The Conceptual and Methodological Construction of a ‘Global’ Teacher Identity through TALIS

Abstract

The present article investigates the construction of a ‘global’ teacher identity by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) since the introduction of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) in 2008. We critically examine TALIS-related conceptual frameworks, survey questionnaires and statistically driven scales of teachers’ professional attitudes internationally. A theoretical, education-based framing of didaktik and curriculum pedagogical traditions is used to discuss conceptual bias in TALIS conceptual frameworks as well as the sociologically based idea of TALIS as a pedagogic device used as a technology to gain symbolic power for making the teachers of tomorrow. Methodologically relying on document analysis, we examine TALIS 2008, 2013 and 2018 background documents to highlight the ideologically driven construction of a certain model of effective teachers, and refer to associated TALIS technical reports to examine validity issues in scales that are methodologically and statistically driven in order to increase the robustness of the results. The article identifies biases in the OECD’s construction of a ‘global’ teacher identity that are reflected in TALIS conceptual frameworks and survey questions and statistically justified through associated scales.

Rural Teacher Competencies: An International Comparative Study on the Territorial Dimension of Rural Schools

“…In today's knowledge and information society, teachers play a fundamental role in students' learning, consisting of a complex and diverse range of knowledge and skills that enable their personal, social and professional development throughout their lives. The need to rethink the teaching task and competency-based teacher training is a fact highlighted by a wide range of studies (González & Wagenaar, 2006;OECD, 2009;COPE, 2011;Eurydice, 2012) and research (Bolívar, 2008;Perrenaud, 2008;Bernal & Teixidó, 2012;Pérez;Oliver-Trobat et al, 2015;Redecker, 2017;Tahirsylaj et al, 2021).…”

El profesorado y los enfoques innovadores en centros de educación secundaria en España

“…No es posible confirmar relaciones causales que permitan establecer efectos de las variables de profesorado y de centro aquí consideradas, sobre las prácticas docentes innovadoras. También somos conscientes de que el propio marco conceptual de TALIS, los cuestionarios empleados y las escalas estadísticas que se crean a partir de estos, responden a una identidad docente global, que no siempre se adapta a los contextos singulares de los países en que se aplican (Berkovich y Benoliel, 2020;Tahirsylaj et al, 2021). Con todo, el trabajo desarrollado ha permitido avanzar en la explicación del uso de enfoques innovadores de enseñanza, identificando factores que podrían ser objeto de profundización a través de futuros estudios complementarios desarrollados mediante metodologías cualitativas.…”