Becoming a lecturer in further education in England: the construction of professional identity and the role of communities of practice

Bathmaker, Ann Marie; Avis, James

doi:10.1080/02607470500043771

Cited by 133 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Their concepts have been used to understand how trainee teachers can learn from more experienced teachers (Bathmaker & Avis, 2005;Drever & Cope, 1999), and how people in the workplace are able to learn from their colleagues through the establishment of communities of practice (Brown & Duguid, 1991;Kimble, Hildreth & Wright, 2001). Furthermore, their theories have been used to understand how intercultural learning arose out of collaborative European Union research projects (Somekh & Pearson, 2002) and how PhD students found emotional and academic support through a collaborative peer community (Janson, Howard & Schoenberger-Orgad, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing communities of practice within and outside higher education institutions

Hodgkinson-Williams

Slay

Siebörger

2008

Brit J Educational Tech

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Higher education institutions (HEIs) are largely built on the assumption that learning is an individual process best encouraged by explicit teaching that is, on the whole, separated from social engagement with those outside the university community. This perspective has been theoretically challenged by those who argue for a social constructivist learning theory and a more collaborative approach to learning. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) afford lecturers and students an opportunity for extending the boundaries of a learning experience, not merely beyond the lone individual, but beyond the limits of discipline boundaries within a specific university community and beyond the institution into the local community. This paper illustrates how a collaborative effort between lecturers and students from the Computer Science and Education Departments at Rhodes University, teachers from the local community, the provincial Department of Education and a non-governmental organisation developed into an unfolding virtual and physical community of practice which enabled ICT take-up in a number of schools in the Grahamstown District, South Africa. This discussion of what has become known as the e-Yethu project provides an example of how ICTs, underpinned by the insights of social constructivism, the notion of 'community of practice' and in particular Hoadley and Kilner's C4P Framework for Communities of Practice, can serve to help HEIs understand ways in which ICTs can provide opportunities for developing collaborative learning within HEIs, and between the HEI and the local community.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing communities of practice within and outside higher education institutions

Hodgkinson-Williams

Slay

Siebörger

2008

Brit J Educational Tech

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“…The impact of this, according to Crowley (2002), leads teachers to work in isolation. Second, as Bathmaker and Avis (2005) found, these changes impact negatively on teachers who are demoralized and overstretched. Edward et al (2007) report that teachers and managers described coping with endless change coming at them from all directions and struggling to balance the needs of their learners with the demands of their managers, inspectors, and funding sources.…”

Section: Structural Barriers To Meaningful Professional Developmentmentioning

confidence: 90%

So many worlds, so much to do: Identifying barriers to engagement with continued professional development for teachers in the further education and training sector

Broad¹

2015

London Review of Education

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Between 2008 and 2012, teachers in the further education (FE) sector were required by legislation to engage with 30 hours (pro rata) of continued professional development (CPD), and this is reflective of the ways in which, historically, policy interest in FE teachers' professional development has waxed and waned. Situated within this historical context, this paper, drawing on a study carried out between 2009 and 2010, presents teachers' perceptions of the ways in which they are restricted from engaging with CPD. Through the application of actor-network theory concepts of multiple worlds and realities, three competing and disjunctured 'reality networks' are identified: a) policy reality network; b) organization reality network; and c) teacher/CPD reality network. Structural arrangements and ongoing funding contractions for the sector, alongside teachers' working arrangements, are examined so as to identify whether these create barriers for teachers. It was found that the most significant barrier to engagement with beneficial and meaningful CPD is the result of teachers operating in impoverished and limited teacher/CPD networks. These impoverished networks do not offer teachers the opportunity to forge links with similar subject-specialist teachers, leaving them to develop subject and occupational expertise in isolation.

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“…This isolation limited trainees' opportunities to develop affective relationships and access feedback. Like LSS trainees in other studies (Bathmaker and Avis, 2005;Maxwell, (forthcoming), case study trainees had limited opportunity to access teacher communities of practice, so were denied access to an important affordance that could have supported them in developing subject knowledge and pedagogy (Bank, Leech & Moon, 1999). …”

Section: Workplace Affordances For Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

In-service Initial Teacher Education in the Learning and Skills Sector in England: Integrating Course and Workplace Learning

Maxwell

2010

Vocations and Learning

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In-service initial teacher education in the learning and skills sector in England: integrating course and workplace learning AbstractThe aim of the paper is to advance understanding of in-service learning and skills sector trainee teachers' learning and propose ways of improving their learning. A conceptual framework is developed by extending Billett's (2008) conceptualisation of workplace learning, as a relationally interdependent process between the opportunities workplaces afford for activities and interactions, and how individuals engage with these, to a third base of participation, the affordances of the initial teacher education course. Hager and Hodkinson's (2009) metaphor of 'learning as becoming' is used to conceptualise the ways trainees reconstruct learning in a continuous transactional process of boundary crossing between course and workplace. The findings of six longitudinal case studies of trainees' development, and evidence from other studies, illustrate the complex interrelationships between LSS workplace affordances, course affordances and trainee characteristics and the ways in which trainees reconstruct learning in each setting. The experience of teaching and interacting with learners, interactions colleagues, and access to workplace resources and training are important workplace affordances for learning. However, some trainees have limited access to these affordances. Teaching observations, course activities, and experiences as a learner are significant course affordances. Trainees' beliefs, prior experiences and dispositions vary and significantly influence their engagement with course and workplace affordances. It is proposed that better integration of course and workplace learning, through guided participation in an intentional workplace curriculum and attention to the ways trainees choose to engage with this, together with the use of practical theorising has the potential to improve trainee learning.

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Becoming a lecturer in further education in England: the construction of professional identity and the role of communities of practice

Cited by 133 publications

References 11 publications

Developing communities of practice within and outside higher education institutions

Developing communities of practice within and outside higher education institutions

So many worlds, so much to do: Identifying barriers to engagement with continued professional development for teachers in the further education and training sector

In-service Initial Teacher Education in the Learning and Skills Sector in England: Integrating Course and Workplace Learning

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