Knowledge relations and epistemic infrastructures as mediators of teachers' collective autonomy

Hermansen, Hege

doi:10.1016/j.tate.2017.03.003

Cited by 32 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 69 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…When combining online and campus activities, integrating digital resources, a critical area requiring further discussion and research is the understanding of how online communities and resources function (Harasim, 2012), and the analytical work required to adapt and interpret the potential of these resources for use in local settings' (Hermansen, 2017: 2). Findings from the cycles described contribute to this missing research area (Harasim, 2012;Hermansen, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Producing Digital Learning Resources (DLR) for Teacher Training

Almås¹,

Almås²,

Gram

2020

Designs for Learning

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Producing Digital Learning Resources (DLR) for Teacher Training

Almås¹,

Almås²,

Gram

2020

Designs for Learning

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…Researchers have found that school leaders historically have distanced themselves from the teachers by developing a role as professional bureaucrat or administrator (Scheerens 2012;Mehta 2013). If school leaders identify with the administration, administrative knowledge and ethos prevail in schools (Mehta 2013) where teachers' professional knowledge base is weak (Hermansen 2017). A possible countermove on the accountability reform movement is, therefore, to intelligently strengthen the teaching profession through closer connecting teachers, school leaders, and researchers through dialogues about what is important in schools and how this can be practiced and assessed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intelligent accountability in schools: A study of how school leaders work with the implementation of assessment for learning

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In response to accountability systems dominated by external inspections and achievement data, calls are being made for intelligent accountability or a new accountability paradigm that focuses on meaningful learning, enabled by professionally skilled and committed educators within the system. In such systems, the actors are encouraged to strive for continuous development in learning organisations based on teamwork, distributed leadership, and professional learning communities. School leaders are positioned between district level administrators and teachers in such processes and have the responsibility to secure professional development. Using the implementation of the national program 'Assessment for Learning' in Norway as a case, the article shows that leaders approach professional development differently. Analyses of interviews with leaders from 7 schools reveal three distinct approaches related to how school leaders perceive knowledge. Some school leaders assume that teachers have the necessary knowledge and skills and trust them to manage the implementation process without leader support. Other school leaders distrust teachers' knowledge and skills and assume that the proper knowledge exists outside the school. These leaders seek external support when they meet teacher resistance. In a third approach, school leaders assume that knowledge develops through collaboration and thereby engage with teachers in continuous judgment about the implementation procedure. In the discussion, questions of trust and distrust are analysed in relation to how professional knowledge is developed and how professional discretion can support the development of intelligent accountability in schools.

show abstract

“…The paper takes its theoretical point of departure in the sociology of knowledge as applied to educational research. Here, we find arguments for the insufficiency of instrumentalism (Hermansen & Nerland, 2014, p. 190) and a blueprint for understanding school leadershipas well as other professional practicesas knowledge work, carried out in the interplay of policy, organization and professional practice (Hermansen, 2017). This paper researches leadership conversations as a form of knowledge work.…”

Section: Theoretical Framework Knowledge Responsibility and Epistemmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…The paper aims to make this complex situation open for analysis by thinking of standards of organization and assessment data as examples of epistemic objects (Knorr Cetina, 2001;Nerland & Jensen, 2012). Epistemic objects are 'conceptual and material artefacts' (Hermansen, 2017) characterized by a level of constancy or objectcharacter, such as in the case of this paper, assessment tools that support practical school leadership (that is, directed at solving complex problems) by providing a research-based knowledge foundation (Halverson & Kelley, 2017). It is a key theoretical claim of this paper that epistemic objects play a key role in the organization of professional practice, because they provide orientation in the complex realities of professional work.…”

Section: Theoretical Framework Knowledge Responsibility and Epistemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Standards as epistemological practice. A study of how Danish school leaders use assessment findings in the development of leadership practice

Hornskov

Nørgaard

Hansen

2018

Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During recent years, we have seen an increase in the complexity of school leadership as knowledge work. The new forms of knowledge available to school leadership, such as performance data and survey-based data, raise the expectation that leaders make relevant use of these knowledge resources. Theory and policy claim that new knowledge is of instrumental use in leadership decision making, yet there are important limitations to this strand of efficiency thinking. The paper analyzes leaders' use of organizational assessment data for the purposes of developing their leadership practice. The paper constructs this empirical object as a composite of general quality standards and specific knowledge about each school. Accountability practices are taken to be specific to particular schools and professional organizations. The paper explores how school leadership practices can be researched as an interplay between quality standards emerging from abstracted knowledge ressources such as theory and strategy, and local knowledge work. It may be difficult to balance these forms of knowledge work, and that may explain why leaders often find it hard to use new knowledge resources. The task of making sense of the flow of knowledge and new standards becomes a complex, comprehensive and time-consuming part of practical leadership.

show abstract

Knowledge relations and epistemic infrastructures as mediators of teachers' collective autonomy

Cited by 32 publications

References 69 publications

Producing Digital Learning Resources (DLR) for Teacher Training

Producing Digital Learning Resources (DLR) for Teacher Training

Intelligent accountability in schools: A study of how school leaders work with the implementation of assessment for learning

Standards as epistemological practice. A study of how Danish school leaders use assessment findings in the development of leadership practice

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About