Improving the practices of teacher educators through collaborative action research: challenges and hopes

University Teaching as a Site for Professional Learning of Teacher Educators: The Role of Collaborative Inquiry and Reflection within a Professional Learning Community

“…However, it is important to ask whether the improvement in teaching in teacher education is related only to TE initiatives to improve teaching or whether support of a collaborative culture and practice from the institution is also required. Cooperative and collegial relationships assist in developing communities of practice [9] but are not adequate, as there are several structural and organisational barriers to TEs [5][6][7]. TEs require a proactive stance to improve teacher education processes rather than only a reactive stance to external accountability processes.…”

“…Moreover, TE obligations to comply with study regulations [7] and top-down organisational structures [8] create a mismatch between quality teaching and predetermined practices and, therefore, limit TE autonomy in decision making, resulting in reduced motivation. In addition, the lack of a cooperative culture at a university may not promote collaboration among colleagues to study their practice in higher education [9]. However, the systematic study of TEs' pedagogical practices in higher education can provide us with the means to critically understand and deliberately design ITE processes [10].…”

“…When collaboration among academic staff has been studied, many benefits have been presented, such as the creation of new knowledge, the construction of a "common language" for learning, staff well-being in the workplace [5,9,18,19], as well as the construction of professional learning. Still, studies regarding PLCs mainly report on their evolution, their perceived outcomes, and the factors that affect these outcomes [18].…”

“…Some other studies focus on exploring participant satisfaction based on their engagement in a PLC [20]. Even if exploration of TE actions and individual or collaborative reflections are mentioned in studies of PLCs, only in specific studies have we found detailed descriptions of what this collaboration entailed and specifically how inquiry and reflection within this collaboration assisted in the construction of professional knowledge [9,21].…”

Student engagement and fostering ownership of learning

“…Action research makes learning more responsive, relevant, and engaging for students by using personalised strategies, building stronger relationships, encouraging active learning, and giving teachers and students more power. With this method, the classroom is turned into a community of learners who work together to ensure that teaching and learning are constantly changing to meet the needs and potentials of all students (Yosief et al, 2024).…”