammar, spelling, and sentence structure, and comments coupled with emoticons with grades were noticeable in the notebook. In class, teachers' comments were mostly 'well done', 'good, 'excellent', 'work hard', 'you are getting there, 'interesting view', 'not bad', 'try harder', and so on. Non-verbal cues such as smiles, nodding, intonation, and gestures were also used extensively to point out student mistakes and strengths.
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EFL teachers' learning, understanding, and beliefs about assessment for learning
Teachers learning from each other and talking together about planning, and implementation has proven to be very important. The teachers in this study based their assessment conceptions from a wide range of sources. These include discussions with colleagues within their departments, the internet, observing colleagues' classroom practices, their own experience, self-learning, the students themselves, reading, podcasts, blogs, and university and school policies. The primary source for most of these teachers were consultations with colleagues in the department meetings, reading, and learning through their own experiences and exploration. The following words from one teacher illustrate this:
Well, from school, from teacher training, from working as well, I guess, the longer you work in this industry, the more different ideas you get about assessment. (Pat)
In many schools, discussions related to teaching and learning are carried out at the department meetings. All teachers in this study mentioned what assessment components should be followed, how they should follow them, and why they needed to follow them; these were discussed at length in the department. Following such discussions, a common framework was worked out for the department that was mandatory for all the teachers within the department to follow and implement in their class. One teacher also reported that in her school they discussed assessment in the language society:
Yes, for example, we have a language society at school, and there are language teachers from other languages, such as Russian and German, and we are talking together about assessment, what kind of materials we can use, and so on. (Halep)
In one school, three teachers had created their own assessment rubrics to assess and guide students' written tasks. Following the rubrics, the teachers provided timely detailed written feedback to the students indicating what, where, and how they could improve their writing. Such a culture of interaction and collaboration among teachers needs to be promoted as they lead to the creation of useful assessment practices.
The majority of the teachers' state that self-reflection assists them in bettering their practices, though one teacher communicated that observation and research aid in constructing and improving assessment practices. However, most teachers point out that their limited time and a lack of targeted and
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effective professional development courses are factors that thwarted assessment, which according to them, requires a great deal of planning and coordination. The problem appears to be that the courses were theory-oriented rather than practice-based and that there were few opportunities to attend courses due to their heavy workloads and time thresholds.
To be honest, the courses are not beneficial. Ninety per cent of the courses I've attended were useless; it's a waste of time. (Terry)
Therefore, most of the teachers perceived professional development courses as being ineffective and fruitless. Hence, such courses do not help teachers with their assessment construction.
Furthermore, all 10 of the teachers believed that self-reflection and observing their students assisted them in improving their teaching practices; thus, one of the factors that affected the way they think was their own realisation of this.
Some of the teachers had changed their assessment practices halfway through their career as they understood that this change was desirable to support learning. The empirical data below illustrates this. One of the teachers noted:
When I like something or some part of assessment [my colleagues] carry out, I try to somehow adjust and develop mine. For instance, a colleague of mine had this practice of giving small grades for various activities students do. I found that interesting and I tried this with my students too, and it worked very well as it caters to learning differentiation. (Tom)
It can be deduced from the above quote that for some teachers, some diagnostic incidents have contributed to their assessment learning.
EFL teachers' subjective theories of assessment and student learning
This section deals with EFL teachers' subjective theories regarding assessment since such theories are useful in understanding classroom assessment issues. The observation, observation notes, documents of students and interviews point to some variation in perceptions regarding classroom assessment practices.
Teachers indicated that they mostly use assessment as a strategy to motivate and engage students actively in the teaching and learning process. This can be seen as we proceed with our explanation.
The majority of teachers held the belief that the best ways to establish what students know and can do were through classroom questioning, written evidence,
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and ongoing tests and quizzes. This was reflected in the data from the classroom observation. The following statement by a teacher further confirmed this:
I usually find out what students are good at from the test, from their performance in the class. When they concentrate on the most common mistakes or when they have a written assignment, and you know there are some things that most of the students don't do well on or should, I tell them you did this well, but this wasn't good. (Carla)
Some of the teachers understood that testing was not productive and that to improve learning, different assessment approaches, including projects and portfolios, should be incorporated to allow connections with the real world and provide authenticity.
Although most of the teachers used the Grades 1 to 5 to assess student progress, there were a few teachers who had their own unique assessment methods, and these were connected to motivating and improving learning. These teachers had their own perceptions and standpoints in applying these methods. For example, three teachers claimed that they use small grades to accommodate learning differentiation and reward students' attentiveness in class. This can be seen in the following statements made by teachers:
I wrote some children some extra small grades. For example, in English if they know some interesting piece of information, for example about a festival, or if they know information about things that they have not learned before. Then, they get a small A, and when they get three small A grades, I put a circle around it. That means that three small grades are now equal to one big A grade. With this, I support them in being active. (Debra)
There were two teachers who believed in using positive comments, since they perceive negative ones to be demotivating for students and to discourage them from learning. These two teachers made frequent use of plus signs and positive reinforcement to encourage students to work harder. This can be seen in the following statements expressed by the teachers:
For example, I use only plus points not minus ones. I don't like it when somebody says that you have this many mistakes. It's better to say that you have been good at something because it's the best motivation for students, but then, I must pay attention to their mistakes as well. (Jen) Yes, for example, what usually does not work is just negative assessment. So, even if the assessment has to be negative, because the person really did not perform well, I try to find something positive. (Tom)
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Another teacher believed in applying black dots while assessing students. The black dots were used to signify offences students had committed in class. This was done to express something negative and discourage learners from doing undesirable activities. The following statement makes this clear:
I just give them little dots, but it's mostly to express when something negative happens, like when they don't have their homework, so they get one small black dot. When they get three of these, then they get a 5 in their grade book, which you know means a fail. (Taylor)
It can be concluded that these black dots were used to warn learners to be careful and to discourage them from doing anything objectionable.
The teachers regarded motivation as a crucial element in supporting student learning. The classroom observations proved that the majority of the learners in the observed EFL classes were active and highly motivated. Nonetheless, about five teachers had their own unique techniques for motivating their classes.
The observational data revealed that one of the teachers had a particular method for motivating students. The teacher used positive and negative emoti-cons, exercises, banging on the table, and making funny facial expressions to gain their attention; for each positive emoticon, the class got to watch a short two-minute video. The teacher also awarded the learners one minute to make noise. This was permitted to prevent students from making noise throughout the lesson. The teacher stated that these activities allowed the students to move around physically and, as a result, the brain benefited from increased oxygen and thus increased brain functioning. Hence, the teacher claimed their results improved.
In addition, the teachers used the common motivational activities of organising different activities related to listening, reading, writing, and speaking, not just from the textbook, but also from other sources, such as magazines and the internet. Pair work, conversations, dialogue, group work, tests, short videos, and songs were also frequently used to motivate students. It can be concluded that there is a strong link between assessment, motivation, and student learning.
Although most of the teachers were found to be doing their best to make teaching as effective as possible and used their own unique assessment techniques to assist student learning, most of their assessment practices do not support the current research findings. This alignment should come in the form of targeted professional development courses, as it seemed that EFL teachers' assessment construction and implementation were not based on current and reliable sources, which further raises questions about the credibility and validity of their sources.
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Discussion
This study applied a qualitative-interpretive approach to explore EFL teachers' thought processes when planning and implementing assessment practices in Czech lower secondary classrooms. Although teachers acknowledged that assessment is vital in promoting student learning, the majority of their current assessment practices does not side with current research findings to support teaching and learning; rather, they were used as a basis to meet the demands of educational policies and to attend to social and cultural norms. For instance, one such example is that parents believe a child's performance is determined by the grades they obtain. This result connects with Goldstein's (2017) claim whereby he stated that constructs reflect social and cultural norms, meaning that different societies and cultures will generally assume different constructs and therefore use different assessments. Thus, these point to the fact that teachers shape their assessment practices based on existing policies and social and cultural norms, which is also consistent with findings by Harris and Brown (2009).
Furthermore, a few teachers have taken their initiatives to construct their assessment theories to support learning. Although there were some teachers who have created effective assessment theories, most of them are based on outdated methods that are against current research findings on classroom assessment practices. For example, the use of stickers, pictures, with general comments and small marks as rewards to enhance learning was clearly pointed out by Black and Wiliam, (1998) as a method that does not enhance learning. Despite this, a few EFL teachers were still found to be using them as an approach to support learning. Most teachers also indicated that incorporating fun and praising students lead to learning, which is in contrast to Black and Wiliam's (1998b) and Hattie and Timperley's (2007) research findings. Both indicate that incorporating fun into the lesson or offering praise related to the self cannot enhance learning.
However, some teachers were found to be using effective assessment practices with the aim to improve learning. For instance, these teachers were found facilitating the tasks and incorporating more interactive and discussion-based lessons. The observational data showed that about five teachers constructed analytical questions to develop students' critical thinking and understanding of reading and to guide their reading-based writing tasks. A few teachers were also found to be giving students choices between activities or projects to support learning which is consistent with Black and William's (1998) finding that indicated the common feature in students' success is by providing a diversity of
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class activities. One teacher was also found carrying out three rounds of assessment to meet the desired learning goals. The teacher practised self-, peer, and teacher assessment, which meant students went through three levels of reworking their activities before the final activities were submitted to the teacher. Black and Wiliam (1998) and Hill (2011) assert that such activities allow students to think, discuss and reflect on their own learning as well as those of their peers and to articulate their reflections and to provide feedback to each other. Furthermore, developing the learner's ability to self-assess contributes to an understanding of themselves and their learning in a fundamental way, which is rarely possible through other assessment practices (Bourke, 2016).
Additionally, the classroom observations, researcher's notes, and analysis of student work points to ample examples wherein teachers created an appropriate learning environment such as incorporating fun, giving freedom to express and explore, providing choices in projects, essay topics, giving challenging tasks, and motivational strategies like 'class, teach, smileys' and short videos to meet the desired learning outcome. This finding lends support to Biggs (1996), the 'alignment' aspect whereby teachers are expected to create appropriate and effective situations to align teaching, learning activities and assessment tasks to deliver intended learning outcomes.
A few teachers have created their own assessment rubrics to assess and guide students' written tasks. Following the rubrics, the teachers provided timely detailed written feedback to the students indicating what, where, and how they could become better at writing. They also involved the students in this assessment process, whereby students were made to do self- assessment of their work following these rubrics. In this way, the structure of the Guide, together with the conversations, served as an essential means of prompting and focusing effective self-evaluation and reflection (Boud & Walker, 1998).
Furthermore, Tierney (2014) adds that assessment rubric criteria need to be made transparent to students by involving them in the assessment process which he sees as a multifaceted quality of classroom fairness assessment. As such, the primary goal is to support students by pointing out the need to communicate criteria to students. Such activities also developed me ta-cognitive skills in both teachers and students. This is in line with Biggs's 'constructive' aspect, wherein students construct meaning through relevant learning activities (Biggs, 1996), and also with Shute (2008) and Hattie and Timperley (2007), who noted that feedback has to be specific in nature and lastly to that of Black and Wiliam (1998a), that feedback needs to give each pupil specific guidance on strengths and weaknesses, preferably without any overall marks. In one school, the teachers also construct their assessment theories by observing colleagues'
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classroom practices. Such practices if observed with a clear in a purpose and in a guided way including analysing that practice and providing feedback are seen as very useful actions in professional learning that results in improved learning for students (Adey, 2004; Parr & Hawe, 2017).
Although there were few teachers who have initiated some innovative practices, in general, it can be concluded from the above discussion that the majority of the teachers need to rely on better sources to construct effective assessment theories reflecting current research so that their assessment practices create provisions for transparency, student engagement in the assessment process and develops the ability to self-assess, think, reflect, inquire, and articulate their learning to improve learning in the students. Additionally, the findings confirmed that the majority of the teachers implemented assessment methods mostly as a way to curb behavioural issues, which is in contrast to the current research insights of using assessment as a tool to improve teaching and learning.
Furthermore, it can be concluded that teachers' learning environments seemed to be tightly controlled by the institutional, educational, social, and cultural contexts. Such an environment needs to be replaced by an open and free environment that would motivate teachers and allow them to think outside of the box to produce innovative teaching, learning, and assessment environments within the teachers. Moreover, as proposed by Schratz (2010), the teachers can take the role of a transformative teacher, a teacher that delves more often into current research to pursue skills appropriate for the 21st century and become more aware of social changes in order to broaden their perspectives of knowledge and skills. Unless a teacher takes these initiatives, that is, advances their own learning, improvement in student learning may not be possible.
Conclusion
This study describes the importance of teacher learning in relation to improving and supporting student learning. Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that teachers use a wide variety of sources to construct their subjective theories regarding assessment; however, most of their current practices are still found to be based on archaic routines, thus, questioning the validity, credibility and reliability of their learning sources. Therefore, the teacher participants in this study need to do a great deal in terms of advancing their learning to support student learning. The following recommendations have been suggested: • Firstly, a targeted, effective professional development course leading to innovative assessment practices that align with current assessment
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research findings needs to be introduced sooner to familiarise teachers on current assessment practices, and so it can help them in planning and implementing effective formative and summative classroom assessment practices to support and improve student learning.
•	Secondly, our study recommends that policymakers reconsider this critical issue in order to support teacher learning, as teachers are considered crucial individuals in students' lives.
•	Thirdly, peer observation, peer feedback, collegial interaction, inquiry and reflection within the schools needs to be supported along with teacher-led workshops, whereby schools and teachers are encouraged to work in collaboration and share their best practices with each other to promote innovative teaching, learning, and assessment practices are just a few examples of teacher education.
•	Fourthly, policy actions should also support the start of innovative or best practice schools to support teaching and learning.
•	Finally, schools should support teachers to venture into research activities to broaden their knowledge horizons.
The limitation of the study is that it explored only EFL teachers' subjective theories of assessment. Studying subjective theories of other subject teachers would increase the validity, reliability, and credibility of the data.
Acknowledgement
The paper is part of the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE) project that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement number 676452.
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Biographical note
Kinley Seden is an early stage researcher with European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE) and a PhD student at the Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Arts, at Masaryk University, the Czech Republic. Her research interests include action research in the teaching and learning of economics, gender and education, teacher education and professional development.
Roman Svaricek, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Arts at Masaryk University, the Czech Republic. His research interests include teacher professional development and classroom discourse.
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doi: 10.26529/cepsj.499
Information Communication Technologies in Teaching English as a Foreign Language: Analysing EFL Teachers' TPACK in Czech Elementary Schools
Dev Raj Paneru1
^^ This qualitative study was carried out in five different elementary schools in the Czech Republic. It aimed to investigate how English as Foreign Language teachers developed teaching competence and practised information communication technology integration in classroom teaching. To this end, this study employed the idea of a Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge -TPACK -in-Action Model. It advocates a 'learning by doing' approach on (social) construction to better understand how teachers develop technological and/or computer-assisted language learning competency for teaching and practice in an English as a Foreign Language environment. Under this model, this study conducted qualitative analysis and found two different approaches in practice, which were categorised as Formal Practice and Functional Practice. The former involved a conservative mechanical practice of technology use in language teaching whereas the latter involved it in terms of (social) construction. According to analyses based on conservative practices, teachers expressed that mechanical TPACK in association with technology in classes limited the transmission of mechanical knowledge from English texts. In Functional Practice, however, teachers drawing upon alternative learning interactions expressed positive transformation results from TPACK, associated with the use of technologies integrated into class instructions as a collaborative tool for learning models. In these latter integrated practices, teachers' perceptions, practices, and reflections in combining technologies in an English as a Foreign Language environment, as new literacy skills, identified an increase in the learner's creative potential.
Keywords: technology, EFL, teacher competence, transformative learning, teaching practices
1 Department of Educational Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, The Czech Republic; devrajpanerui@gmail.com.
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Informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije pri poučevanju angleščine kot tujega jezika: analiza TPACK pri učiteljih angleščine kot tujega jezika v čeških osnovnih šolah
Dev Raj Paneru
^^ Kvalitativna raziskava je bila izvedena v petih osnovnih šolah na Češkem. Namen raziskave je ugotoviti, kako so učitelji angleščine kot tujega jezika razvili kompetence poučevanja z informacijsko-komunikacijsko tehnologijo in kako so to vključevali v poučevanje. S tem namenom je študija privzela idejo tehnološko-pedagoško vsebinskega znanja (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge - TPACK- in-Action-Model). Ta model spodbuja pristop k učenju skozi prasko kot (socialni) konstrukciji z namenom izboljšanja razumevanja, kako učitelji razvijajo kompetence tehnološkega in/ali računalniško podprtega poučevanja angleščine kot tujega jezika. Na podlagi tega modela je bila v okviru študije izvedena kvalitativna analiza, ki je pokazala dva različna pristopa pri pouku, ki sta bila kategorizirana kot »formalna praksa« in »funkcionalna praksa«. Prvi pristop vključuje konservativno mehansko uporabo tehnologije pri poučevanju jezika, drugi pa rabo tehnologije vključuje v smislu (socialne) konstrukcije. Analiza konservativnih praks kaže, da so učitelji izrazili, da mehanski TPACK v povezavi s tehnologijo v razredu omejuje prenos mehanskega znanja iz angleških besedil. Za funkcionalno prakso pa je značilno, da so učitelji, ki so se opirali na alternativne učne interakcije, izrazili pozitivne transformacijske izide TPACK-a, povezane z integracijo tehnologije kot sodelovalnega orodja učnih modelov v pouk. V okviru teh pristopov so percepcije, prakse in refleksije učiteljev o kombiniranju tehnologij pri poučevanju angleščine kot tujega jezika kot nove opismenjevalne veščine zaznale porast ustvarjalnega potenciala učencev.
