Teacher Agency and Professional Learning at a Teacher-Powered School: A Case Study

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 3:35 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Fostering Resilience and Agency in Professional Development: Collaborative Learning, Equity, and Teacher-Coach Dynamics (Table 8)

Abstract

Efforts to understand and implement effective approaches to teachers’ professional learning (TPL) continue to be widely identified as critical for continued educational research, policy, and practice. However, two issues have persisted; overly technical conceptualizations of teaching, and a lack of teacher voice in the research into TPL. This case study of a teacher-powered school’s approach to TPL aims to address these two issues. The complex, multidimensionality of teaching and TPL is demonstrated, and insights into the significance of, and relationships between, various factors impacting TPL are revealed. Findings highlight the integral role of teacher agency and an array of learning opportunities, as well as the significance of teachers’ responsibilities, bandwidth, socio-emotional well-being. Approaches to further research into TPL are recommended.

Author

• Lincoln Smith, University of Toronto - OISE