Optimising personal and professional reflection in a unique environment: making sense of an overseas professional experience

Abstract

This paper details a project that sought to understand the benefits of Australian pre-service teachers undertaking an overseas teaching professional experience in Fiji. Using the language of the pre-service teachers who took part in this program led to the dataset being re-viewed through the lens of 'sensemaking theory'. This reviewing and methodological sieving of the data through this theoretical portal revealed a set of principles that gave greater insight into how these forms of teaching experiences enhanced personal and professional reflection that is far different from the typical domestic teaching professional experiences routinely offered. It also revealed the nature and power of personal reflection when conjoined with social interaction.

Pre-Service Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Overseas Professional Experience: Implications for Professional Practice

“…While data collection in this study occurred sequentially in what Creswell identifies as a 'concurrent triangulation approach ' (2009, p.213), the initial overall foci grew out of previous research (McKenzie and Fitzsimmons, 2010). The 'sequential design' (Creswell 2012, p. 540) utilized by this study involved the focussing of data through a clearly defined and expressed set of motives, interests and values (Scott and Garner 2013) Qualitative data for this study was collected via the use of semi-structured interviewing (Creswell, 2002) which uses a mixture of both open-ended and close-ended questions.…”

“…Researchers (Hofstede,1997: Marx, 1999Manz, 2003) have identified this as being initiated when people transfer from one culture to another, in many cases with negative consequences. Interestingly, rather than this being a negative process it would appear that the effects of cognitive dissonance (Festinger, 1962), reflection (Schon, 1983;1987) and engaging in reflective social structures play a part in how preservice teachers move towards personal and professional responsibility in an overseas professional teaching experience (McKenzie & Fitzsimmons, 2010). Cognitive dissonance involves PSTs experiencing discomfort as a result of maintaining conflicting views about teaching While there is a developed long term body of research regarding the concept of 'cognitive dissonance', the authors of this paper contend more focused research needs to be conducted in regard to the roles that both cognitive dissonance and reflection play in personal growth for pre-service teachers.…”

“…The development of the initial set of items was guided by the afore-mentioned four core issues -culture, teaching, learning and self-assessment that emerged from both the literature and previous research (McKenzie & Fitzsimmons, 2010;Fitzsimmons & McKenzie, 2006). This first phase in this exercise resulted in the development of 43 statements that members of the research team analysed for clarity and repetition in order to reduce and eliminate terms that were ambiguous and could be misinterpreted by respondents.…”

“…This research was conducted within one particular OSPEX program, the Fijian OSPEX, which has been recognised internationally as perhaps the longest running program of its type (McKenzie & Fitzsimmons 2010). This study investigated a cohort of 21 preservice teachers undertaking a three-week professional teaching experience in Fiji in either a primary or a secondary classroom.…”

“…While these programmes have been found to be professionally and personally empowering (McKenzie & Fitzsimmons, 2010;McKenzie, Fitzsimmons, Matthes, Hinze & Bruce, In Press); there still remains a great deal more focussed research to be done in order to determine their full efficacy, and the specific elements of teacher pedagogy and identity they help develop. In order to support the continuing implementation of OSPEX programs, it is important that teacher education programs be better informed about the full range of experiences and understandings that PSTs bring to their overseas professional experience.…”