ERIC Number: EJ1410988
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1354-0602
EISSN: EISSN-1470-1278
Teacher Learning as a Polyphonic Endeavor: A Context Sensitive Model of Teacher Professional Development
Maryam Khosronejad; Lauren Weber; Mary Ryan
Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, v29 n7-8 p908-923 2023
Despite an increasing interest in the sociocultural aspects of teacher professional development and the recognition of context in teacher education, there is a lack of a conceptualisation of how professional learning occurs within and across various contexts. To this aim, we take up a view of professional learning that is dialogic and apply the concept of "polyphony" to conceptualise teacher practice and teacher professional learning as the teacher's orchestration of multiple voices within context. Inviting "polyphony" to the realm of teacher education refers to the composition of multiple co-existing contextual affordances and constraints affecting teacher practice. It is the multitude of various and at times disagreeing voices surrounding teacher practice. Our proposed model offers a reflexive definition of "teacher agency" that involves the recognition of the voices that the teacher draws upon so that they can be interrogated and deliberately invoked or suppressed in practice for particular contexts. We discuss two methodological implications including a polyphonic design methodology of professional learning opportunities, and a polyphonic education research method in addressing the problem of teachers' implementation and adjustment to new practices.
Descriptors: Faculty Development, Teacher Education, Affordances, Barriers, Context Effect, Professional Identity, Interaction, Classroom Communication, Elementary School Teachers, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A