Ključne besede: tehnologija, angleščina kot tuji jezik, kompetence učiteljev, transformativno učenje, poučevalne prakse
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Introduction
This study was carried out in five different elementary schools in the Czech Republic. It aimed to investigate how English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers developed Information Communication Technologies (ICT) and/or Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) competency and integrated them into EFL classroom teaching. To this end, this study employed Tai's (2015) idea of the TPACK-in-Action model. It is based on Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (TPACK, Koehler, & Mishra, 2009). It advocates a 'learning by doing' approach on (social) construction to better understand how EFL teachers develop technology or CALL competency and integrate into an EFL environment on constructing learning for communication skills.
In view of the fast pace of the changes in the school education caused by the emerging of digital systems impacting teaching-learning practices, new perspectives have emerged in transforming teacher2 competence for better student learning (EDiTE, 2015), while defining European teacher professionalism (Schratz, 2014). Transformative teacher learning as consistent with teacher's3 ICT and/or CALL competencies has been putting pressure on EFL education and teachers in the European schools. This is a significant issue connecting EFL teachers in the Czech school context, where fast-changing digital systems have an impacting role on developing teaching with new competencies, practices and perspectives in addressing communication skills (Nekvapil & Sherman, 2009).
Pursuing the emerging perspectives, the researchers on language teacher education (TE), as pointed out in Tai (2015), explore TPACK-in-Action as a comprehensive learning model to study how EFL teachers develop CALL competency and practice in class. In this regard, studies not only report the importance of ICT for improving students' learning but also identify technology/ CALL experience or competency as a crucial component with which teachers need to be equipped with for the reality of the globally networked EFL classroom, as cited in Tour (2015).
Grasping this emerging trend in a globally expanding EFL education scenario, the studies as noted in Warschauer (2000) find that teacher competence that limits itself to cognitive CALL also limits the EFL teacher to mechanistic educational practice, thereby making it an inadequate teaching model
2	Teacher (teaching) competence/s in this study stands for teacher education with total criteria, e.g., TPACK of which ICT or CALL competency is one component.
3	Teacher's ICT and/or CALL competency/ies implies teachers ICT or CALL knowledge, skills, experiences and practices as related to their integration in class. However, in some situations, ICT or CALL competency/ies, teacher's teaching competence/s as well as TPACK (competence) are also used interchangeably.
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for the 21st century EFL class. At this point, some studies also draw upon ICT courses as being essential for enhancing EFL teacher competences. However, scholars in line with Godwin-Jones (2010) point out more compelling issues. They further assert that technology courses geared to EFL teachers' operating ability skills, rather than developing the teacher competences in real action, end up limiting it to mechanistic educational outcomes (Dockstader, 1999).
Thus, as an alternative, considering EFL teacher's CALL competency on social construction, scholars bring forward the concept of developing TPACK-in-Action as a comprehensive learning model, as discussed in Tai (2015). According to this 'learning by doing' model, researchers describe EFL teacher competence/s not merely in teacher's formal and technological knowledge and practice for passing on knowledge. Instead, extending further, they represent it interactively in the teacher's innovative concepts, skills and practices of integrating technologies in collaborative actions in real EFL class context. In other words, the researchers assert EFL teacher competences in terms of TPACK in interactional collaborative practices on (social) construction.
Although TPACK literature is a comprehensive framework, as EFL teacher education is limited to survey questions, self-reported interviews and limitedly focused observations capturing teacher competencies, TPACK has yet to be developed in various dimensions (Ekrem & Cakir, 2014). In the Czech education system, EFL researchers, in line with digital concepts, for example, study teacher competency and the practice of ICT and/or CALL in mechanistic schemes rather than allowing for TPACK as a comprehensive learning model (Grecnerova, 2015; OECD, 2003). Additionally, focused research on the TPACK framework is too sparse, considering EFL teaching practices in the Czech school context. Moreover, as the studies on TPACK are limited in terms of teachers' perceptions and practices, teachers' reflections on CALL competency and integration in EFL class on collaborative design (van Lier, 1996) have yet to be explored.
Thus, this study using the TPACK framework on qualitative phenom-enological approach research design investigates how EFL teachers in Czech elementary schools have developed ICT and/or CALL competency and integrated it in real class practice. Regarding this, I first provide the concept of TPACK as a comprehensive learning framework. In its analysis, I specify the qualitative phenomenological approach research methodology or design. Then, in the result section, findings are stated in EFL teachers' competency and practice of ICT integration in EFL classes on developing TPACK in action followed by discussions of findings, and the conclusion.
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The TPACK Framework
The importance of the teacher's classroom teaching competence and practice of ICT integration in bringing along innovative concepts in the teaching-learning process of fast-paced digital education has been an engaging issue. However, its concepts and practices have rarely been consistent across pedagogical lines. For example, on the one hand, EFL researchers following Shul-man's line conceptualise teacher competence on the teacher's expertise of the English language and its psychological knowledge. Others, also considering digital aspects, capture teacher competence in teacher's mechanistic knowledge as in Stensaker, Maassen, Borgan, Oftebro, and Karseth (2007) who discuss the teacher's skills in operating digital media and other devices. However, no further reference is made to the various interconnected dimensions involving learning, teaching, and technology.
On the other hand, contemporary researchers have described teachers' teaching competence and practice of ICT integration in class from the TPACK perspective. As a concept, modifying Shulman's pedagogical content knowledge, TPACK characterises teacher's competencies while in class teaching, by integrating technology, pedagogy, content and context knowledge under an interactive framework in addressing 21st-century learning skills (Oxford & Graham, 1993). To this, Koehler and Mishra (2009) disseminate these key features of teacher knowledge, skills and practices. These are teaching content through technology, making use of it for teaching pedagogical knowledge, reasoning and solving learning problems using technologies to bring into the class authentic social or cultural contexts and so on. On these, scholars in line with Graham (2011) add the role of teacher's learning from interactions, coming up with new materials and technologies to be integrated into the classroom, thus developing teacher's competencies interactively in action. Some scholars, such as Archambault and Barnett (2010), also account teacher's appropriating concepts or perceptions and actions of ICT use in class as multidisciplinary educational tools known as distributed knowledge systems for designing instructions as collaborative learning practices.
In EFL education, following Koehler and Mishra's (2009) TPACK as a total package, scholars in line with Tai (2015) have extended the idea of the TPACK-in-Action-Model. Guided by this model, scholars observe developing teacher competency and the practice of ICT and/or CALL integration in EFL classroom activities, using technologies that transform language in content, concepts, approaches, skills, actions, and systems (Warschauer, 2000). As Tai (2015, p. 1) states, 'TPACK advocates learning by doing approach and it enables
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understanding EFL teachers' CALL competency and integration in EFL class in real action.' According to this model, scholars, as noted by Baser, Kopcha, and Ozden (2015), follow EFL teachers developing CALL in collaborative actions through the integration of language and media as new skills of interaction. The scholars report teachers not only making use of technologies for teaching English texts but, as Warschauer (2000) observes, practising instructions on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) or Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) blended-learning, among other communicative approaches. Along with this stream of thought, thus, scholars, such as Ekrem and Cakir (2014) draw TPACK as an interactive framework. Within this framework, the researchers explore EFL teaching in a standard approach of building up teacher competency and practice ICT, EFL and its didactics in new forms, concepts, techniques, and skills or new social and cultural practices integrated within the classroom as a learning workshop.
Although TPACK in literature is a comprehensive concept, TE research in EFL is limited to available surveys, and in a limited fashion, either focused on observations of teacher practices or self-reported interviews; therefore, reaching out to various dimensions of teacher competence is still required (Ekrem & Cakir, 2014). In the Czech school education context, EFL researchers considering concepts introduced by the OECD (2003) or Grecnerova (2015) express teacher competence in a mechanistic schematic rather than CALL competency on developing TPACK as a comprehensive learning framework.
Research reports, such as those by Dvorak, Urbanek, and Stary (2014), and Klimova (2015), to name a few, regard Czech school EFL teachers' CALL competency as reflecting a cognitivist model in a more standard conservative practice. Furthermore, focused research reporting teachers' CALL competency and practice in EFL classes with the TPACK-in-Action model is too sparse in the Czech school context. Moreover, as the studies are limited to teachers' perceptions and practices, teachers' reflections on collaborative actions for phe-nomenological transformation in teacher competences (van Lier, 1996) is a topic yet to be explored. As such, there is a gap in TPACK literature and how it is carried out in action within the realm of the Czech school context where ICT integration in EFL class is considered significant for innovating teaching practices on communication skills (Nekvapil & Sherman, 2009).
Thus, this study integrating teachers' reflections added from the teachers' perceptions and practices is framed within the qualitative phenomeno-logical approach design to investigate how Czech school EFL teachers develop competency and integrate ICT in teaching EFL class on developing TPACK as a transformative learning framework.
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The research questions below (RQ) are discussed for an analytical research framework base.
Research Questions
1.	How do Czech elementary school EFL teachers develop competency and integrate ICT in the practice of teaching EFL class on developing TPACK -in-Action?
1.1 How do teachers perceive and reflect their competencies and practices regarding ICT integration in EFL class on developing TPACK?
2.	Which practices can be represented to foster TPACK as a transformative learning framework in action?
Following these open, focused, and comprehensive research questions of reflectivity, this study aims to assert inquiries under a qualitative or descriptive phenomenological approach research design, as described below.
Method
To capture EFL teachers' teaching competences and practices of ICT integration in EFL classes on developing TPACK-in-Action as a comprehensive learning model, this study has been framed on a qualitative phenomenological approach research design borrowing from Husserl's descriptive phenomenology (Gibson, 1962). According to such a frame of analysis, as Campbell (2011a) describes, the educational phenomenon is captured on the development of subjects' experiences, such as perceptions and practices and reflections. For these purposes, Campbell suggests open interviews and observations also regarding triangulation, as the main research tools for inquiry. The open tools transcend the inquiry from what to why and how in capturing the phenomenon as developed in the subjects' personal encounters or experiences and further qualitatively interpreted by the researcher.
Following this methodology, teachers' perceptions in this study describe teachers' experiences such as perceived usefulness of ICT as external variables (Davis et al., in Eickelmann & Vennemann, 2017), practices reveal teacher competencies in action, and reflections transformed (van Lier, 1996) what is perceived and practised on developing TPACK as a transformative learning framework.
Within this framework, thus, this study gathered data on teachers' competency and practice of ICT integration in EFL class in the process of constructing learning interactions. Open interviews and observations focused on
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teachers' perceptions, and practices and reflections were used as the main research tools. A qualitative theme analysis method was used for data analysis with triangulation and interpretation (Wajnry, 2013) on developing research subjects' TPACK-in-Action (Tai, 2015). The research participant and procedure details are as follows.
Research Participants and Sampling
As the purpose was to understand how EFL teachers in Czech elementary schools developed competency and practice technology/CALL integration in teaching EFL classroom on developing TPACK-in-Action, which essentially constructs upon individuals' working knowledge and real experiences, it was required to gather data from EFL teachers on the job with varying experiences. This is where teachers' education and ICT literacy as basic, experience in real context becomes the major variable on TPACK-in-Action as a learning-by-doing model (Tai, 2015).
To the given purpose, 12 English teachers on practices in Czech elementary schools were approached for interviews and class observations purposively followed by a snowball sampling for voluntary participation, as suggested by Saunders and Townsend (2018). The participants had distinct job experiences. The groups studied were as follows: four participants with less than five years of experience and eight participants with more than five years of job experience. In relation to education, eight participants had a master's degree in other than the English language besides some courses and training as well as informal ICT literacy. Four participants with less than five years of experience had a bachelor's degree in the English language, and despite no further training, they had attained ICT literacy through secondary school. Among the teachers, six worked in schools in the city (SiC), whereas six did in schools in towns (SiT) including two teachers from a grammar school.
Data and Analysis
With the main purpose defined as exploring and describing Czech EFL teachers' competency and practice of technology/CALL integration in the EFL classroom on developing TPACK-in- Action, teachers' personal experiences, including perceptions and practices, as well as reflections on ICT and EFL and learning interactions were studied. Based on the research questions, these listed components were focused during the open observations and interviews to generate data and further analysis such as, types of ICT used, formed and organised lessons and class activities, purposes, ways of use, functions of ICT (teacher-learner interactions, learning motivation), teachers' reflections on use
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of ICT and on EFL curriculum in class, and learning interactions.
All 12 participants were interviewed using the perception, practice, and reflection questions and a total of 24 classes, being at least at a minimum of one class and a maximum four classes, based upon relevance and availability, were observed for the qualitative monitoring of teaching with ICT in class.
The data were analysed using a qualitative theme analysis method, i.e., initial coding, theme generation, and synthesis of the findings (Flick, 2014). The findings crossed against topics were triangulated and synthesised in columns. The columns represented teacher categories in education, experiences and their school contexts followed by topics on teacher perceptions and practices and reflections that contrasted and corresponded.
The findings on similarities and differences as representative of two distinct teaching approaches, teacher's ICT, or CALL competency and practice are represented in the TPACK framework as distinguished into two main categories: 1) Formal practices defined as teacher-centred conservative model of ICT use in teaching EFL class and 2) Functional practices defined as student-centred innovative practices of ICT use in teaching EFL class, as proposed in Lund (2003) and other studies. These categories, thus, represent sample teachers' teaching competence and practice of technology/CALL integration in EFL class as developing TPACK in two distinct models summarised in the result section below, followed by discussion and the conclusion.
Results
In this section, the two sub-heads mentioned above represent findings that describe EFL teachers' personal experiences. These are perceptions and practices, and reflections summarised following the preliminaries descriptive part below, expressing teachers' teaching competence and practice of technology or CALL integration in the EFL classroom developing TPACK-in-Action represented in two distinct models.
Preliminaries
As relevant to a study of teachers' teaching competence and practice of technology or CALL integration in EFL class, along with key findings stated later below, a few common technological systemic changes in the Czech elementary schools should be mentioned.
EFL teachers had access to ICT in EFL classes such as laptops, desktops, whiteboards, general audio-video (record) devices, sound systems, projectors, and internet and sources, mobile telephones, and both offline and internet supported
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or online, e.g., www systems, applications, information, educational material, social media communications and learning management system (LMS). Their integration into the entire curriculum as reported ranged from offline ICT 20% to 30%, online 5% to 10%, social media less than 5%, LMS used on homework and test record purposes, and smartboard and mobiles reported as almost not used.
A common teacher perception regarding ICT in English language teaching was as expressed by the English teacher Jane4 (Interviewee 9) 'ICT are better sourced in order to teach English for communication skills to today's digital generations.' A common barrier perceived was expressed in the use of online media due to the adult content affecting child psychology and so on. In short, with such common features, an improving level of the digital education system was noted in EFL teaching that, as Tondeur et al. (2017, p. 6) explains, 'the importance of school context' could play a role as an extrinsic enabler for basic changes. This was due to, as our study found, even though contextual features did not essentially differ, teachers' competency and practice of ICT in EFL class on developing TPACK-in-Action considerably differed even within the same school context as presented in two different categories:
1.	Formal practices of ICT in teaching EFL Class
2.	Functional practices of ICT in teaching EFL Class
Regarding these categories, teacher practices differed on an individual basis. However, based upon some key pedagogical features, such as teaching-learning focuses, approaches, activities, ways of ICT integration, learning interactions either as grammatical or communicative skills focused (Brown, 2006), these are categorised into the two given main models on which TPACK is developed accordingly, as evidenced, discussed, and concluded below.
Formal Practices of ICT in Teaching EFL Class
In this category, findings from four participating teachers who were new to the job and two teachers with more than 15 years of experience are summarised. The findings represent teachers' perceptions, practices, and reflections regarding their competencies and practices as well as their skills integrating ICT in EFL class developing TPACK-in -Action. In this regard, these results represent teachers' formal competencies, approaches and practices of teaching EFL class and use of ICT in limited learning interactions and hence, developing a mechanistic TPACK.
4 The names of the participating EFL Teachers in this study are changed for anonymity purpose.
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One of the key components of TPACK-in-Action that determines teachers' approach to teaching and use of ICT in class is the learning focus. In this regard, as an approach to learning and teaching EFL with ICT, this group of teachers expressed communication skills. However, in practice as observed, teaching was limited with a focus on structural components of language such as word memory, grammar etc. exercises followed by other items. For instance, the participant teacher Michael (Interviewee 3) explained word transcriptions on a projection from an online dictionary while teaching pronunciation. Such was a common trend.
Connected to teachers' grammatical approach to teaching as a learning focus, this group of teachers in their own words viewed textbook as sufficient over other sources of materials and technologies. The teachers rationalised in the way Peter (Interviewee 8) said, 'Nowadays, these Czech books, textbooks, they have plenty of materials, or with reasons as, ... If they have the textbook, they ... have grammar section, they can study as individuals, and I think that we should promote the individual.'
