Putting Partnership at the Centre of Teachers' Professional Learning in Rural and Regional Contexts: Evidence from Case Study Projects in Tasmania

Stack, Sue; Beswick, Kim; Brown, Natalie; Bound, Helen; Kenny, John; Abbott‐Chapman, Joan

doi:10.14221/ajte.2011v36n12.7

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Many rural schools are located on former homelands, previously disadvantaged areas with a multitude of challenges to the achievement of quality education (McKinney, 2005;Stack et al, 2011). Rural areas represent the poorest and least resourced areas of the country.…”

Section: Affiliationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextualising science and mathematics teacher professional development in rural areas

Vaughn

Beer

2020

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Science and mathematics teacher professional development in South Africa does not adequately address teachers' pedagogical content knowledge or ability to integrate indigenous knowledge into the curriculum. This situation is partly due to traditional teacher professional development programmes that utilise top-down and expert-driven approaches without consulting teachers. This "onesize-fits-all" model is rarely relevant to teachers' classroom realities, especially in rural areas. The research question that guided this research was: How could the professional development intervention be contextualised to better meet the educational needs of a rural environment? In this paper, we explore the design principles for teacher professional development interventions that could address the needs of teachers and the context, acknowledging that teachers in rural areas face different challenges compared to teachers in urban areas. We use the Hantam region of the Northern Cape Province as a case study to explore the affordances of partnerships with local indigenous knowledge holders and cultural institutions (museums) in the professional development of teachers. Data were generated from semi-structured interviews with Hantam school and community participants using a qualitative approach. Two major themes that emerged from this qualitative research was that (a) the involvement of indigenous knowledge holders and museums as "third partners" in the value chain between universities and schools, could greatly assist to better contextualise the "western" science curriculum, and (b) the incorporation of indigenous knowledge in the STEM curriculum could assist in building the self-esteem of learners. We argue that contextualising science and mathematics teacher professional development for the rural environment has affordances for improving not only teacher competencies, but also learners' views on the relevance of science and mathematics in everyday life.

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Section: Affiliationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contextualising science and mathematics teacher professional development in rural areas

Vaughn

Beer

2020

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“…by promoting ownership of PLD, as lack of PLD ownership relates to lack of uptake (Stack et al, 2011). Collaborative online PLD can take account of local Technical challenges that those teachers live with, as well as maximising fit to rural school Contexts and facilitating meaningful Relational links with schools and community.…”

Section: Dimension Of Pld Particular Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When teachers exercise some control over their PLD, marrying context and relevance, readiness and engagement increase. PLD co-designed by teachers include the informal PLN offerings provided through professional teachers' associations, such the Science Teachers' Association of NSW's Facebook group (2019, see Table 2), while more formal offerings might incorporate partnership models (e.g., Stack et al, 2011). Importantly, needs-assessments with rural and remote teachers should be undertaken to establish shared online PLD priorities (McConaghy et al, 2006, cited in Jenkins et al, 2015 and relevance-driven designs.…”

Section: Capitalising On Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

The potential of online technologies in meeting PLD needs of rural teachers

Quinn

Charteris

Adlington

et al. 2020

Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education

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In this paper we review the professional learning and development (PLD) needs of teachers in rural and remote schools, focusing on the Australian context. We argue that online PLD is an emerging alternative to face-to-face arrangements for the continuing education of teachers, which can connect to rural contexts through attending to considerations of relevance, collaboration, and future focus. We describe challenges to the uptake of online PLD initiatives and exemplify online PLD approaches with potential in rural schools. There is support for the utility of online PLD comprising blended approaches, online coaching and mentoring, co-design by teachers, rich discussions and interactions, and longer-term online relationship building to support the needs of rural teachers.

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“…Of greatest importance is the need for these programs to support Indigenous ECEs and teachers in passing on their communities' traditional knowledge and in teaching in traditional ways, alongside learning knowledge and ways of teaching that are necessary for successful participation in broader society (Hare, 2011). In order to achieve these goals, those who design educator professional learning programs must build relationships with community members, as well as school personnel in each community and not assume that one model will be appropriate for all communities (Stack, Beswick, Brown, Bound, & Kenny, 2011). It is important to ensure that mainstream values and agendas that are embedded within many elements of schooling, such as provincial curricula and educator certification mandates, are framed within Indigenous culture and knowledge.…”

Section: Implications For Early Childhood Education Licensure Preparamentioning

confidence: 99%

Professional Lives and Initial Teacher/Educator Education Experiences of Indigenous Early Childhood Educators, Child Care Workers and Teachers in Northern Ontario

Peterson

Huston²,

Loon³

2019

Brock Education Journal

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Analysis of focus group and narrative data, together with a review of initial educator/teacher education programs designed for northern Indigenous educators/teachers, provide implications for culturally appropriate programs that address the unique needs of northern Canadian Indigenous educators and teachers. The professional trajectories and initial teacher/educator education experiences of five Indigenous early childhood educators and teachers provide insight into the challenges of becoming credentialed and the outcomes of accredited programs designed in collaboration with northern Indigenous leaders to respond to the challenges.

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Putting Partnership at the Centre of Teachers' Professional Learning in Rural and Regional Contexts: Evidence from Case Study Projects in Tasmania

Abstract: This paper presents a professional learning (PL)

Cited by 11 publications

References 19 publications

Contextualising science and mathematics teacher professional development in rural areas

Contextualising science and mathematics teacher professional development in rural areas

The potential of online technologies in meeting PLD needs of rural teachers

Professional Lives and Initial Teacher/Educator Education Experiences of Indigenous Early Childhood Educators, Child Care Workers and Teachers in Northern Ontario

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