Meaningful time for professional growth or a waste of time? A study in five countries on teachers’ experiences within master’s dissertation/thesis work

Abstract

The relationship between master's thesis work and teachers' professional development has rarely been explored empirically, yet. Drawing upon a larger study, this paper investigates how teachers who were studying for or who have recently graduated from Master of Education programmes offered in five countries -

Pre-service teacher research: a way to future-proof teachers?

“…Other studies about pre-service teacher research in master programmes also show a positive effect of pre-service teacher research to all professional competences (e.g. Kowalczuk-Walędziak et al 2019;Niemi and Nevgi 2014). They emphasise the importance of authentic experiences with research studies and integration into classroom practices, which is the case in the Dutch primary teacher education context.…”

“…Others mention the development of an inquiry stance, including critical reflection, curiosity and wanting to share findings (e.g., Råde 2014;Uiterwijk-Luijk et al 2019;Ulvik, Riese, and Roness 2017;Van Katwijk et al 2019a). Second, studies often refer to knowledge about research and professional knowledge on various educational topics (e.g., Gray 2013;Kowalczuk-Walędziak et al 2019;Munthe and Rogne, 2015;Van Katwijk et al 2019a). Third, studies commonly consider the development of research skills, such as academic writing, beneficial (e.g., Aspfors and Eklund 2017;Baan, Gaikhorst, and Volman 2019b b ;Maaranen 2009).…”

“…Third, studies commonly consider the development of research skills, such as academic writing, beneficial (e.g., Aspfors and Eklund 2017;Baan, Gaikhorst, and Volman 2019b b ;Maaranen 2009). Fourth, Baan et al (2019 a ) and Kowalczuk-Walędziak et al (2019) also mention the application or use of research to improve practice, a concept closely related to the development of teaching competences such as improved support for student learning and introductions of innovative teaching strategies (e.g., Ion and Iucu 2016;Niemi and Nevgi 2014;Råde 2014;Taylor 2017).…”

“…However, Kowalczuk-Walędziak et al (2019) and Volk (2010) find little evidence that practicing teachers use learned research skills and knowledge after completing their teacher education. In summary, though teacher educators endorse a considerable number of highly ambitious purposes for pre-service teacher research, pre-service teachers' perceptions and actual learning outcomes regarding the quality of teaching are unclear.…”

Globalization and Higher Education: the Polish Perspective

“…In recent years, numerous changes have been initiated in teacher education programs, in order to better respond to the needs of a changing society. A greater emphasis is paid to preparing future teachers to be researchers and critical thinkers (Kowalczuk -Walędziak, et al, 2019;Papastephanou, et al, 2019), implementers of educational innovations and working with immigrant children (Ellis, et al, 2019). It must be stressed, yet, that although changes in the higher education system create a new quality of education, the speed of introducing them into academic practice may not be satisfying and there are some problems with implementing some of the changes.…”