With the growing priority on textbooks linked to grammatical approaches, teacher perceptions and practices of ICT in EFL classes became rather restrictive and eclipsed. In this sense, teachers were observed limitedly practising iTOOL, projector and Google devices limited in the activities such as sourcing, presenting and, eliciting information on grammatical components. For example, the teacher Juliot (Interviewee 6) asked students to choose the right form of verb displayed with the projector.
Furthermore, in association with the practices, the following teachers' reflections on uses and also the barriers of ICT were noted. Peter reflected, 'Technology is used to entertain students, but it distracts . makes them very disorganised. is just a waste of time, you know.' Similarly, George (Interviewee 2) observed, 'Technology is big, shiny [...] but after 10, 15 minutes you will find they lose attention ....' Considering the online media Joseph (Interviewee 4) reflected, 'iTool has some online links but they are not very helpful,' or as Juliot expressed, 'online book [...]is not so interesting for them, a bit counterproductive.' At this point, according to the class observation, teachers who showed grammatical focus often struggled to maintain silence in class when requiring students complete grammar exercises in the textbook. Based upon this, ICT, specially online tools were spoken of as being both time consuming as well as distracting to students' attention.
Considering stimuli influence on teachers' decisions regarding the use of ICT in class, in the case of grammar-focused practices, instead of being motivational to the teacher, school and student factors were perceived as forcing the teachers to use the tools. As such, the teacher George informed, 'there are
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projectors in each class we need to use them.' Another teacher Joseph reasoned, 'you need to show students that we are also digital generations ...' Among the internal factors, teachers perceiving digital devices for students' attention could be accounted as influencing teacher decision. For instance, Michael expressed, 'iTOOL makes my lesson easier, as students become attentive...' Finally, concerning outcomes from teacher-learning interactions as another component that aids the development of TPACK-in-Action, some of the teachers expressed it limitedly, in the way Peter reported, 'I try not to take my work home which is my private life.' These teachers also reflected lack of involvement in professional courses raising CALL on TPACK competence.
In short, as the outlined features reveal, the research participants in the formal category viewed English as communicative skills; however, as stated above, teaching practices were limited to grammar. This posed difficulties for the use of ICT either limited to entertain classes or to carry out the activities such as transferring information on verbal or textual components of English. This, in turn, centralised class practices around the teacher as in '20th-century computer-assisted cognitive instruction' (Harasim, 2012, p. 53). In this way, considering teachers' CALL competency, despite being educated in formal digital literacy essentially to work in the networked EFL class, the participant teachers restricted ICT integration in teaching EFL psychologically to formal practices. Hence, teacher practices in the formal category have been represented as developing a mechanistic approach to TPACK in the discussion section.
In contrast, the second cohort of the teachers in this study was captured in the functional practices of settings of ICT and EFL teaching as follows.
Functional Practices of ICT in EFL Class
The second group of teachers, as exemplified in the functional practices of settings of ICT in EFL teaching, comprised six participants, ranging from five to fifteen years of job experience. The findings represent teachers' perceptions, practices, and reflections regarding teacher competencies and practices based on the integration of ICT in EFL class in constructing learning on developing TPACK-in-Action as summarised here.
Regarding the approach to EFL with ICT, the teachers in this group expressed, as Donna (Interviewee 1) asserted, 'Teaching English is for communication skills for students to learn to communicate on an international level.' Linking this learning focus, teachers interpreted that communication skills developed in EFL instructions are specially formed on cultural skills-focused activities such as comparing cultures. Arna (Interviewee 5) informed, 'We
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discuss in English, and we compare our local cultures with cultures of different countries.' This followed the analysis of teachers' EFL practices of instruction and types of ICT used. On it, teachers mentioned the lessons practised, namely CLIL, CSCL, task-based or project-based lessons. For such lessons, the English textbook, as Dave (Interviewee 7) expressed, 'was good but for the basic things only,' surely not enough. These practices were significantly associated to teachers' options whether to use not only textbook and offline technologies but also online ICT in multiple instructional activities, which as Jane reported, 'integrated multiple items of students' interests.'
In association with the communication skills focus that, in turn, influenced teachers in the integration of both offline and online ICT in practising multi-thematic instructions, teachers' ways of making use of teaching materials and ICT were analysed. In this regard, it was observed that the majority of the lessons were designed on multiple integrated topics, such as science, history, environment, language, and literature. In these lessons, online media along with iTool and projectors that were perceived as being helpful were practised in blended activities, such as exploring and designing materials in the organisation of group-tasks, games, projects, and presentations by the students. These lessons were supported by the online media-based audio-visual content in English used to blend reading with listening, writing with videos, group interactions, research, etc. Thus, as Arna did, teachers in this group enabled students to use online sources to explore content, do projects and, 'make presentations.' In my observation, these instructions were prioritised in order to compensate for communication exercises in the textbook that, 'contains almost 70% grammar', as George reported, 'Yes, to compensate this all I try to give them some writing, some reading, then listening combined.'
Following such practices, teachers expressed their reflections relating ICT use in the EFL curriculum in class and learning interactions in individual ways. However, on these matters, both offline and online technologies were interpreted as useful for engaging students in learning activities with a communication skills focus. In this regard, the teachers reflected ICT emphasising online media as promoting the use of English, presentation skills, interactive assessment and project learning practices in class. For instance, Arna reflected, 'We discuss things in English for which online media help a lot.' Similarly, Dave expressed, 'Students involve on multimedia presentations with higher learning motivation.' Relating ICT for interactive assessments Donna reflected, 'I mark projects that students do with the help of online sources.' Likewise, the online media were reflected useful on group-projects in which students use technologies in tasks for teachers engaged on monitoring or in facilitative roles.
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As, Arna said, 'There are many projects and presentations we do as supported by media.' Dave reported, 'We have online exercises, and I just go and look through on what they are doing.'
In short, following the findings outlined, teachers' perceptions, practices and reflections considering teacher's competency and integration of technology or CALL in EFL class in the functional category are significantly interactive vis-à-vis the formal category. In this category, teachers exhibited growing reflectivity along with increasing learning interactions and that, in effect, related to fostering teachers' CALL competency. In this connection, as the teacher reports inform, apart from the use of typical materials, in teachers' interacted practices, use of ICT was reflected for inventing new materials, tasks, skills in increasing learning by actions, collaboration, and reflections. Teachers in this category also reported themselves as being involved on several training courses raising new competencies, as stated by Dave, 'I attend lot training courses to develop my competence.' In this way, in practical terms, the research participants in the functional category, along with expressing interactive approaches to EFL also expressed interactively developing technology or CALL competency on developing transformative TPACK-in-Ac-tion as represented in the discussion section that follows.
Discussion
In the view of fast-paced digital school education teaching-learning systems, the usefulness of TPACK-in-Action is in developing subject teachers' media and didactic competences and practices. This in innovative learning processes as shown in Koehler & Mishra (2009) has significant effect for better student learning. Thus, following TPACK as a comprehensive learning framework on phenomenolgical (social) construction, this study investigated, Czech elementary school EFL teachers' approaches and practices of ICT in teaching EFL. In it, teachers' perceptions, practices, and reflections regarding their technology or CALL competency and practice of integration in EFL classroom, expressing TPACK in the findings are grouped into two categories labelled as:
1.	formal practices of ICT in EFL class, and
2.	functional practices of ICT in EFL class.
The first category represents EFL teaching practiced on grammatical models whereas the second category represents teaching practiced on communicative approaches. These, as paradigmatically elucidated in Richards and Rodgers (2014), are cognitivist and (social) constructivist educational models, and accordingly express teachers' technology or CALL competency and
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practice linking the development of TPACK-in-Action (Tai, 2015).
Distinguished in pedagogical parameters, the results on teachers' practices synthesised in the two categories support Tondeur et al.'s (2017) findings that teachers make use of technologies in classrooms in different paradigmatic models. However, this is majorly determined by teachers' individual definitions of learning, approaches, and teaching practices and likewise, integrating technologies to developing TPACK in individual ways. In this study, this is supported by the fact that the different individual participants in regard to ICT in teaching EFL classes expressed conservative opinions in grammar focus. Furthermore, teachers' perceptions, practices, and reflections regarding ICT in class on communicative skills focus differed amongst individual participants even within the same school context, albeit their approaches to ICT and EFL in the functional category interacted significantly.
At this point, when other elements, such as context factors as claimed by Tondeur et al. (2017) were involved, teachers' individual perceptions, practices, and reflectivity played a greater role on how the teachers developed competencies and practices of ICT and/ or CALL integration in real working contexts. Thus, taking these features into consideration, this study, in line with Tai (2015), claims that in action, teachers' TPACK, in reality, poses differences from the literature. That is, it is developed on behaviourist, cognitivist, constructivist and other models that the individual teachers tend to practice. This is evidenced in this study from sample EFL teachers who expressed competency and practice of technology or CALL in EFL classroom activities using different individual models. However, taking a few pedagogical components into account, as expressed in terms of learning focus and interaction with ICT in class among some others, two distinct models are distinguished: a mechanistic one and, in contrast, a transformative TPACK-in-Action as discussed below. As such, the discussions answer the research question as to 'Which practices can be represented to foster TPACK as a transformative learning framework?' In this regard, functional practices are represented developing TPACK as a transformative learning model. The first part of the discussion on formal practices represents mechanistic TPACK followed by the discussion related to functional practices representing transformative TPACK as follows.
Assessed from the pedagogical perspective, teacher practices as synthe-sised in the category of formal practices in this study act in accordance with Richard and Rodgers's (2014) concept that the approach to teaching grammar in EFL classes using formal instructions builds an emphasis on the knowledge aspects of language. With growing emphasis on the knowledge aspects, teachers limit themselves to designing structurally centralised instructions. These, however,
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prevent teachers from integrating multiple interrelated aspects such as, new concepts, contexts, technologies, and media that can build language in association with communication skills. In such teacher centralised practices, as Burston (2014) found, the teaching materials and technologies not so prioritised are the least integrated. Likewise as Chang (2011) reported, teachers limited to practising knowledge transmitting instructions, make up the fewest learning interactions in which TPACK is accounted as limited. In this study, though teachers in the formal category also ascribed EFL for communication skills, their actions expressed learning in terms of acquiring knowledge of grammar. This limited classes to English textbook forcing students to memorise the English texts to pass exams. It identically resulted in limited practice and acquisition of language skills and of technologies confined to iTOOL used for information on grammatical problems. Furthermore, in the category of formal practices teachers did not try to develop new teaching-learning materials or technologies beyond textbooks, nor did they become involved in learning courses. Therefore, teacher-learning interactions on raising CALL competency were limited in these practices.
From the TPACK-in-Action perspective, following Tai (2015), teachers and their colleagues develop competency and practice of technologies in actions based upon learning-by-doing collaborations. In this model, technology integration is for designing instructions on multi-disciplinary themes constructing language in skills and contexts, thus increasing learning interactions. Taken from these criteria, the research participants in the formal category expressing structural elements of EFL also expressed technology in its mechanistic forms and for limited purposes and practices. As such, their expressions limited TPACK to mechanistic development. For instance, whereas various media were accessible, the participants in the formal group limited their focus to English textual components for which the ICT presentation tools, as one example, along with textbooks were repeatedly integrated into the class to disseminate information.
On a reflective part of the teacher, as van Lier (1996) finds, EFL teaching in interactive approaches increases future reflective actions that either develop teacher competency and practice of new teaching technology on a regular construction developing transformative TPACK in EFL class. However, the teachers in the formal category, apart from being sceptical in their perceptions, reflected technologies basically limited to, as Warshauer (2000) mentions, fill-in cognition rather than constructing learning, and they expressed low learning-interactions. In this way, with structurally confined features, teachers' technology or CALL competency, and practice in the EFL classroom on limited learning interactions leading to mechanistic learning outcomes are described in Figure 1.
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Figure 1. Czech elementary school EFL teachers in formal practice of ICT in EFL class developing formal or mechanistic TPACK.
As the figure represents, EFL teachers on using ICT in formal practices that are limited to transmitting grammatical components of language are represented developing formal or mechanical TPACK-in-Action.
In contrast, the EFL teachers categorised in the functional practices in this study are exemplified in teaching competence and practice of ICT and/or CALL integration in EFL class framing instructions as collaborative learning models as developing transformative TPACK-in-Action.
Teacher practices synthesised in the functional category are in alignment with Brown's (2006) concept that teachers in communicative approaches practice functional instructions with an emphasis on language for communication skills. In communication skills-focused instructions, Godwin-Jones (2010) describes EFL teachers integrating technology/ CALL in class interactively for learning purposes. With an emphasis on communication skills, it is mentioned that EFL teacher practices collaborative learning methods such as Warschauer (2000), among others, reports CLIL, CSCL or blended-learning instructions on this scheme. In this study, teachers in the functional category expressed and practised mostly group-participated task-based instructions usually mediated by offline and online technologies. In such practices, as also noted by Tai (2015), the teachers integrated learning content as a key knowledge component of TPACK not merely in English texts but also in English that embedded multi-subject and cultural themes, media, and systems.
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A pedagogical component in van Lier's (1996) framework enables the EFL teacher to design instructions that actively engage students, mediated by the teacher, with new technologies. In this study, the EFL teachers in the functional category designed participatory task-based instructions engaging students to construct language using offline and online ICT when solving problems. Apart from it, there is a technological component of TPACK. In this regard, these participants are captured using technologies, as in Buabeng-An-doh's (2012) study, not just based on structural devices used by the teacher for information with the data-projector but also using media tools providing learners with mutually shared learning opportunities and growth in self-efficacy.
At this point, functional teachers in this study also added a transformative element to their CALL competency on TPACK as indicated by teachers' increased reflectivity. This was evidenced in the reflective interviews. In these post-teaching interviews, the participant teachers in the functional category agreed, as also expressed in van Lier's (1996) finding in which it says that technologies are enriching learning tools to regularly improve, invent, and integrate new materials, ideas and skills in the EFL class on (social) construction of language. According to this functional model, the EFL teacher uses technologies to construct language through learners' awareness, autonomy and authenticity and learners' intrinsic motivation. In this way, based on interactive features of teacher competency and practices, as stated, the participant EFL teachers involved in functional practices are represented by developing TPACK-in-Action as a transformative learning framework as concluded below.
In interactive teacher practices, this study represents functional learning features that increase learner creativity potential, also described in Figure 2.
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Figure 2. Czech elementary school EFL teachers in functional practices of ICT in EFL class on the development of transformative TPACK.
As the figure represents, the sample EFL teachers in functional practices integrate interactive technology or CALL features in the student-centred collaborative skills learning instructions on developing TPACK as a transformative learning framework.
Conclusion
Regarding the Czech elementary school EFL teachers' teaching competence and practice of technology or CALL integration in EFL class on developing TPACK-in-Action as a transformative learning framework, this study brings the argument in line with that of Drossel, Eickelmann, and Schulz-Zander (2017). It is that teachers with interactive digital pedagogical educational background
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and experience, as opposed to those with a formal technological education, develop comprehensive TPACK and integrate it into EFL classes in significant and interactive ways. This finding contributes to the literature on teacher competence that says that teachers with (social) constructivist backgrounds and perspectives develop didactic practices such as EFL teaching as innovative learning processes (Godwin-Jones, 2010). On interactive backgrounds, teachers not only assert technological competency from acquired formal education to practice teaching in globally networked classes but also construct practices in 'stretching the mould' (Collis & Gommer, 2001 in Selwyn, 2011) for better student learning. In this study, better student learning in EFL within the emerging European context relates to teaching innovations in addressing communicative skills for global citizens (Byram, 2008), for which Czech EFL teachers in functional practices of teaching with ICT are positively represented.
Acknowledgement
The paper is part of the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE) project that has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement number 676452.
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Biographical note
Dev Raj Paneru is a researcher in the area of foreign language teacher education under the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE) as part of the European Commission's Horizon 2020 Initiative, affiliated with the Department of Educational Sciences of the Faculty of Arts at Masaryk University, Brno, The Czech Republic. His research interests include exploring the communicative and innovative pedagogical dimensions of language teaching and technology that are effective in enhancing 21st-century teacher skills that align with a broad-based vision articulated as transformative teacher learning for better student learning in emerging global and European contexts.
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doi: 10.26529/cepsj.556
Introducing Global Citizenship Education into Classroom Practice: A Study on Italian 8th Grade Students
Valeria Damiani1
^^ The implementation of global citizenship education (GCE) represents a challenge for the school system in Italy in terms of curriculum planning, teaching methods and contents. After a thorough overview of the Italian educational scenario on GCE, this article aims to present a learning unit on GCE related issues implemented in an Italian 8th-grade class. The study then highlights the educational implications in translating GCE international models into the Italian classroom practice. Its main assumptions focus on the key elements for students' effective learning and on the limitations that characterise the Italian educational system in relation to GCE at the curriculum, school and teaching levels. The implications highlighted in this article are strongly intertwined with the need to plan and implement GCE jointly, within a whole-school approach, and the relevance of the modalities in which GCE instructional contents are selected and presented.
