Når kunnskap blir styrende: Læreres rekontekstualisering av nye kunnskapsformer

Abstract

I de senere årene har blant annet norske elevers resultater på internasjonale og nasjonale undersøkelser blitt brukt til å legitimere politiske initiativer for å styrke læreres kunnskap, hvor vektlegging av forskning og elevresultater har stått sentralt. Disse kunnskapsformene, som karakteriseres av å være abstrakte og generiske, står på mange måter i kontrast til de mer kontekstuelle og erfaringsbaserte kunnskapsformene som lenge har stått sentralt i lærer­profesjonen. I denne artikkelen diskuterer vi ulike utfordringer som denne utviklingen skaper, på bakgrunn av læreres oppfatninger og erfaringer rundt disse endringene i deres kunnskapsgrunnlag. Mer spesifikt belyser vi hvordan lærere tilnærmer seg nye kunnskapsformer og setter dem i sammenheng med eksisterende praksis, en prosess vi omtaler som rekontekstualisering. Artikkelen er et teoretisk bidrag som har som formål å belyse læreres samhandling med nye kunnskapsformer. Med støtte i empiri fra to doktorgradsavhandlinger, viser vi hvordan abstrakte kunnskapsformer fordrer at lærerne må utøve et betydelig “oversettelsesarbeid” for at ny kunnskap skal oppleves som relevant. Videre diskuterer vi hvordan dette oversettelsesarbeidet får konsekvenser for hvordan læreres autonomi og ansvarsområder formes, og for hvordan profesjonens kunnskapsbase videreutvikles. Til slutt diskuterer vi implikasjoner for lærer­utdanningen, med vekt på hvordan lærerstudenter kan utvikle et grunnlag for å håndtere dilemmaer i spenningsfeltet mellom profesjonskunnskap, ansvar og autonomi.Nøkkelord: lærerarbeid, profesjonskunnskap, lærerutdanning, læreres kunn­skapsbase, utdanningsreformer, lærerprofesjonalitetAbstract In recent years, Norwegian students’ results on national and international tests have been used to legitimise political initiatives aimed at strengthening teachers’ knowledge, emphasising the importance of research and systematic analysis of student results. These abstract and generic forms of knowledge represent a contrast to the contextual and experience based knowledge that has historically been important in the teaching profession. In this article we discuss some of the challenges associated with this development, based on teachers’ perceptions about and experiences with these changes to their knowledge base. More specifically, we examine how teachers approach new forms of knowledge and relate them to existing forms of practice, a process we refer to as recontextualisation. The article is a theoretical contribution which aims to shed light on teachers’ interactions with new forms of knowledge. Using data from two PhD dissertations as empirical illustrations, we show how abstract forms of knowledge require that teachers conduct significant “translation work” for new knowledge resources to be experienced as relevant to established practice. We also discuss the implications of these processes of translation for how teachers’ autonomy and responsibilities are shaped, and for how the profession’s knowledge base is developed. Finally, we outline implications for teacher education, emphasising how student teachers can develop a basis for handling dilemmas that emerge from the tensions between professional knowledge, responsibility and autonomy.Keywords: professional knowledge, teacher education, teachers’ knowledge base, educational reforms, teacher professionalism

Social and emotional skills in curriculum reform: a red line for measurability?

“…This approach provides an overview of documents in a systematic fashion (Weber, 1990) and the identification of patterns in the documents (Stemler & Bebell, 1999), allowing inferences to be made and corroborated using other methods of data collection, as well as further in-depth content analysis (Pettersson, 2014). The term knowledge base has been used to denote a body of generic knowledge to be mastered by students (Kloppenburg, van Bommel, & de Jonge, 2019); teachers' beliefs, orientations, and cognitions (Beijaard & Verloop, 1996); and the shared knowledge of the teaching profession (Campbell- Barr, 2018;Hermansen & Mausethagen, 2016). Young and Muller (2013) also likened the knowledge base of social scientists to the powerful knowledge of surgeons who know where to insert the scalpel based on their specialized understanding of anatomy and physiology.…”

Different dimensions of knowledge in teacher education - a general typification

“…This includes a critical view toward knowledge, for example that (student) teachers are able to discuss and judge the predication and different kinds of knowledge, but also that they can critically assess the validity of a claim, e.g., in contemporary debates about 'what works' in teaching. From the literature base, Hermansen and Mausethagen (2016) is an example of including this approach when discussing teacher education. They stress that "student teachers must be prepared in a critical way to analyze different kinds of knowledge and their implications on teacher work" (Hermansen & Mausethagen, 2016, p. 104).…”

“…We will point to three different ways of enacting knowledge: recontextualizing, applying an analytical approach, and giving reasons. Hermansen and Mausethagen (2016), for example, emphasized …how abstract forms of knowledge require that teachers conduct significant 'translation work' for new knowledge resources to be experienced as relevant to established practice. (p. 93) Hermansen and Mausethagen (2016) used the concept 'recontextualization' to capture this way of enacting knowledge.…”

“…Hermansen and Mausethagen (2016), for example, emphasized …how abstract forms of knowledge require that teachers conduct significant 'translation work' for new knowledge resources to be experienced as relevant to established practice. (p. 93) Hermansen and Mausethagen (2016) used the concept 'recontextualization' to capture this way of enacting knowledge. Hence, 'transforming' is one way of using or enacting knowledge as a (student) teacher.…”

Nasjonale prøver – hemmende styringsverktøy eller lokale redskap for praksisutvikling?

“…Som påpekt innledningsvis viser forskning at praksiser endres som en konsekvens av økt styring gjennom ansvarliggjøring (Hermansen & Mausethagen, 2016;Mausethagen, 2013aMausethagen, , 2013b. Gunnulfsen og Roe (2018) antyder blant annet at nasjonale prøver blir anvendt og forstått ulikt blant laerere i norsk skole.…”