How Skilled Teachers Enable Success in Their Teaching With Respect to Inclusion and Knowledge Development: A Qualitative Study Based on Teachers’ Experiences of Successful Teaching

Abstract

The study answers the following question: What teaching practices do skilled teachers report as being key to enabling successful teaching with respect to inclusion and knowledge development?The participants in this study where 20 teachers, from 10 Swedish municipalities, who taught 16 to 18 year-old students. The study is based on interviews with (recognised) skilled teachers who possess the ability to include all of their students in everyday teaching practices in such a way that students are motivated to engage in knowledge development, based on their unique abilities. All of the participating teachers are in agreement that good knowledge of the subject being taught is foundational to such teaching, but other abilities are needed if teaching is to be successful. Based on phenomenological theory, this study identifies six themes which complement 'good knowledge of the subject'. The themes relevant to teaching success are: (i) the active and systematic creation of relationships; (ii) demonstration that the teacher wants to be with the student, here and now; (iii) a continual striving to become a better teacher and demonstration of the same; (iv) a sharing of responsibility for learning with the students; (v) the creation of learning opportunities; (vi) the establishment of trust and a sense of security.

Narrative Analysis as a Means of Investigating CLIL Teachers’ Meaningful Experiences

“…The frustration could also signal a need to work on interpersonal relations. Here the relationships that need attention are both those among the students and those between the teacher and the students, as trusting relationships with students lead to a collaborative learning environment (Segolsson & Hirsh, 2019;Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001).…”

“…Bandura, 1977;Day et al, 2007;Glatthorn, 1995;Green & Pappa, 2020;Meristo, 2016;Opdenakker & Van Damme, 2007;Sass et al, 2012). The personal environment encompasses self-efficacy beliefs, self-regulation, cognitive skills and attitudes; whilst the contextual environment includes the physical surrounding, organizational support and teacher community, but also building good relationships with students by creating a supportive and friendly atmosphere, establishing trust and sharing responsibility with students; as well as showing care towards them (Segolsson & Hirsh, 2019;Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). The aforementioned synergy is not self-evident, but rather seen as a result of a teacher's conscious professional growth that leads to a collaborative learning environment.…”

“Had there been a Monica in each subject, I would have liked going to school every day”: a study of students’ perceptions of what characterizes excellent teachers and their teaching actions

“…The current research project was carried out in collaboration between two university researchers and a regional development centre funded by ten municipalities in southern Sweden (Segolsson & Hirsh, 2019). This study focuses on the student perspective, but in order to explain how the selection of students was made, a description of respondent selection and data collection for the project as a whole is included below.…”

“…A starting point of the research project in which the current study is situated (Segolsson & Hirsh, 2019) is that the question of what characterises high-quality teaching should be approached in methodologically different ways and by taking various actors' perspectives. Additionally, we argue that the quality of teachers and teaching cannot be determined solely based on the knowledge gained by the students but that it should also be related to the well-being of students.…”

Metoder för återkoppling – en kraftfull professionskunskap för matematikundervisning inom vuxenutbildningen

“…Elevernas lärande riktas mot innehållet, inte mot att lära sig för att klara ett visst test. Undervisningens fokus flyttas från lärarens bedömning av elevers kunskaper, till en process som involverar lyhördhet (hos både elever och lärare) för återkoppling i undervisningen (Segolsson & Hirsh, 2019). Undervisningen blir responsiv.…”