Keywords: global citizenship education, Italy, learning unit, globalisation
1 Roma Tre University, Italy; valeria.damiani@uniroma3.it.
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Uvajanje globalnega državljanskega izobraževanja v prakso: raziskava z italijanskimi osmošolci
Valeria Damiani
^^ Implementacija globalnega državljanskega izobraževanja (GDI) predstavlja izzive za šolski sistem v Italiji v smislu kurikularnega načrtovanja, metod poučevanja in vsebin. Po temeljitem pregledu italijanskih izobraževalnih scenarijev na temo GDI ima ta prispevek namen predstaviti učno enoto o temah, povezanih z GDI, ki bi jih lahko implementirali v italijanski osmi razred osnovne šole. Študija poudarja izobraževalne implikacije pri prevajanju mednarodnega modela GDI v italijansko šolsko prakso. Njene glavne predpostavke se osredinjajo na ključne elemente za uspešno učenčevo učenje in omejitve, ki so značilne za italijanski izobraževalni sistem v odnosu do GDI na kurikularnih, šolskih in na poučevalnih ravneh. Implikacije, ki so poudarjene v tem prispevku, so močno prepletene s potrebo po skupnem načrtovanju in implementaciji GDI znotraj vsešolskega pristopa in relevantnosti moda-litet, znotraj katerih so izbrane in predstavljene vsebine GDI.
Ključne besede: globalno državljansko izobraževanje, Italija, učna enota, globalizacija
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Introduction
The promotion of global citizenship education (GCE) has become an objective of educational systems in various parts of the world, emphasising how globalisation has raised the idea of citizenship from a national to a global level and has challenged teaching and learning in terms of global understanding and citizens' roles (Myers, 2016; Osler & Starkey, 2006).
In Italy, debate and research on GCE remain at their beginnings. The implementation of GCE, in accordance with the global discourse on the issue, represents a challenge for the Italian school system in terms of both teaching methodologies and curriculum planning. In this view, GCE is closely connected with the larger research field, which receives the most attention at the national level, specifically how best to develop students' key competences (MIUR, 2015; Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council, 2006).
While the academic debate has recently started to focus on the topic, there is an absence of research examining how global citizenship education can be introduced into the classroom practice, taking into consideration the studies developed at the international level and the characteristics of the Italian school system.
This qualitative study addresses this gap by presenting a learning unit on GCE-related issues implemented in an Italian 8th grade class. In the absence of national curricula or guidelines, theoretical assumptions, proposed educational methodologies and instruction contents are drawn from sources found in the international debate on the topic. Implications as they relate to the Italian educational context are then shown.
Finally, this article presents the advantages and challenges to be expected from any future implementation of GCE in Italy as regards curriculum structure, school organisation, and teacher confidence in tackling global citizenship issues.
Defining Global Citizenship and Global Citizenship Education
The development of a widespread academic discourse on global citizenship (GC) and Global Citizenship Education (GCE) has been characterised by contributions from a disparate range of disciplines, encompassing a wide variety of theoretical assumptions and methodologies (Parmenter, 2011).
Oxley and Morris (2013), in a study on the construction of a typology to distinguish the different conceptions related to GC, highlight the multi-faceted interpretations both in the academic and non-academic debate, identifying two general forms of GC: cosmopolitan based and advocacy based.
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In line with Oxley and Morris' classification, cosmopolitan theories are indeed widely prevalent and have, more or less explicitly, heavily influenced the conceptualisation and the debate related to GC and consequently to GCE (Ap-piah, 2006; Archibugi, 2012; Beck, 2006; Dower, 2000; Held, 1995; Nussbaum, 1994).
Cosmopolitan theories have been addressed, although implicitly, also by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which have provided a relevant contribution to the definition of the concept of global citizenship. According to UNESCO (2014), GCE is intended as: [...] a sense of belonging to a broader community and common humanity, promoting a 'global gaze' that links the local to the global and the national to the international. It is also a way of understanding, acting and relating oneself to others and the environment in space and in time, based on universal values, through respect for diversity and pluralism. In this context, each individual's life has implications in day-to-day decisions that connect the global with the local, and vice versa. (p. 14)
The present contribution refers to the conceptualisation of global citizenship developed by UNESCO (2014, 2015) and thus considers as core elements of GC the sense of belonging to a world community, the awareness of global interconnections (according to which the actions at a local level can affect the world and vice versa), and active engagement.
In this view, it follows that global citizenship education implies something more than, and different from, previous ideas about global education (Pike & Selby, 1995; Richardson, 1976), albeit its meaning and conceptualisation do remain under discussion (Davies, Evans, Osler, & Starkey, 2006; Hicks, 2003; Reid, 2005), as critical approaches to GCE show. In these critical perspectives, the discourse on GCE is intended to be strongly dominated by Western societies and by the type and form of knowledge they favour (Andreotti, 2006; Andreotti & de Souza, 2012; Pashby, 2016; Wang, 2016).
GCE core concepts concern the promotion of civic awareness worldwide through the conceptual tools of democracy, peace, human rights and social justice (Pike, 2008; Wringe, 1999), in order to prepare students to live and act in a context of global change, interdependence and diversity and to influence the processes of globalisation (Ibrahim, 2005).
In this study GCE is not simply considered in relation to a 'more informed local citizenship education' or, using a minimalist interpretation, a generic 'international awareness' (Davies, 2006 p.6), nor is it an ambiguous sense of belonging to a universal society. Global citizenship education is understood as knowledge
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of, and willingness to influence decision-making processes throughout the world and their effects on the lives of individuals in pursuing common interests.
Global citizenship education in Italy
The education system in Italy is organised according to the subsidiarity principle and autonomy of schools. The State has exclusive competence on general issues of education, on minimum standards to be guaranteed throughout the country and on the fundamental principles that regions should comply with within their areas of authority. Schools are autonomous in the areas of curriculum planning, didactics, organisation, and research.
The National Curricular Guidelines for the Italian primary and lower secondary schools (Indicazioni Nazionali, 2012), created by a group of experts on behalf of the Italian Ministry of Education (MIUR), contain the general recommendations for the development of school curricula for students aged 3 to 14. The Indicazioni Nazionali provide an overview of essential elements related to curriculum organisation. They are focused on general learning objectives and competence development in relation to every subject, on student assessments, and on relationships between schools, families, and pupils.
These guidelines contain no explicit reference to GCE, although emphasis is laid on the importance of a new citizenship open to global challenges and to diversity, as well as on the importance of traditional curricular subjects. To develop citizens who belong not only to Italy but also to Europe and to the world, schools must foster 'an awareness of multicultural experiences in different periods of human history and different areas of the globe' (ibid, p. 7). The focus is thus on analysing cultural elements, which is done mainly via the traditional curricular subjects of History and Geography.
Considering the above, it is not surprising that in the ministerial curricula a strong emphasis is placed on multiculturalism and the development of intercultural education, one of the issues that is most debated by scholars in Italy, regarding the effects of globalisation in modern society (Luatti, 2009; Portera, Dusi, & Guidetti, 2010; Santerini, 2010; Tarozzi, 2005).
Although Global Citizenship Education is not explicitly part of the existing curriculum, some of the ideas identified by the international debate on the topic (e.g., globalisation and interdependence, sustainable development) are included in the History and Geography curricula, while the development of related skills and attitudes is transversal to the whole curriculum.
In the Indicazioni Nazionali, in fact, the goals for competence development in History and Geography by the end of lower secondary school include
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some elements that relate to GCE, such as 1) understanding different opinions and cultures, and the problems of the contemporary world (History curriculum), 2) knowledge of the events and processes of European and global history (from the Middle Ages to globalisation) (History curriculum), 3) evaluation of the effects that human actions produce at local and global levels (Geography curriculum).
The rationale underpinning the Indicazioni Nazionali can also be recognised in the recent school 'reform'2 (Reform of the national education, 2015).3 The law n.107 envisaged, among the new activities to be carried out by an additional teaching workforce (orgánico funzionale), the possibility that schools might implement cross-curricular projects related to the development of democratic and active citizenship. These projects should be focused on intercultural and peace education, on solidarity with others and the awareness of rights and duties, on the strengthening of students' knowledge in relation to legal and economic/financial issues, and on entrepreneurship.
With respect to GCE implementation in schools, Italian NGOs appear more receptive to the discussions which have developed worldwide. They show deep interest in global citizenship education, creating teaching resources and launching several initiatives in schools on the topic. For instance, in 2004-2007 Amnesty International Italia carried out several projects with schools on social justice, while TerraNuova and EuropAfrica have dealt with food sovereignty and the land-grabbing phenomenon.
These programmes usually last for a single school day (sometimes only for a few hours), and generally include short activities aimed at student involvement (mainly role-plays, discussions and so on) with the goal of fostering attitudes and values, as opposed to developing theoretical knowledge of GCE-related topics which should be taught during regular school lessons.
However, given the lack of official guidelines for GCE in Italy and given school autonomy in relation to curriculum planning and implementation, in-depth teaching of GCE matters varies from school to school and especially from teacher to teacher.
The main issue is the degree of familiarity of teachers with teaching GCE, in terms of both knowledge of the topics and suitable teaching methodologies. If we consider that in Italy teachers who usually teach History and Geography have a university degree in Humanities, with a strong focus on Literature, History, History of Arts and Classical Language, it is unsurprising that they may face difficulties in addressing matters mainly related to economics or international policy.
2	To what extent, if at all, the law n.107 can be considered a reform is a debated issue in Italy. This is because its main aim was not to reform the whole educational system but rather to overcome some critical structural problems, such as the employment of teaching staff, which have heavily influenced Italian politics on education over the last 15 years.
3	Available at http://www.gazzettaufficiale.it/eli/id/2015/07/15/15G00122/sg.
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Furthermore, the lack of specific national guidelines contributes to the extreme variety of the ways global citizenship education can be implemented. They may range from more traditional methodologies (e.g., a lecture) to more dynamic approaches, such as discussions and debates, again depending on teachers' familiarity with applying these methodologies.
Another crucial issue is the kind of textbook adopted by the school or the individual teacher for History or Geography lessons, the subjects most closely related to GCE. As stated above, Italian schools, on the basis of the Indicazioni Nazionali, can decide autonomously what specific contents and methodologies to include in their educational programmes. Given this scenario, a school (or more often a single teacher) can opt to plan the contents of curricular subjects by simply following the topics included in the textbook s/he is adopting in that school year. In this way, the use of a traditional textbook mainly focused on physical and human geography means that the chances of tackling GCE matters depend entirely on the teacher's interest and confidence in addressing those topics.
According to these assumptions, it is questionable that Italian students could have many opportunities to learn GCE at school. This consideration underpins the rationale of the present research and led to the creation of a learning unit on global citizenship education.
Identifying GCE contents
Because of the present situation with respect to teaching GCE in Italy, the theoretical assumptions and educational methodologies for this study are derived entirely from international research on the topic.
The guide for schools A Curriculum for Global Citizenship (1997, 2006), developed by the British NGO Oxfam, constitutes the general framework for the present study. This has been combined with the content of the UNESCO report (2015) and the GCE-related content included in Compass, the manual for Human Rights Education (HRE) developed by the Council of Europe (2012).
In A Curriculum for Global Citizenship, the British NGO highlights many key GCE principles in relation to all levels of education. The present study is focused only on some of the knowledge and understanding aspects identified by Oxfam, i.e., social justice and equity; diversity; globalisation and interdependence, which could easily be applied in an Italian 8th-grade class.4
4 It was not possible to tackle issues related to attitudes, values and skills due to the time constraints of the present study. In order to develop and assess GCE skills, for instance, it would have been necessary to devote at least some months or a year to global citizenship education activities. This option has not found the favour of teachers who were reluctant in focusing in the long term on topics that are not compulsory in the Italian curriculum.
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The key principles of a global citizenship education identified by UNESCO (2015) mirror most of the elements highlighted by the British NGO: GCE students learn to analyse contemporary issues at local levels while considering their connections with the global level and identifying possible solutions.
For the present study, it was deemed of paramount importance to include, in addition to Oxfam's and UNESCO's cognitive elements on GCE, issues more specifically focused on human rights and human rights education (HRE). Human rights represent the values on which moral education can be built, through the analysis of their general principles (Krek & Zabel, 2016). In this research, HRE is intended as the starting point for addressing the social, economic, environmental and political aspects of the contemporary world. Moreover, HRE and GCE share several key elements and can easily be included in a single theoretical framework focused on global issues (Ibrahim, 2005).
According to the Council of Europe, HRE aims at promoting in students the knowledge, skills and attitudes to build and defend the universal culture of human rights (Council of Europe, 2010).
As for the knowledge dimension, the present study refers to those HRE objectives that aim at fostering understanding of: 1) key concepts (such as freedom, justice, equality, human dignity etc.); 2) the role of human rights; 3) the distinctions and co-relations between civil/political and social/economic rights; 4) national and international bodies and NGOs working to support and protect human rights (Brander et al., 2012).
The theoretical assumptions and the educational methodologies for this study thus represent a selection of the different strands deemed relevant by the international debate and highlight, once more, the multiple theoretical intersections that constitute GCE.
The research design
The present study shows the implementation of a learning unit (LU) on GCE in an Italian 8th-grade class, with the ultimate aim of highlighting the implications at curriculum and school levels for planning GCE in Italy.
As stated in the previous paragraph, the LU is focused on those contents, teaching methodologies and sources related to GCE that can be successfully adapted within the Italian school context.
The LU objective is twofold: 1) to provide 8th-grade students with basic knowledge of some GCE-related topics and an opportunity to critically reflect upon the complexity of contemporary issues; 2) to offer teachers lessons and trialled tools to teach GCE issues effectively in the 8th grade.
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The LU is intended as a first trial for an effective GCE implementation in Italy. The focus of the LU is entirely devoted to developing students' knowledge in relation to GCE topics.
The LU was implemented within a pre-experimental research design, the one group pre-test post-test design (Campbell & Stanley, 1963). This research design involves the administration to a single group (an 8th-grade class, in this case) of a pre-test at the beginning and a post-test at the end and does not include any comparison with a control group.
Due to characteristics of the Italian curriculum, it was not possible to set up a control group. Since GCE topics are not part of the official curricula in schools, not all teachers tackle them in the same way, if at all. This means that any differences that might have been observed between the experimental and a potential control group could have been ascribed, in whole or in part, to the specific topics addressed in the class where the test took place, rather than to any significant differences in pedagogical designs and approaches.
The same test was administered to students at the beginning and at the end of the LU, and it addressed the topics tackled during the lessons. Since the LU aimed at fostering awareness on GCE topics, this kind of instrument proved to be the best option for assessing students' knowledge development (considering the different bias of pre-experimental designs).
The target group was chosen based on the one adopted for the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement) survey on civic and citizenship education (ICCS) (Schulz, Ainley, Fraillon, Kerr, & Losito, 2010). Global Citizenship Education is strongly intertwined with the concepts of civic and citizenship education (CCE), in terms of the connections between the national and the global sphere (e.g., the interplay from the local to the global and the different sense of belonging and cultural unconscious at national and international level). Moreover, citizenship education is a subject included in the curriculum (even if with diverse approaches, as the ICCS study shows), while GCE has no official recognition in the school programmes yet.
In light of the above, it was deemed necessary to link this first trial of a GCE learning unit in Italy to the wider framework of one of the most prominent studies on CCE at the international level that also includes, among others, global-oriented issues, albeit with no direct reference to GCE.
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Development of the learning unit Target group characteristics
The class identified for the study was part of a school located in a suburban area of the city of Rome, and it was composed of 16 students, ten males and six females, all Italian native speakers.5 Most of the students came from middle-class families in which both parents work (they were mainly employees and retailers). The highest levels of education attained by the parents were the high school diploma (for the majority of mothers) and the Masters' Degree (for the majority of fathers).
The teacher of Italian Language, History, and Geography6 of the selected class was the contact person for the present study. As previously stated, History and Geography are the subjects most related to the GCE topics, and it was agreed that the LU would be implemented during regular Geography lesson hours.
The author, who is a researcher and not a teacher, carried out the les-sons.7 The author knew neither the students nor the teacher of the selected class before the study. In the preparatory phase, several meetings with the teacher took place in order to gather information on the characteristics of the students, their approach to learning and their relations with the teaching staff.
According to their teacher, the students were not aware of the topics on which the LU was focused. The pre-test results confirmed this, as detailed in the following paragraphs.
The structure and content of the LU
A learning unit is:
[...] a sub-segment, complete in itself, of a teaching program which is obtained by structuring a portion of content and which includes the definition of the objectives to be pursued, the duration of the learning path, and the assessment tools needed to evaluate outcomes. (Vertecchi, 2004, p. 252)
The learning unit is thus characterised by its self-sufficiency, and by the development of a teaching and learning path with set time limits.
5	Parents and children consent was obtained before the study.
6	In 8th grade, a single teacher may teach Italian Language, History, and Geography in the same class.
7	This study follows the ethical standards for scientific work developed by the American Educational Research Association (AERA).
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The learning unit of the present study was structured into 10 lessons, each lasting two hours and carried out once a week during regular lesson hours over a three-month period (from the end of October 2013 to the end of January 2014). Although the duration of the LU was quite limited, it allowed implementing the objectives of the learning path, also taking into consideration the teacher's requests. Due to strict curricular constraints, mostly related to the final examination at the end of the year,8 the teacher was unable to provide the author with any further hours to a subject that was not compulsory.
The planning of the learning unit devoted to GCE was organised into five different phases (Vertecchi, 2002):
1.	definition and analysis of the learning contents and their interrelations;
2.	identification of students' learning prerequisites deemed to be relevant for understanding the activities envisaged;
3.	development of activities that foster student learning;
4.	formulation of the learning objectives, i.e., the desired outcomes in terms of students' knowledge;
5.	development of evaluations to assess the attainment of prerequisites and of intermediate and final learning stages.
