Teacher agency in enacting physical education in a period of curriculum change and reform in Ireland

Abstract

Drawing on the concept of agency and teacher agency and engaging with figurational sociology, this paper explores the extent to which teacher agency plays a role in one teacher’s enactment of a new school subject (Leaving Certificate Physical Education (LCPE), an examinable subject assessed in a high‐stakes environment) in a period of curriculum change and reform in Irish post‐primary schools. Through a case study design, one teacher was interviewed regularly (19 times) during their 1st year of teaching LCPE. The findings are presented in three teaching episodes. In analysing the three teaching episodes, the process (and fluctuation) of achieving agency is evident. The achievement of agency should not be conceptualised as a product (achieved) but rather, it should be viewed as something that is processual (achieving). We offer a figurational viewpoint of teacher agency through a constructed Figure in the paper. We argue that it is impossible to link the achievement of agency with one element (including the teacher). It is the combination of interdependent relationships (past and present, recognised and unrecognised) in a teacher’s figuration, the overarching social processes, and the contextual and structural factors surrounding and within a figuration. The paper provides considerations in how best to support teachers in their process of achieving agency.

The European Conference on Education 2022: Official Conference Proceedings

“…Unlike the scholars mentioned above, authors in the other three studies combined different theoretical approaches. Despite using the ecological model by Priestley et al (2013), Scanlon et al (2021) examined iterational, practical-evaluative, and projective dimensions from Elias's figurational lenses to better capture the complexity of teacher agency. Fu and Clarke (2019) and Kneen et al (2021) used theoretical combinations to achieve their research goals.…”

“…The European Conference on Education 2022 Official Conference Proceedings (Poulton, 2020), protect students from negative aspects of the reform (Biesta et al, 2015;Fu & Clarke, 2019), rearrange curriculum content to enhance students' engagement (Scanlon et al, 2021), and mobilize different pedagogical methods to promote student learning (Fu & Clarke, 2018;Scanlon et al, 2021).…”

“…As claimed by Ryder et al (2018), policy mediators who act as brokers between policymakers and school communities could facilitate teacher agency. Besides, interventions from outsiders such as university researchers or teacher educators may encourage teachers to seek out and test alternatives (Willis et al, 2019;Scanlon et al, 2021).…”

“…Another constraining factor could be incoherence in reform implementation. Biesta et al (2015) referred to this as "confused discourses encountered in schools" (p. 636) whilst Scanlon et al (2021) uncovered a lack of assessment guidelines for teachers at the start of the implementation stage, leading to later anxiety.…”

“…Notably, many of these reforms have adopted neoliberal features such as decentralization, accountability, learning outcomes, and standardization (Fu & Clarke, 2019;Ryder et al, 2019). This movement has placed teachers at the center of the curriculum, who are held accountable for measurable outcomes (Fu & Clarke, 2019), and are thought to be policy actors holding the key to successful implementation of educational reform (Min, 2019;Ryder et al, 2018;Scanlon et al, 2021). Increasingly, teacher agency has become a worthwhile research topic in the context of system-wide curriculum reforms.…”