The Power of Considering Teacher Resistance as Perceptions of Risk

• In Event: Measuring and Investigating the Impact of Professional Development Programs on Teacher Learning

Abstract

Teachers’ unwillingness to engage and make changes as part of professional learning and development (PLD) is typically viewed as resistance. Instead, this research uses a risk lens, focused on perceived uncertainty and its consequences, to enrich our understanding of resistance and teacher engagement in change. A three-school case study approach, utilising qualitative interviews, captured teachers’ experiences in PLD. A risk perception process model links an individual’s perceptions of risk in learning to their risk-related actions. Leaders are urged to use this model to understand teachers’ responses, identify uncertainty in the context, and take deliberate steps to prevent, reduce or remove unnecessary uncertainty. These actions are likely to improve teachers’ engagement in PLD for improvement and change.

Authors

• Kaye Twyford, The University of Auckland

• Deidre Le Fevre, University of Auckland