As detailed in the previous paragraph, the topics of the LU were derived among GCE key strands identified in the Oxfam and UNESCO reports and in Compass manual. They covered different disciplines (such as economics, geopolitics, international cooperation, human rights), deemed relevant in understanding today's world matters and strictly interrelated with each other.
The 10 lessons of the learning unit were focused on issues such as poverty, the UN and NGOs, globalisation, migration, human rights, land grabbing, fair-trade, child labour, the global garment supply chain, and child marriage.
The pedagogical approach underpinning the new course encompassed participatory teaching and learning methodologies (role-plays, discussions, plenary sessions to analyse controversial issues in depth, research and group sessions).
The sources used to develop the learning unit were mostly non-educational, including newspaper articles, YouTube videos, NGO and international agency reports on specific contemporary topics, documents (e.g., the Declaration of Human Rights) and speeches (e.g., Malala Yousafzai's speech at the UN in July 2013).
Learning objectives (LOs) followed Bloom's revised taxonomy (Anderson et al., 2001). Since the LU was focused on the development of student
8 In Italy at the end of 8th grade, students must take an examination to enter upper secondary schools.
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knowledge, LOs mainly involved factual and conceptual areas (related to the knowledge dimension) and areas of 'remembering' and 'understanding' (related to the cognitive process dimension), together with their sub-categories.
The test administered at the beginning and at the end of the LU was based on the LOs, structured in an assessment plan. The assessment plan served as a learning objectives framework, i.e., it covered all the subjects tackled in the LU and ensured the correspondence between the LOs and lesson topics. The content validity of the pre-/post-test, in terms of representativeness of all the principal issues included in the intervention, was constantly monitored during the course and was finally guaranteed (Taylor & Bobbit Nolen, 2005).
This test was piloted on 97 eighth-grade students in September 2013 for validation. The data from the pilot were analysed using descriptive statistics and classical test theory (CTT) indicators (items' difficulty index, item discrimination index, and the analysis of distractors).
The pre-/post test administered to the class selected for this study was the result of major modifications to the pilot version. It consisted of 20 multiple-choice questions with four possible answers (see Example 1) and five sets of true/false items.
Example 1 - a multiple choice question Who are immigrant traffickers (scafisti)?9
(please check only one box)
Immigrants who arrive in Italy by boat Fishermen who save immigrants in trouble at sea People who pilot little boats carrying clandestine immigrants * Coast Guard officers who monitor Italian coasts day and night
Finally, the LU also included a feedback questionnaire to gather students' comments on the course. It was composed of 15 close-ended questions, seven questions about students' background and eight questions about lesson topics, activity, difficulty, and assessment (e.g., how interested students were in accomplishing the different activities of the course; which were considered the most interesting topics and which issues were deemed to be more difficult to understand). All close-ended questions had a four-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 'very interested' to 'not interested at all' or from 'very difficult' to 'very easy'. Two questions had an open-ended format and were aimed at
9 The Italian word for 'immigrant trafficker' is 'scafista' a term derived from 'scafi, the little boats on which many clandestine immigrants arrive in Italy.
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gathering students' opinions on the strengths and weaknesses of the LU structure and recommendations for further improvements.
GCE in classroom practice: educational implications
The lessons on GCE proved to be effective in developing students' knowledge. The results of the post-test showed a positive improvement in all participating students (mean pre-test score = 11.6 (SD=2.44); mean post-test score = 19 (SD=4.23); maximum test score=25). The Wilcoxon matched pairs test showed that the difference between pre-test scores and post-test scores was significant beyond the .01 level10 (Z—3.521).
In relation to the learning objectives, developed as stated in the previous paragraph through Bloom's revised taxonomy (Anderson et al., 2001) and focused on knowledge development, students have made progress in the factual and conceptual areas (knowledge dimension) and in the cognitive process dimension of 'understanding' (i.e., in comparing local and global issues, in identifying and explaining their roots, in interpreting possible solutions for change).
Data gathered from the feedback questionnaire revealed that the overall opinion about the course was positive for seven students and very positive for nine students.
Among the activities carried out during the lessons, all students found doing role-plays, and watching videos and documentaries on YouTube to be interesting. In contrast, the activities that aroused less interest were focused on the reading of newspaper articles and on analysis of world maps.
Topics that were deemed to be more interesting were related to child labour and land grabbing (see Figure 1), while the most perceived difficult issues concerned theoretical contents such as the Universal Declaration of Human Right, the UN history and organisation, the International Convention on the Right of the Child, the colonialism and neo-colonialism (see Figure 2).
10 However, it must be taken into consideration that in pre-experimental designs it is not possible to control the extraneous variables that can jeopardise internal validity (such as history, maturation, selection, mortality, testing, instrumentation, statistical regression) (Campbell & Stanley, 1963).
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Figure 1. The most interesting topics.
Which of the following topics were difficult for you to understand? Please select three topics
Malala's history The empowerment of girls The industrial supply chain International convention on the right of the child Corporate social responsability Critical consumerism Fair trade
The agricultural supply chain Land grabbing
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Globalization The "Brics" countries The free market The microcredit: M. Yunus Tt)e NGOs the UNO
Colonialism and neocolonialism the GDP Measuring poverty
2 3 15 Number of students
Figure 2. The most difficult topics.
Although the results from this study are mainly related to a single group of students and a specific school context, the creation and development of the
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learning unit allows some practical conclusions to be drawn about any future implementation of GCE in Italian schools in relation to: 1) students' prior knowledge of GCE; 2) empathy development; 3) participatory teaching and learning activities; 4) the creation/the selection of teaching resources; 5) the sustainability of GCE activities over time in the classroom.
With respect to students' prior knowledge, the results from the pilot and the pre-test showed a superficial awareness in relation to general knowledge with which students were supposed to be familiar. In detail, the results of the pre-test showed that students were not aware of most GCE issues necessary to understand the LU's topics. These elements might have been acquired in formal learning (the study of colonialism for instance) or in informal education (e.g., the UN role or the meaning of the term refugee, something that could be easily learnt through newspaper reading or television).
Since GCE is generally intended as a transversal subject that tackles topics that may often not be included in formal curricula, an analysis of how students stand in relation to the subject's knowledge becomes far from trivial and represents a key aspect that must be carefully addressed.11
The questionnaire administered at the end of the course provided useful feedback on strengths and weaknesses related to the implementation of the LU.
In particular, the sections devoted to the topics and activities that interested students the most generated some useful information. All students showed a deep interest in matters that concerned other boys and girls of the same age living in poverty and slavery in different parts of the world. Reading the history of Iqbal Masih, watching some videos on YouTube about children in a brick factory in Pakistan, students became emotionally involved and asked to learn more about those topics. The participatory activities underpinning these lessons (e.g., plenary comments and debates, group activities) and the use of non-educational sources (such as newspaper articles and web-based materials) stimulated their curiosity and participation. Obtaining the emotional involvement of students, who have been provided with a sound knowledge of the causes and consequences of a specific matter, can be considered the most promising takeaway from the present study on GCE. Emotional involvement can develop empathy with other people throughout the world, thus fostering active engagement in society to change an existing situation (Banks, 2008; Merryfield, 2008).
Students also expressed interest in participatory teaching and learning activities. Given that their teacher of Italian Language, History, and Geography
11 Students' low knowledge of GCE matters was duly taken into consideration when developing the LU. This entailed some additional explanations and analysis of the most relevant preparatory topics of which students were supposed to be aware.
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(the contact person for the present study) mostly applied traditional approaches during her lessons, the possibility to interact, to play different roles in role-plays, to carry out research work, and to discuss freely with each other encouraged students' curiosity and interest and motivated their learning.12
The teaching resources created and selected for the course represent another element, which strengthened the effectiveness of the LU and contributed to the positive feedback on the course.
The few Italian educational sources available on GCE are usually written texts focused on theoretical analysis or artificial situations and characters that exemplify contemporary phenomena. In contrast, the present learning unit is characterised by the use of non-educational sources (texts, videos, pictures, etc.) focused on real matters and events at the local and global levels. These were largely retrieved from the web and were mainly in English. They consequently needed to be translated and simplified to be fully understood by 8th-grade students, whose English knowledge was not advanced.
On the Internet, the teaching resources developed specifically for GCE, such as those created by Oxfam, are available only in English. Materials on GCE topics available in Italian that can be adopted and used in class are scarce in comparison to the English ones. These materials are mainly precluded to Italian teachers, due to their unfamiliarity with the English language. When translations are offered, they often are a reduced version, including only the most relevant information, with respect to the original English one (e.g., the reports of international NGOs in Italian on the land-grabbing phenomenon or global slavery).
The ability to use the multiplicity of web sources available in English is necessary not only in terms of a wider range of resources that can be adopted in class but also, and primarily, for teachers and students to be able to compare contrasting points of view and critically analyse multi-faceted matters, as research showed (Tichnor-Wagner et al., 2016; Zhao, 2010). Contemporary global issues are, in fact, likely to have elements and implications subject to much debate, so it is fundamental to study them within a learning framework encompassing the use of different sources, which present contrasting explanations of any given situation. This will then support students in understanding the complexity of today's world, and in avoiding simplistic and often Manichean interpretations of reality.
This latter point is a critical aspect for GCE implementation: teachers who want to address GCE topics in class should be aware of the existence of conflicting analyses of contemporary matters and, at the same time, should
12 Participatory pedagogy can also boost skills and develop attitudes but, given the time restraint of the learning unit, it was not possible to measure a feasible enhancement of these characteristics.
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attempt to avoid allowing their personal opinions to influence the choice of learning contents and subsequent interpretations. Certainly, this issue can apply to any school subject, but since GCE deals with modern phenomena, it is very likely that teachers already have an opinion on them that could affect their lessons' structure and contents. Hence, it is of paramount importance to check contents selected for teaching GCE so as to bring out hidden or personal perspectives unintentionally buried in teaching materials.
This factor was carefully addressed in planning the learning unit. As regards general topics, such as the effects of globalisation or the specific issue of the use of palm oil in agro-industrial production, for instance, the author has been careful not to exclusively present facts or report opinions that reflect only a single point of view. The course was developed for teaching GCE, and its ultimate objective is to provide students with sufficient knowledge to enable them to critically reflect on contemporary issues, not to teach them the author's opinion on world matters.
If the innovative character of the LU's structure and contents represented on the one hand a positive element to students, on the other it was considered a problematic issue for the Italian Language, History, and Geography teacher of the selected class.
At the end of the course, the materials developed for the LU were made available to the teacher as a basis for in-depth analysis, in order to eventually include them in the programme for the 8th-grade exam. However, three main reasons caused the teacher difficulties in further developing these topics: 1) the different teaching approaches adopted in the LU (more participatory compared to her traditional teaching); 2) her lack of English language knowledge, which prevented her from creating her own teaching material from online non-educational sources; 3) inconsistencies between the contents and her background, as she had a degree in Italian Literature and was not fully confident in tackling some GCE issues (e.g., those related to economics and geopolitics).
Due also to curriculum constraints, according to which some GCE topics are not supposed to be analysed in depth in the 8th grade, it is not surprising that she did not manage to devote sufficient curricular time to the further examination of the LU's contents.
Final considerations
The implementation of a learning unit aimed at fostering students' knowledge on GCE issues has highlighted several areas of concern related to introducing GCE into the Italian school practice.
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These areas of concern are related to: 1) the importance of considering the basic knowledge students require before the instruction on GCE, the potentiality of their emotional involvement in GCE-related subjects and of participatory pedagogies for effective learning; 2) teacher's difficulties in pursuing further work on the topics covered by the LU for lack of specific pre-service and in-service training on applicable contents and teaching methodologies, as it occurs in other countries (Mahon & Cushner, 2007); 3) problems in teaching contemporary and controversial issues with a neutral and dialectic approach, in order to help students become autonomous individuals who can be critically engaged in the modern world.
However, considering the autonomy in learning and research activities, Italian schools have the possibility of including GCE in the curriculum, even without national guidelines on the topic.
To achieve this purpose, the international academic and non-academic discourse on GCE should circulate among teachers and school principals, informing them about the different tools available at the international level (i.e., the Oxfam guide or the Council of Europe's manual on HRE). These tools can be efficiently adopted in the Italian context, as the present study has shown.
Moreover, the level of interest from schools may be crucial in planning and developing GCE as a cross-disciplinary subject implemented using a whole-school approach (Henderson & Tilbury, 2004), as research on the topic has indicated (Oxfam, 2006; UNESCO, 2014, 2015). The effective implementation of GCE does need to involve all areas of the curriculum as well as school ethos and structure, extra-curricular activities and needs to foster (local and global) community engagement.
It must be emphasised, though, that this kind of school organisation, based on cooperative work among teachers and other professionals and educators at the school and in the community, has unfortunately not yet been carried out in Italy. However, it is the object of strong current interest at both academic and political levels as a way of enhancing key competences. A recent educational programme planned by the Italian Ministry of Education is in fact focused on the development of transversal methodologies in order to foster and assess the eight European key competences (MIUR, 2015; Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council, 2006). GCE, like other educational programmes (education about sustainable development, for instance), shares this need for re-structuring schools' organisation and practice toward cross-curricular and whole-school approaches, and could therefore benefit from national initiatives, although not primarily focused on the topic.
The educational implications highlighted in the present study are
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strongly intertwined with the need to plan and implement GCE jointly, involving the school in its whole and all the teaching staff.
The joint nature of GCE implies 1) at a school level, the organisation of specific teacher trainings on the contents, the methodologies and the pedagogical concepts underpinning GCE and the active engagement in the local/global community; 2) at a teacher level, the cooperative collaboration of all teachers can assure a multifaceted framework on the topics as well as the creation of non-educational sources to be used in class.
Additionally, this research showed the relevance of the modalities in which GCE instructional contents are selected and presented. They represent one of the most important strengths of GCE and are strictly related to its conceptualisation. As it has been pointed out through the LU's structure, in order to foster understanding and to engage students in actions for change, they should be urged to analyse and reflect on real contemporary events that take place at local and global levels. GCE didactic resources, far from being preordained, should be developed from actual problems that affect a city, a region, and a nation with an impact on the whole world, or vice versa. The connections and the tensions between the local and the global may, in this way, be objectively analysed.
It is thus necessary that GCE is grounded on actual events, as a concrete chance to reflect on the single episode and on the general dimensions behind it. In this way, the focus on and the analysis of real phenomena represent the bridge that connects the school to the world, with the ultimate aim of engaging students in actions (Nussbaum, 1994). This is strongly linked with the overall potentiality of GCE: the combination of a sound knowledge of contemporary world issues and the possibility to reflect critically upon the actual events as a common basis for the development of global responsible attitudes and values.
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Biographical note
Valeria Damiani, PhD, received her PhD in Education and she is research fellow at Roma Tre University, Italy. She was member of the ICCS 2016 Joint Management Committee, member of UNESCO's Learning Metrics Task Force 2.0 - Global Citizenship Working Group co-convened by The Center for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution and the Youth Advocacy Group (YAG) and research consultant at the Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes (ANVUR). Currently she is researcher in several projects at national and European level.
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doi: 10.26529/cepsj.39
Teaching Strategies and the Holistic Acquisition of Knowledge of the Visual Arts
Eda Birsa1
^^ Due to the rapid development and advancement within various fields, the scope of knowledge is expanding at a staggering pace. In modern education, experts and teachers makes efforts to eliminate fragmentation of the school curriculum and to modernize the manner of teaching thus optimizing the learning process. In planning art lessons, teachers must adopt an appropriate teaching strategy that enables students to acquire knowledge efficiently and holistically, encouraging the creative solving of art tasks. The present article presents some conclusions of experimental research undertaken to determine the effects of the implementation of a teaching process involving cross-curricular integration. The study involved 274 fifth-grade students and 14 single-class teachers from seven selected Slovenian primary schools. It was found that teachers achieved better learning outcomes by using teaching strategies with cross-curricular integration in sculpting tasks as part of the learning process in art education. The proposed guidelines for teaching art concepts will help teachers to overcome specific obstacles in planning activities for the visual arts learning process, while students will benefit from an increased connection between subjects and integrated knowledge of the visual arts.
Keywords: cross-curricular integration, holistic artistic development, teaching strategies, visual arts
1 University of Primorska, Faculty of Education, Slovenia; eda.birsa@pef.upr.si.
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Strategije poučevanja in celostno pridobivanje likovnega znanja
Eda Birsa
^^ Zaradi hitrega razvoja in napredka na različnih področjih se obseg znanja bliskovito veča. Strokovnjaki in učitelji si v sodobnem izobraževanju prizadevajo za odpravo razdrobljenosti šolskega kurikuluma in posodobitev načina poučevanja ter s tem optimizacijo učnega procesa. Učitelji morajo pri načrtovanju učne ure likovne umetnosti izbrati primerno strategijo poučevanja likovnih vsebin, da bo učencem omogočila učinkovito usvajanje in celostno pridobivanje znanja ter spodbudila ustvarjalno reševanje likovnih nalog. V prispevku predstavljamo delne ugotovitve eksperimentalne raziskave, s katero smo želeli ugotoviti učinke izvajanja učnega procesa z medpredmetnim povezovanjem. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 274 učencev 5. razredov in 14 razrednih učiteljev, ki so poučevali v razredu na izbranih sedmih slovenskih osnovnih šolah. Ugotovili smo, da so z uporabo strategije poučevanja z medpredmetnim povezovanjem pri izvajanju kiparskih nalog v učnem procesu likovne vzgoje učitelji dosegali boljše učne rezultate. Učiteljem bodo usmeritve v načinu poučevanja likovnih pojmov odpravile nekatere ovire pri načrtovanju likovnih aktivnosti v učnem procesu likovne umetnosti, učencem pa zagotovile večjo povezanost in pridobivanje celostnega likovnega znanja.
Ključne besede: medpredmetno povezovanje, celostni umetnostni razvoj, strategije poučevanja, vizualna umetnost
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Introduction
The development of new forms of knowledge based on new technological and scientific discoveries has given rise to a large number of academic subjects with very fragmented content. More recently, however, education experts have endeavoured to reintegrate individual, highly specialised disciplines or subject areas. The didactic principle of rationality and economy requires the linking of similar or even overlapping content of different academic subjects. Among the goals of contemporary teaching, efforts to reduce the overburdening of students in acquiring fragmented, over-extensive, and opaque learning content can be identified (Strmcnik, 2001). The correlation between learning and teaching is essential for the individual's cognitive, emotional and psychomotor progress. In the contemporary school, teachers are expected to teach students so as to prepare them for life. They are encouraged to help students to develop critical thinking skills, foresight, and the ability to effectively search and acquire quality information, and hence knowledge (Illeris, 2005; Jarvis, 2005; Stojakovic, 1990). To develop effective and sustainable knowledge 'that can be applied when thinking about a variety of problems, we need a well-organised stock of knowledge acquired in appropriate contexts and with appropriate support, generalised to the abstract level and organised around key concepts' (Rutar Ilc, 2011, p. 97).
When planning art lessons, the teacher must carefully consider devising a strategy that will encourage the students to efficiently acquire, connect, and upgrade their knowledge, as well as to adopt a creative approach to solving art tasks. The traditional concept of teaching and the passive role of the student in the learning process do not meet the challenges of contemporary times. Teaching and learning strategies that have developed and have largely replaced traditional methods are characterised by promoting the active role of students, taking into account their interests and needs, as well as their individual differences in experience, perception, participation and ability to learn various skills (Kobal, 2016; Rutar Ilc, 2011; Strmcnik, 2001; Zhang & Sternberg, 2005). Contemporary teaching strategies of art content and concepts promote the elimination of certain barriers in managing activities in the art learning process itself, providing better integration of the acquired information about art. The present article lists several art teaching strategies that promote the motivation and creativity of students in artistic expression and encourage the holistic development of artistic abilities. The focus is on a teaching strategy that involves a specific way of teaching and learning, i.e., learning new art skills through the students' own experience, by transferring knowledge and skills to the integration of
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concepts from another subject or from various other subjects. Integration can take place within or across areas of art. The teacher can achieve even more efficient results by integrating art content or concepts and concepts from various subject areas. A well-considered strategy of cross-curricular teaching will motivate students for artistic activity and have an impact on their comprehension of art concepts, while improving their ability to identify the specifics of art materials and tools and promoting their creativity in the implementation of various art tasks (Tacol, 1999, 2002, 2003b).
Visual arts teaching strategies
Choosing the most effective teaching strategy depends on the students and the learning content. The question arises as to how to teach in a way that increases the quality of students' reception, processing, and use of both previously learned and newly acquired information (Magajna, 1995; Rutar Ilc, 2011). In practice, conflicts occur between different teaching strategies due to a lack of familiarity with different types of learning and a failure to consider the differences between them (Rutar Ilc, 2011). Magajna believes that there is a need to make teachers aware of and sensitive towards the fact that not all teaching strategies are equally effective, and that an appropriate choice of teaching strategies can contribute significantly to quality teaching and learning (Magajna, 1995, p. 69). Zhang and Sternberg (2005) argued that some students learn better through conversation and listening, while others learn through visualisation of content or a variety of creative activities in the learning process, which is why, for more than three decades, teaching professionals have devoted a great deal of research to effective teaching strategies. In art classes, a variety of teaching strategies that inspire students' motivation for creative artistic work and a holistic treatment of art content are used. By adopting an appropriate teaching strategy, the teacher can help students to perfect their artistic and creative abilities, while enabling the effective and unique acquisition of various competencies not necessarily tied to formal education, as there are other vital competencies for life beyond education, such as autonomy, flexibility, responsibility, creativity, among others. (Illeris, 2005).
In dealing with art content, the teacher can opt for 'problem-based classes' (Tacol, 2003b, p. 11). Students are at the centre of the learning process, during which they discover new knowledge and skills through seeking, imagining, providing arguments for, verifying and applying given observations, opinions, and the like. This enables the creative solving of art problems in which students
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avoid stereotypical thinking and established artistic solutions (ibid.). Students can arrive at findings about art and other concepts through knowledge transfer based on their experience and their previous knowledge of art concepts, as well as through their skills in handling art materials and tools. This is called 'experiential learning' (ibid., p. 14). The role of experiential learning is to encourage connections between the visual and the lived learning experience. While conveying abstract knowledge about art concepts and other learning content, the teacher constantly engages students' own experience, both their previous lived experience and that of their current participation in the cognitive process. In this way, students' mental activity is enhanced, and it is easier for them to retain the subject matter (De Bono, 1992; Rutar Ilc, 2011). Comprehensive knowledge of art can be achieved by learning and understanding art concepts in combination with cross-curricular integration. Correlating concepts of different subject areas makes sense because it increases academic achievement based on a more comprehensive learning process and a more contemporary organisation of classes, as shown by the findings of previous research (Drake & Burns, 2004; Fiske, 1999; Paulic, 2002; Sardoc, 2004; Strmcnik, 2001). When planning cross-curricular connections, teachers are, however, faced with some uncertainties, mostly regarding the dilemma of what and how the teacher should be connecting in order to encourage the successful solution of art tasks and to guarantee that the selected strategy motivates students for work, allowing them to engage in creative artistic expression while also resulting in a holistic understanding of the presented art content (Tacol, 2003b). The teacher should design teaching and learning so that students can experience reality as a whole and not broken down into a variety of disciplines. It is well known that the human brain does not process sensations sequentially but simultaneously, sorting information in complex networks with logically arranged hierarchies of mutual relations (Rutar IIc & Skerjanc Pavlic, 2010). In the planning of the curriculum, dilemmas often arise regarding the educational goals foreseen by school legislation. In contemporary curricula and the syllabi of individual academic subjects, there is an emphasis on vertical and horizontal linkages and the logical sequence of learning content within a specific subject and between related subject areas (Strmcnik, 2001).
Cross-curricular integration strategies in the visual arts learning process
Irrespective of the concept or the integration strategy, the subjects included assume different roles, i.e., an emphasised, lead, or supporting role
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(Rutar IIc & Pavlic Skerjanc, 2010). Depending on their complexity and intensity, connections within cross-curricular integration can be classified into various types: the most basic linking, whereby a teacher can make reference to specific subjects in their interdisciplinary correlation but cannot influence the planning and implementation of these subjects, and the more complex correlations represented by integration through common themes or learning content, activities, methods, and procedures, as well as through a joint problem issue. When planning connections, teachers choose an appropriate integration element, which can be represented by an activity, content, tools, forms and methods, a teaching process or method (project approach, active learning), a thought process (development of creative and critical thinking), skills (ability to solve problems), a specific competency (reading and digital capability, learning to learn, etc.) or a concept (interculturalism, human rights, etc.) (ibid., pp. 27-40).
In non-Slovenian literature, experts demonstrate the cross-curricular integration of learning content in the form of models or schemes. These differ according to the different approaches, the number of stages in cross-curricular connections, and the theoretical frameworks. Drake concludes that the individual strategies of integration are equivalent, that there is no better or worse way, but that certain approaches are more appropriate than others, depending on the context in which they are used. The integration of content within a single subject or across subjects is presented by the author as a continuum or a six-speed principle of scalable integration (Drake, 1998). Fogarty describes two models of cross-curricular integration. The ten-level model shows ten different levels of integration. The first three levels (fragmented, connected and nested) are characterised by connections taking place within the single subject, while the threaded, shared, webbed, sequenced, and integrated levels involve integrating content across subjects, with connections at the so-called immersed and networked levels being established independently in the students' consciousness (Fogarty, 2009, p. 11). The first dimension of the model of three dimensions or triple dimension, in contrast, is represented by a vertical distribution of curriculum content from the preschool period until the completion of secondary education, whereby the learning content is continuously upgraded and complemented. The second dimension is represented by the breadth and depth of knowledge resulting from the integration of individual subjects, while the third dimension indicates the linking of skills, topics, concepts and content that are common to different subjects and subject areas. This method of integration allows for an increase in the impact of learning in an integrated way so that students can integrate ideas and concepts of different subjects in order to solve problems or problem situations (ibid.).
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When implementing cross-curricular connections, teachers can choose between different forms of cooperation. They can choose to exchange ideas, which involves regularly alternating their roles as bearers, moderators and archivists of data (in paper or electronic form). Discussion is a form of cooperation in which teachers organise systematic, structured, and guided discussions on current topics and proposals, and formulate conclusions. Two of the forms of cooperation directly involve the students: joint learning activities and the exchange of teachers. Rutar IIc and Pavlic Skerjanc (2010) listed some examples of joint activities: teachers can choose to change places with their colleagues in oral examinations, they can organise knowledge challenges, or they can arrange role plays between the different classes in which they include life situations (ibid.).
All these possibilities of cross-curricular connections can also be used in teaching art. Duh (2011) describes cross-curricular integration that involves the integration of art class content from different areas of art. With cross-curricular integration, the more general objectives of art education are implemented in addition to achieving the goals of individual areas of art. The author distinguishes between conceptual integration, the integration of procedural skills and theme integration. Conceptual integration consists of the integration of concepts and content treated simultaneously by the teacher in art classes and in other subjects and used in the implementation of the same art task. The integration of procedural skills is realised when the acquired procedural knowledge of one or more academic subjects contributes to the learning process about the laws of another subject area. Thus, the types of procedural skills acquired in a given subject can serve as a tool for gaining an understanding of art education, and vice versa. Theme integration is aimed at deepening the knowledge of and experiencing the selected content, when verbal descriptions are transferred to the language of visual arts (ibid., p. 96).
When planning the learning process, the teacher must choose appropriate learning content and envisage the interweaving and linking of the objectives and content of the different subjects. The acquisition of knowledge and cognitive strategies must be established by the teacher through the equitable treatment of the concepts and procedural objectives of different subject areas, including the promotion of the creative solving of art tasks. Attention must also be paid to the choice of teaching aids, approaches to content or concept integration, and strategies for planning the individual learning steps. In the choice of approaches to work, the teacher must take into account the artistic abilities, personality traits, needs, and aspirations of the students, and should not impose his or her own views on the highlighted problem task. The teacher promotes the active role of all students in perception, experience, exploration, and integration of personal experience, as well as in establishing connections between and acquiring the art
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concepts and other concepts in question, on the basis of which students discover their own strategies for problem solving (Tomšič Čerkez, 2009).
The teacher and the students can become familiar with new concepts in art and related fields through completing assignments in verbal or visual problem solving. The departure point for the shaping of a problem task can be devised by the teacher in different ways but has no bearing on the assertion that cross-curricular integration must be implemented through concepts (Tacol, 2002, 2003b). In planning the learning process, the teacher should carefully select the appropriate methods of and approaches to work, drawing on a number of the aforementioned models of integration by Slovenian and foreign experts.
Integrating art concepts with other concepts and planning sculpting tasks
The learning process in art classes is repeatedly marked by uncertainties regarding the planning and implementation of cross-curricular connections. For example, when dealing with certain learning content within a subject, teachers include artistic expression without specific artistic goals. Art in the learning process thus only serves to enrich the process of learning or revising the subject matter, and the artworks realised by students in this setting cannot be treated the same as those created in art classes. In practice, this kind of integration method is often seen as an appropriate way of establishing cross-curricular connections between art education and other curriculum areas. The problematic aspect of such integration is the artistic expression, which encourages neither artistic thinking nor an independent search for original and spontaneous art solutions. The resulting artwork is often carried out mechanically and schematically; all too often, it is limited to copying (Duh & Vrlič, 2003; Rutar Ilc, 2011; Tacol 2002, 2003a, 2003b). For the effective integration of art concepts with other academic concepts, the teacher must carefully prepare for lessons and reflect on and anticipate what students can be expected to achieve by following such a strategy. The teacher must consider the procedural and the art objectives of individual art tasks carefully and consistently. The integration of concepts can take place within or across subjects sharing specific content, while cross-disciplinary links can be purely instrumental in learning about the specifics of art materials and procedures or in achieving an understanding of art concepts. The teacher can implement integration based on the learner's experience, which means that the learner applies concepts previously acquired in other subjects to become familiar new art concepts, or, conversely, notions previously acquired in art classes can be used as a starting point for learning about concepts in other academic subjects (Tacol, 2003b).
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Method
In an effort to improve the quality of the learning process in the arts and to achieve the efficient acquisition of a holistic knowledge of the visual arts, we have carried out an experimental study.
The object of the experimental research was to determine the impact of the implementation of art classes with cross-curricular integration on pupils, specifically on:
•	greater creativity of pupils in solving artistic tasks;
•	student's successful understanding of visual arts;
•	successful motivation of pupils to solve artistic tasks.
This paper presents some of the research carried out to determine the effects of the implementation of art classes with cross-curricular integration. We were concerned about the impact of cross-curricular connections on students' understanding of art concepts and their motivation and creativity in solving sculpting tasks.
According to the definition of the problem we have formed the following general (Hs) and specific (Ha, Hb, Hc, Hd) hypothesis: Hs: With cross-curricular integration in the implementation of art tasks in art education teachers would achieve better learning outcomes for students by adopting teaching strategies than in classes with no cross-curricular integration. Ha: The cross-curricular integration of art concepts and concepts from other academic subjects encourages greater creativity of students in solving art tasks.
Hb: The cross-curricular integration of art concepts and concepts from other
academic subjects influences students' comprehension of art concepts. Hc: The cross-curricular integration of art concepts and concepts from other
academic subjects impacts students' motivation to solve art tasks. Hd: The cross-curricular integration of art concepts and concepts from other academic subjects enhances the incorporation of knowledge about the specifics of art materials, as well as tools for artistic expression.
The study was conducted in one school year (2011/2012) in regular art classes following the established arts curriculum. A total of 274 fifth-grade students participated in the study, along with 14 teachers from seven selected Slovenian primary schools, both urban and rural. Two classes were selected at each primary school. The experimental group comprised 160 pupils and 8 teachers,
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while the control group was populated by 114 students and 6 teachers. All the schools had the same material conditions for the implementation of art classes.
The experimental study was composed of several parts. To verify the initial state, we checked the results of student performance from the previous year, using data such as the final marks in all the fourth-grade subjects of the students involved in the research. The teachers and students then performed a sculpting task without any specific instructions. After establishing the initial state, the experiment was carried out. The experimental factor had two modalities:
1.	The traditional way of teaching and learning;
2.	Implementation of the learning process through the acquisition of art
concepts using cross-curricular integration.
In the context of the experimental study, the students from the control and experimental groups implemented four sculpting tasks as part of the regular art curriculum. The art tasks were realised by the teachers in the same period. The teachers who taught in the control group gave lessons on the basis of the established methods of teaching. The lesson plans for the implementation of the art tasks in the control group were prepared by the teachers themselves, without additional instructions, on the basis of allocated tasks. The remaining details necessary for the implementation of the art tasks were defined by the teachers based on their discretion.
The teachers who taught in the experimental group were provided with detailed instructions on how to carry out their art lessons (except for the execution of the sculpting tasks in the initial state). The realisation of individual sculpting tasks with cross-curricular integration required the inclusion of various subjects, with the number of subjects and the subject areas being determined according to the (art) concepts that the students had been previously familiarised within art lessons. The concepts chosen for cross-curricular integration were selected on the basis of the existing curricula for Art, Science and Technology, Mathematics, Social Studies, and Physical Education. The selection of integrative concepts varied depending on the art task. Most of the selected concepts were taken from the curricula for the fifth grade of the nine-year primary school programme. In the second sculpting task, for the purposes of cross-curricular integration, we chose a concept from the curriculum for Science and Technology, which the students had learnt about in the fourth grade. In this case, a vertical cross-curricular connection was established, while the other sculpting tasks were dominated by horizontal cross-curricular connections between the concepts of different fifth-grade subjects.
In the first sculpting task, the students were guided towards learning
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about the specificities of the art concepts of form and materials. The starting point for cross-curricular integration was found by the teacher in the concepts of mathematical shapes and bodies, while the concept of materials (waste, natural, artificial) was taken from Science and Technology. In the second sculpting task, the teacher linked the concept of linear surface treatment to the concepts of the diversities of surfaces and material properties from Science and Technology. In the third sculpting task, the students learnt the concepts 'dynamic' and 'static, as well as the surface treatment of the sculpture with paint, whereby they had to be alert to the stability or balance of the sculpture. The students were asked to recall the knowledge of balance that they had previously acquired in a drawing task, connecting it with the concept of balance in Physical Education. They were also asked to recall the concept of stability in the construction of buildings, which they had mastered in Social Studies, and the concept of balance in nature, studied in Science and Technology. In the fourth and last sculpting task, the students learnt about the visual concept of relief. The point of departure for the adoption of this concept was located in the related topic of relief in Social Studies and in various topics within Science and Technology.
In executing the connections, which were based on the teaching of a single teacher, the subject Art had the 'lead' role (Rutar IIc & Pavlic Skerjanc, 2010). Given the degree of complexity and the integration method, cross-cur-ricular connections were established through linking, in which the nested category of integration (according to Fogarty, 2009) was used as a strategy, meaning that the concepts previously acquired in another subject or subject area were used to assist in learning or revisiting the particularities of certain art concepts. By means of the selected concept or multiple concepts, the teachers systematically emphasised the cross-curricular correlation with one or more subjects, but without exerting an influence on the design or implementation of the subject in question. Due to the overall scope of the study, we were limited to cross-curricular integration in the context of art concept acquisition. In the acquisition of manual skills and the cultivation of an aesthetic sense for the representation of students' own art products, we also relied on prior experience.
Survey instruments were designed for the purpose of data collection. Each student was assigned a unique code, which s/he retained throughout the research and in data collection. Both in the initial stage and following the experimental part of the study, the students took a written test to verify their understanding of art concepts. Both tests were verified for construct validity with factor analysis methods, and for reliability with the Cronbach alpha coefficient with factor analysis. Objectivity was measured by calculating the difficulty coefficient of the individual tasks, which was found to be within the
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appropriate range in both cases. The discriminant coefficient was also calculated, and the tasks were found to be duly discriminatory. During the lessons, the teachers of the two groups observed the students and evaluated the effects of the implementation of the learning process. Data for the analysis of motivation was collected based on observation and on the teachers' evaluation of the students' responses to the chosen teaching strategy, facilitated by observation sheets. The level of the students' motivation was verified at the beginning, middle and conclusion of the art class. Throughout the lesson, the teacher observed whether the students were highly motivated, very motivated, motivated, poorly motivated, or not motivated. Using a scale and the criteria for the identification of creativity, the students' level of creativity was assessed during the learning process while dealing with the sculpting tasks, by assigning a grade from 1 to 5. The resulting sculptural works were evaluated by three independent teachers. To this end, a computer programme was developed to facilitate and increase the efficiency of the evaluation of works (accelerated assessment, less paperwork, better organisation, fewer human errors).
The data were analysed with SPSS software. Descriptive statistics were used to present the results of the individual elements of artistic creation/engagement observed in the context of the experimental group and the control group. To determine the differences between the experimental and control group prior to the experiment, inferential statistics were used in addition to descriptive statistics; specifically, a multivariate discriminant analysis was employed to examine both variations in the initial state and differences in performance between the control group and the experimental group. Fisher discriminant analysis was selected for discriminant analysis, as, unlike most other methods, it does not presuppose multivariate normal distribution.
Results
In the course of the experiment, both student groups were observed/ assessed for the following elements: motivation, creativity in solving the four sculpting tasks, and art concept comprehension (written examination, art products). A comparison of the grading of the observed elements between the control group and the experimental group is shown in Table 1. The comparison of the average grading for all elements observed between the two student groups was conducted with discriminant analysis.
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Table 1
Comparison of the post-experiment state based on the grades for the selected elements/criteria for the experimental group and the control group
State	Assessment element	Lowest grade	Highest grade	Average grade	Standard deviation
	Motivation				
Experimental	Sculpting task	2.22	5.00	3.78	.64
	Creativity				
	Sculpting task	2.13	4.90	3.96	.51
	Art concept comprehension	.35	2.05	1.42	.31
	Motivation				
	Sculpting task	2.22	5.00	3.49	.76
1= 0	Creativity				
	Sculpting task	1.77	4.57	3.10	.61
	Art concept comprehension	.40	1.95	1.26	.33
Table 2
Comparison of the effects of the experiment on students between the experimental group and the control group
Discriminant function Wilks' lambda c2	Degrees of freedom	Degree of importance
1 .499 162.250	3	.000
The results of the discriminant analysis (Table 2) show that the difference between the results of the experimental group and control group (from the point of view of observing the aforementioned three elements) is statistically significant (P = .000). Based on the assessment of Wilks' lambda (Table 2), it can be concluded that 49.9 per cent of the tested variables (three elements of observation) fail to contribute to the clarification of the differences in the effects of the experiment between the two groups of students.
Table 3
The canonical correlation coefficient
Discriminant function	Own canonical variate	Percentage (%) of explained variance	Cumulative percentage (%) of explained variance	Canonical correlation coefficient
1	.953	100	100	.712
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Based on the assessment of the canonical correlation coefficient (.712), as shown in Table 3, it is evident that the differences between the two groups of students are great/strong.
Table 4
Structure coefficients of the discriminant function of the student groups
Variable (observed element of the experiment)	Correlation coefficient	i-statistics	Degree of importance
Creativity	.753	17.01	.000
Art concept comprehension	.324	5.09	.000
Motivation	.255	3.92	.000
The correlation coefficients of the variables (Table 4) range from .753 (creativity) to .255 (motivation). The greatest difference in the effects of the experiment between the experimental group and control group was in the assessment of creativity. The experiment showed that the experimental group made more progress than the control group in creative engagement in the implementation of the sculpting tasks, as reflected in the grades achieved by students in sculptural works. It was assumed that 'the cross-curricular integration of art concepts and concepts from other academic subjects encourages the greater creativity of students in solving art tasks'. The results obtained show that, based on their grading, the students in the experimental group displayed better performance and more creativity in executing the sculpting tasks, thus enabling us to confirm the specific hypothesis (Ha).
The majority of students showed the capability of creative thinking, which was reflected in their artistic expressions. Many works indicate interesting individual approaches to solving sculpture assignments (see Figures 2 and 4). The art work by a student from the experimental group shows an interesting and imaginative theme in the sculpting of a statute (see Figure 2). He understood the peculiarities typical of sculpture works made of various statuary materials and perceived their expressive possibility. When making a sculpture, a student from the control group failed to give sufficient consideration of the properties of art materials (i.e., waste materials, paper, etc.). Art theme, materials and aids presented did not encourage the student to design unusual forms (see Figure 1).
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Figure 1. Art work by a control group Figure 2. Art work by an experimen-student 105BK.	tal group student 165BE.
In conclusion, we can confirm the specific hypothesis (Hb) predicting that 'the cross-curricular integration of art concepts and concepts from other academic subjects influences students' comprehension of art concepts'. The good performance of the students in the experimental group is demonstrated by the results of the written test and the sculptural works created.
In addition to the assessment of the works produced in the context of the individual sculpting tasks, we also obtained information on the responses of the students exposed to the suggested teaching strategy during the implementation of the learning process. An analysis of student motivation shows that the students of the experimental group were more motivated than their peers in the control group. Therefore, the specific hypothesis (Hc,) positing that 'the cross-curricular integration of art concepts and concepts from other academic subjects impacts students' motivation to solve art tasks' can be confirmed.
Based on the grading of the sculptural works produced, we can also confirm the specific hypothesis (Hd), which assumes that the implementation of the learning process through the use of cross-curricular connections between art concepts and concepts from other academic subjects enhances the incorporation of knowledge about the specifics of art materials, as well as tools for artistic expression.
When designing sculptures, students from the experimental group displayed more enthusiasm for the consideration of theoretical premises. The sculpture in Figure 4 shows thoughtfully incorporated cognitions about relief as an artistic concept. The student used two-dimensional material and created interesting projections on the surface thus creating a low relief. Sculpture works made by the control group students suggest that much consideration was given to the content of the theme offered. Students did not quite grasp the difference between a sculpture work and relief, which can also be seen in a control group student's sculpture work (see Figure 3). The art work shows no trace of creativity in using the materials, resulting in a design with a simple relief.
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Figure 3. Art work by a control group Figure 4. Art work by an experimen-student 65BK.	tal group student 25AE.
Conclusion
The experimental study aimed to show the effects of the implementation of a learning process with cross-curricular integration. Based on the results obtained in the study, we can confirm the general hypothesis (Hs), in which we foresaw that teachers would achieve better learning outcomes for students by adopting teaching strategies with cross-curricular integration in the implementation of art tasks in art education than in classes with no cross-curricular integration.
Among the teachers who taught in the control group, we observed more inconsistencies and misunderstandings regarding the content, and a lack of clarity in preparation for the learning process of art classes, as well as a poor understanding of the planning of art tasks (especially in the field of sculpture). During lesson preparation, we repeatedly witnessed the teachers' lack of familiarity with art terms, which resulted in the poor realisation of the tasks by the art students. We also noticed the teachers' clumsiness in the use of teaching aids and tools, such as the use of inappropriate images. In some cases, the teachers did not use illustrative materials at all, thus failing to deepen the students' understanding of art concepts. In preparing their lessons, the teachers did, in fact, plan the integration of art content with other subjects, as evidenced in the heads of the lesson preparation sheets, but they failed to implement it in the actual classes. In some cases, there was evidence of attempts to implement cross-curricular connections, but they were poorly executed. These attempts were predominantly focused on the common practice of the depiction of artistic motifs, i.e., exploiting art lessons to achieve the objectives of other subjects (Tacol, 2003a, 2003b). In some cases, the teacher clearly influenced the artistic expression as well as the creativity of the students, resulting in the group producing exactly the same art products (see Figures 5 and 6). By giving
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extremely precise instructions on the sculpting procedure (e.g., from wire or DAS modelling clay), the teachers influenced the final appearance of the art products (sculptures), whereby the focus was on the pleasing appearance of the sculptures rather than on the incorporation of the acquired art concepts.
Figure 5. Art work by a control group Figure 6. Art work by a control group student 95AK.	student 35AK.
The results of the experimental study demonstrate the effectiveness of the applied teaching strategy using the nested category (Fogarty, 2009) of concept-based cross-curricular integration, with the teachers of the experimental groups achieving better learning outcomes in the implementation of the learning process than their colleagues who implemented art classes following the usual (traditional) model did. The students in the experimental group were more successful in solving written tests and creating art products, showing greater progress in the comprehension of art concepts.
It was found that the active participation of students in the implementation of the learning process with cross-curricular integration affects motivation and creativity in the implementation of art tasks, as well as having a long-term impact on the retention of art content and art concepts, and on the understanding of art issues in the context of everyday life. Furthermore, the results obtained demonstrate the greater motivation and creativity of the students in the experimental group in performing their sculpting tasks, which provides further evidence of the positive effects of the use of cross-curricular connections in art education.
Guidelines on how to achieve creativity, motivation and the successful acquisition and retention of art concepts will assist teachers who seek a better
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implementation of cross-curricular integration in teaching art. In the long run, such guidelines will also lay the foundations for students' lifelong learning. We have compiled guidelines (prepared lesson plans) that direct teachers in the implementation of cross-curricular connections in art classes on the conceptual level. In so doing, we have sought to encourage more efficient and holistic teaching methods. Single-class teachers will thus be assisted in developing their own effective teaching strategies. In the present study, we offer examples of some of the less complex forms of cross-curricular integration. The selected option involving the nested category (Fogarty, 2009) is a good starting point for more complex ways of implementing cross-curricular connections that require teamwork of two or more teachers, the implementation of the learning process in different time periods, etc. Such approaches could be the topic of further research. A carefully selected strategy of cross-curricular integration in the learning process of art classes will certainly contribute to the successful acquisition of sustainable and integrated artistic skills.
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Strmčnik, F. (2001). Didaktika. Osrednje teoretične teme [Didactics. Central theoretical topics]. Ljubljana: Znanstveni inštitut Filozofske fakultete.
Tacol, T. (1999). Didaktični pristop k načrtovanju likovnih nalog. Izbrana poglavja iz likovne didaktike [A didactic approach to the design of art tasks. Selected topics from the didactics of the visual arts]. Ljubljana: Debora.
Tacol, T. (2002). Problemski pouk likovne vzgoje in medpredmetno povezovanje v novem kurikulumu [Problem-based learning in art education and cross-disciplinary connections in the new curriculum].
Sodobna pedagogika, 58(2), 40-49.
Tacol, T. (2003a). Likovna vzgoja in medpredmetno (interdisciplinarno) povezovanje [Art education and cross-curricular (cross-disciplinary) integration]. Likovna vzgoja, 5(23-24), 27-30. Tacol, T. (2003b). Likovno izražanje. Didaktična izhodišča za problemski pouk likovne vzgoje v devetletni osnovni šoli [Artistic expression. Didactic starting points for problem-based learning in the art education of nine-year primary school]. Ljubljana: Debora.
Tomšič Čerkez, B. (2009). Medpredmetno povezovanje in individualizacija kot motivacijsko sredstvo za likovno izražanje [Cross-curricular integration and individualization as a motivation mean for artistic expression]. In M. Prevodnik (Ed.), Motivacija za inovativnost in ustvarjalnost mladih: 2. mednarodni kolokvij. Zbornik izvlečkov. (pp. 57-58). Ljubljana: ZDSLU.
Zhang, L., & Sternberg, R. J. (2005). The role of individual differences in approaches to learning. In P. Jarvis & S. Parker (Eds.), Human learning: An holistic approach (pp. 66-86). London, UK, & New York, NY: Routledge.
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Biographical note
Eda Birsa, PhD, enrolled in doctoral study program Educational Sciences. In 2015 she successfully defended her doctoral thesis "Interdisciplinary Integration in the Classroom of Art Education". Since 2004 she has been employed at the Faculty of Education, University of Primorska, where she works in the field of Art didactics and Art education.
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doi: 10.26529/cepsj.591
Gert J. J. Biesta, The Rediscovery of Teaching, Routledge: New York, NY, and London, UK, 2017; 122 pp.: ISBN: 978-1-138-67069-3
Reviewed by Niels Anderegg1
The four monographs of Gert Biesta
Biesta sees the book The Rediscovery of Teaching (Biesta, 2017) in a logical series of his three previous books. After critically discussing the question of the 'new language' of learning (Biesta, 2006), the international testing industry of student achievement (Biesta, 2010), and the desire to create education without risk (Biesta, 2013), in his fourth monograph he is working on 'a robust and explicit account on the importance of teaching and the teacher' (Biesta, 2017, p. viii).
Biesta examines the question of education, the rediscovery of what education wants to do and can do, and what it is not. Everyone is talking about learning, and there is already a dangerous consensus that learning is central to any educational activity. However, what is meant by 'learning' is usually concealed. It seems that it goes without saying what learning means. Biesta talks about 'Learnification' and the new language about learning. This language was created in an 'age of measurement'. Learning is degraded by reducing achievement, and the student becomes an object of a risk-free process. 'Learning' or 'development' are two popular terms; however, for Biesta they are not sufficient to express what education can do. Biesta suggests the term 'formation'. The term is old and also old-fashioned. However, with the idea of formation, he expresses that education is about a 'coming into the world'. Ultimately, it is about creating existential opportunities in which students can experience the freedom to grow up as subjects in this world.
Re&iscover
Teaching
Gert J. J. Biesta
1 Center for Management and Leadership, Zurich University of Teacher Education, Switzerland; niels.anderegg@phzh.ch.
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For Biesta, schools and other educational institutions have three functions: qualification, socialisation, and subjectification. These are three contradictory functions that are connected in a field of tension. At the same time, the school is in a state of tension that Biesta calls 'the double history of the school'. On the one hand, the school has a function of and for society. With modernisation, society has lost the educational power and handed over this function to the school. On the other hand, the school is a place between 'home' and 'the street'. It is a place for practice, not for work and production. School is a place of growing up. While the one side postulates a legitimate expectation of society to the school, the other side needs to be a place that is shielded from social demands.
Teachers move in areas of tension and contradictions and manage to shape them and create a successful practice. In his latest book, Biesta discusses how this succeeds. It is neither a recipe-based didactic book nor an empirical study of successful teacher action. Biesta argues from an educational-philosophical perspective. This allows him to look 'behind the scenes' of today's discussions and to ask the question of normativity.
The rediscovery of teaching
Biesta's book deals with the question of the relationship between learning and teaching and the related question of the function and actions of teachers. He moves between two points of view: he supports the criticism of the traditional concept of teaching, but at the same time, criticises the modern idea of learning accompaniment as inadequate.
In the contemporary discussion about teaching and learning, there is criticism of the traditional concept of teaching. The discussion about constructivism shows that teaching does not automatically lead to learning. Biesta supports this view, though for different reasons. An authoritarian understanding of teaching can also be seen as control. The student becomes the object of the learning process organised by the teacher. The conclusion that teaching, in this case, is reduced to accompanying learning is also criticised by Biesta. He points out that also in this sense teaching can be considered as control. The students are responsible for their own learning, and the teachers have the task of accompanying them and at the same time checking whether they have reached the set goals. A pedagogical idea becomes a controlling function. In today's PISA age of measuring school performance, society expects the school and the teachers to meet their learning goals. One of the difficulties of seeing teaching as control is that in such a perspective, learners can only be seen as objects. At the same time, the
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idea of the student as the subject of his own learning is too short. Learning, understood as a process of interpretation and comprehension, ultimately does not allow the student to exist as a subject. Together with Emmanuel Levinas, Biesta shows that our subjectivity is not generated through our own acts of signification. Our subjectivity is rather constituted from the outside, that is, through the address of others. We never act with only ourselves. We are always in and with the world and thus are subject and object simultaneously. Biesta is ultimately concerned with a different teaching concept, which, in contrast to authoritarian teaching and in contrast to self-generated adaptive learning, should enable the subjectivity of the student. '[...] that teaching, if it is interested in the grown-up subject-ness of students, is not a matter of creating spaces where students can be free - that is, enact their freedom of signification, their freedom to learn - but it is rather about creating existential possibilities through which students can encounter their freedom, can encounter the 'call' to exist in the world a grownup way, as subject' (Biesta, 2017, p. 6). Gert Biesta shows how students' existence as subjects depends on the creation of existential possibilities, through which students can assert their grown-up place in the world.
Progressive arguments for a conservative idea
In his book, Biesta develops a pleasantly different view of the relationship between learning and teaching, between students and teachers. Learning takes place in a highly complex relationship characterised by areas of tensions, conflicts, contradictions, and dissensions. In the contemporary discussion on school policy, school development or effectiveness and educational leadership, learning is measured with the quantitative performance of students. As an alternative to this, the freedom of the student is often put in the centre. Bi-esta's book shows that both perspectives are short-sighted and that we cannot avoid dealing with the concept of learning and the normative question of the 'why'. This requires an examination of authors, such as Emmanuel Levinas, Paulo Freire, Hannah Arendt, or Jacques Ranciere, whom Biesta refers to in his book. However, also authors such as Günther Buck, Horst Rumpf or Käte Meyer-Drawe, who deal with a phenomenological, experience learning concept in German-speaking countries, or Michael Schratz and Michael Göhlich, who make the connection between learning and organisation, should be included in this discussion.
There is another strength of Gert Biesta: as a cross-border commuter of different cultural areas, he incorporates different lines of discussion and perspectives. This makes his work feel surprising and new without being new.
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For some time, Gert Biesta toiled with the idea of giving the book the subtitle 'Progressive arguments for a conservative idea'. It has become common to see the teacher as a 'facilitator of learning! Biesta criticises this, just as he does not see the teacher as a 'manufacturer of learning'. He does not see the teacher and his work as conservative or progressive: 'that teaching is not necessarily conservative and not necessarily a limitation of the child's or the student's freedom, just as the "freedom to learn" (Rogers, 1969) is not automatically or necessarily liberating and progressive' (Biesta, 2017, p. ix). In this sense, Gert Biesta's book is neither new nor old, neither conservative nor progressive. It is a book that first asks the question 'why', before giving the answer to the 'how'. This is something self-evident, but unfortunately often lacking in today's discourse on schools and teachers.
References
Biesta, G. J. J. (2006). Beyond learning. Democratic education for a human future. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.
Biesta, G. J. J. (2010). Good education in an age of measurement: Ethics,politics, democracy, interventions: education, philosophy & culture. Boulder, CO: Paradigm. Publishers.
Biesta, G. J. J. (2013). The beautiful risk of education. Boulder, CO, & London, UK: Paradigm Publishers. Biesta, G. J. J. (2017). The Rediscovery of teaching. New York, NY, & London, UK: Routledge.
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doi: 10.26529/cepsj.592
David J. Connor, Beth A. Ferri and Subini A. Annamma (Eds.), DisCrit: Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education, Teachers College Press: New York, NY, 2016; 279 pp.: ISBN 978-0-8077-5667-6
Reviewed by Josefine Wagner1
At the intersection of disability and migration experience, vulnerable bodies are easily constructed that become subjected to specialised care, harming individuals rather than enabling them to access free, quality, primary, and secondary education. In 2006, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN-CRPD) put forward a social-constructivist understanding of the term 'disability' that focuses on barriers to participation in society, instead of individuals' limitations and the medical gaze on the 'disabled' body. Ratified by the European Union (EU) in 2010, the UN-CRPD has become instructive to EU Member States, since regular monitoring reports issued by UN committees hold countries accountable for realising acts, such as: 'State parties shall ensure that [...] (b) Persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality and free primary and secondary education on an equal basis with others in the communities in which they live; [...]' (2006, article 24.2b, p. 17). Limiting special education and channelling more and more students with disabilities and special needs into mainstream education has led to increased diversity in classrooms, even more so in those countries with considerable migration populations. Alienating as it might seem to some teachers at first, all students have the right to the education that has been available to able-bodied classmates of the dominant cultural group. Boxing students into categories does not foster the bond that creates a community of students. Where there is no relationship between teacher and students as well as among students, and where there is no respect for the unique ways students learn, there will be no progress, neither content-wise or socially.
1 Early Stage Researcher in the European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE) at the University of Lower Silesia, Poland and the University of Innsbruck, Austria; josefinewagner@yahoo.com.
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With regards to the American research landscape, interdisciplinary approaches champion the way of looking and describing classroom activities to better respond to the many contexts in which teaching and learning take place. In this volume, DisCrit: Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education, Inclusive Education, scholar David J. Connor, special education scholar Subini A. Annamma, and inclusive education and disability studies scholar Beth A. Ferri have joined forces. Through their areas of expertise, they offer a framework that takes both disability and non-whiteness in education into view, focusing on issues of segregation and urban schooling. In the European education research landscape, attempts to bridge the gap between two seemingly different disciplines of special education and inclusive education are rare. Even more unique is the reading of both disciplines with attention to matters of belonging to cultural and ethnic minority groups within European societies. In countries, such as Austria in which more students with Turkish or Bosnian/Croatian /Ser-bian as their mother tongue attend special schooling than mainstream primary education, the first steps have been made to raise educators' awareness for the construction of disability through language. In federally organised Germany, Berlin has abolished special schools and makes use of a system of nine special needs statuses with which students can be diagnosed. Students with migration experiences rank alarmingly high under the status of 'emotionally and socially challenged', pointing to a more significant issue of social and cultural mediation. Intercultural learning needs to join the conversation between special and inclusive educators as we want to prepare teachers and pedagogical members of staff for classrooms which offer, in an extraordinary way, the wealth of human expression. This is not to say that DisCrit must always be read with a clear multicultural perspective. Also in classrooms in Post-Socialist Central European societies, in which migration may play a minor role, valuable food for thought can be found in this volume since it approaches aspects that are central to teaching children with special needs.
One way of opening a conversation that addresses matters of diversity, ability-wise as well as culturally, in education would be to engage with the framework of DisCrit that Connor, Annamma, and Ferri introduce in their book DisCrit: Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education. The main goal of the volume is to apply the tenets of DisCrit and make it a thick and robust framework to look at practices in education. Each article put forward by a different group of scholars or individuals places itself within the principles of the framework, indicating the relevance that the framework, though somewhat preliminary, offers. The framework builds on seven tenets. In short, these encompass (1) DisCrit questions normalcy by addressing how racism and ableism
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interrelate to create hegemonic notions the normal; (2) DisCrit appreciates an approach of multidimensional identities; (3) DisCrit recognises the social construction of identity categories but highlights the material and psychological consequences that may arise from labels of such categories; (4) DisCrit emphasises the voice of marginalised groups of society in research; (5) DisCrit views the analysis of dis/ability and racism with regard to historical and legal dimensions; (6) DisCrit regards Whiteness and Ability as properties and that benefits for people labelled dis-abled have often been achieved for White, Middle-class members of society; and (7) DisCrit supports resistance (p. 19). The authors discard the terminology of 'disability' and propose instead 'dis/ability' to stress their commitment to '1: Counter the emphasis on having a whole person be represented by what he or she cannot do, rather than what he or she can, and 2: disrupt notions of the fixity and permanency of the concept of disability, seeking rather to analyse the entire context in which a person functions.' (p. 1)
Though not their first joint publication on theorising DisCrit (see, e.g., Annamma, Connor, & Ferri, 2012), the three scholars highlight the potential for further enriching the framework by inviting colleagues to explore the framework with their own takes. Framed by an introductory article A Truncated Genealogy of DisCrit and the touchstone text Dis/Ability Critical Race Studies (DisCrit): Theorizing at the Intersections of Race and Dis/ability, the volume is divided into six parts: (I) Race, Class, and Ability, (II) Achievement/ Opportunity Gap, (III) Overrepresentation, (IV) School-to-Prison Pipeline, (V) School Reform and (VI) Race, Disability and the Law. Each part is featured in two articles.
In part one, David Gillborn, Nicola Rollock, Carol Vincent, and Stephen J. Ball discuss The Black Middle Classes, Education, Racism, and Dis/ability: An Intersectional Analysis. In 77 interviews with Black middle-class parents, living in England, the authors explore how social class, ability and identities of race (Black Caribbean) most often create situations for students in which they are directed to segregated, third-class education through pseudo-medicalised labels. Furthermore, Alicia A. Broderick, and Zeus Leonardo address 'goodness' as a property that has material implications for students. Very convincingly, the authors argue for 'goodness' as a category that is actively constructed through cultural discourse. Broderick and Zeus invite educators to explore how practices of 'goodness' matter in the construction of student identities and how 'goodness' becomes interlinked with privileges and accesses to services, such as extra lessons, support teachers, and others or the withdrawal of such. With regard to remaining a reflexive practitioner, no matter how diverse or mono-cultural the classroom maybe, I highly recommend studying this article.
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In the second part, Elizabeth Mendoza, Christina Paguyo, and Kris Gutierrez make use of cultural-historical activity theory (CH/AT) to question common sense and everyday beliefs about cultural groups, ability, and other factors. This way attention can be drawn to White privilege and notions of normalcy. Using the example of IQ testing, the authors deconstruct the legitimacy of intelligence tests as they facilitated discourses and practices of eugenics in the past. Moreover, Kathleen A. King Thorius and Paulo Tan argue in favour of 'educational debt' in place of the narrative of 'achievement gaps.' Whereas achievement gap framings in education invite rather superficial solutions, educational debt takes into view the complexities of injustice resulting from historically grown, economic, socio-political, and moral debt.
In the third part, Elizabeth B. Kozleski and Edward Fergus take up the theme of overrepresentation through the topics of measurement in education and teacher beliefs. Kozleski outlines how big data collection and interpretation by institutions, such as the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and the National Centre for Education Statistics (NCES) reinforces overrepresentation of minority students in special education. Fergus presents a study in which he combines social reproduction theory and DisCrit to investigate to what extent ideologies, regarding racial constructs, such as deficit thinking, colour-blindness, and other factors matter in teacher self-reports of their own work in the classroom.
The fourth part is dedicated to the analysis of the school-to-prison pipeline. This topic is discussed by authors D. L. Adams and Nirmala Everelles, who focus on 'carceral logics', and Claustina Mahon-Reynolds and Laurence Parker who stress the overrepresentation of students of colour with learning disability among the prison population. As early police contact of minors has strong implications for future involvement with the police, the authors emphasise an in-tersectional perspective on the overrepresentation of non-White students with dis/abilities in the American prison system. First emphasised as a phenomenon when the report Cellblocks or Classrooms? issued by the Justice Policy Institute (Schiraldi & Ziedenberg, 2002) highlighted that there were more Black men in prisons than in secondary education, the school-to-prison pipeline remains worthy of critical investigation.
In the fifth part, the policy perspective is put under scrutiny. Sally Tom-linson highlights the DisCrit framework as a theory of justice and draws interesting parallels to John Rawls and his works on social arrangements and the way that educational and economic opportunities are distributed in society. Tomlinson also draws on the historical dimension to highlight how changing notions of justice manifested in legal acts constituted oppression for some and privilege for others along the lines of dis/ability and race. Susan Baglieri
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discusses fruitful angles of critique when reading school reforms with regard to multiculturalism, inclusive education and DisCrit. She analyses the narrative of students 'at risk' coupled with the simplified language of 'urban children', i.e., Black, Brown and poor kids, and 'special needs' in place of complex histories, identities and positions in legal texts of school reforms. As neoliberalism needs to construct schools as disaster zones to employ measurement and progress schemes, Baglieri argues, markers as the above pathologise those children [Black, Brown, poor, dis/abled] that it construes to 'save'. As the language of policy easily passes as 'neutral' and integrates into everyday discourse, this article is highly recommended as it encourages to look behind figures of speech and to question how agenda setting is framed.
The final part engages, on the one hand, with DisCrit as a lens to evaluate a recent court ruling in the case of George Zimmerman who shot unarmed Trayvon Martin, a Black, 17-year-old teenager, because he seemed out of place in the neighbourhood. In one of the most gut-wrenching chapters of the volume, Kathleen M. Collins demonstrates how racism and ableism create identities 'out of place' to justify incarceration, harm, and segregation. In contrast, Zanita E. Fenton shows in detail how slavery worked at dis/abling the Black body physically, psychologically, intellectually and how forced sterilisation functioned as a mutilating instrument for various groups of American society throughout history to prevent, in eugenic fashion, the spread of 'feeblemindedness' or unfavourable life and genes. Fenton argues, though sensitive to hierarchies of suppression, for weakening categories of identities so that alliances become possible allowing for mutual empowerment.
Generally, the volume refers to the Anglo-American context, which allows for creative adaptation and inspiration with regard to the wider European context. This book is truly recommendable for building one's own theoretical base, to receive ideas on methodological design for research purposes, to inspire teacher educators, and to gain food for thought as a practitioner involved in classrooms and school management. Though the language is at times overcomplicated and could be altered for addressing a larger audience that would truly profit from this research in their daily work, I would still recommend it to teachers, paedagogical and management staff at schools. Since teachers more often than not belong to the able-bodied, majority culture of a society, a self-reflexive engagement can truly be spurred by taking the research that this framework has motivated and is at display in DisCrit: Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education to heart.
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References
Annamma, S. A., Connor, D. J., & Ferri, B. A. (2016). Touchstone text: Dis/ability critical race studies (DisCrit): Theorizing at the intersections of race and sis/ability. In D. J. Connor, B. A. Ferri, & S. A. Annamma (Eds.), DisCrit: Disability studies and critical race theory in education (pp. 9-34). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Schiraldi, V., & Ziedenberg, J. (2002). Cellblocks or classrooms? The funding of higher education and corrections and its impact on African American men. Washington, D.C.: Justice Policy Institute. Retrieved from http://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/02-09_rep_ cellblocksclassrooms_bb-ac.pdf
United Nations. (2006). Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities and optional protocol. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convoptprot-e.pdf
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University of Ljubljana Faculty of Education
Editorial
Transnational Perspectives of Transformative Teacher Learning in an Emerging Europe
— Michael Schratz and Vasileios Symeonidis
CONTENTS
c-E-p-s Journal
Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal
Revija Centra za študij edukacijskih strategij
Vol.8 | No3 | Year 2018
http://ojs.cepsj.si/
Horizon 2020 | msca-itn-ejd www.edite.eu
FOCUS
Revisiting the European Teacher Education Area: The Transformation of Teacher Education Policies and Practices in Europe
Pregled evropskega prostora izobraževanja učiteljev: transformacije politik in praks izobraževanja učiteljev v Evropi
—	Vasileios Symeonidis
Student Teachers as Future Researchers: How do Hungarian and Austrian Initial Teacher Education Systems Address the issue of Teachers as Researchers?
Študentje pedagoških programov kot prihodnji raziskovalci: kako madžarski in avstrijski sistem začetnega izobraževanja učiteljev naslavljata vprašanje učiteljev kot raziskovalcev
—	Csilla Pesti, Janos Gordon Gyori and Erika Kopp
Exploring the Personal Mastery of Educational Leaders: FieldTransFormation360 and its Validation in the Austrian Leadership Academy
Preučevanje osebnih spretnosti vodij šol: FieldTransFormation360 in njegova veljavnost na Avstrijski akademiji za vodenje
—	Malte Gregorzewski, Michael Schratz and Christian Wiesner The Missing Link: Teacher Learning for Diversity in an Area-based Initiative in Portugal
Manjkajoči člen: učenje učiteljev za raznolikost v področno zasnovani iniciativi na Portugalskem
—	Nikolett Szelei and Ines Alves
Change, Challenge, Transformation: A Qualitative Inquiry into Transformative Teacher Learning
Sprememba, izziv, transformacija: kvalitativna raziskava transformativnega učenja učiteljev
—	Helena Kovacs
Teacher Subjectivity Regarding Assessment: Exploring English as a Foreign Language Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment Theories that Influence Student Learning
Subjektivnost učiteljev pri ocenjevanju: raziskovanje pojmovanj teorij ocenjevanja, ki vplivajo na učenje učencev, pri učiteljih angleščine kot tujega jezika
—	Kinley Seden and Roman Svaricek
Information Communication Technologies in Teaching English as a Foreign Language: Analysing efl Teachers' tpack in Czech Elementary Schools
Informacijsko-komunikacijske tehnologije pri poučevanju angleščine kot tujega jezika: analiza tpack pri učiteljih angleščine kot tujega jezika v čeških osnovnih šolah
—	Dev Raj Paneru
VARIA
Introducing Global Citizenship Education into Classroom Practice: A Study on Italian 8th Grade Students
Uvajanje globalnega državljanskega izobraževanja v prakso: raziskava z italijanskimi osmošolci
—	Valeria Damiani
Teaching Strategies and the Holistic Acquisition of Knowledge of the Visual Arts
Strategije poučevanja in celostno pridobivanje likovnega znanja
—	Eda Birsa
issn 1855-9719
REVIEW
Gert J. J. Biesta, The Rediscovery of Teaching, Routledge: New York, ny, and London, UK, 2017; 122 pp.: isbn: 978-1-138-67069-3
—	Niels Anderegg
David J. Connor, Beth A. Ferri and Subini A. Annamma (Eds.), DisCrit: Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory in Education, Teachers College Press: New York, ny, 2016; 279 pp.: isbn 978-0-8077-5667-6
—	Josefine Wagner