Teacher Learning Within the School Context: An Ecological Perspective

Abstract

Central to teacher professional development is teacher learning, which is situated in a classroom, a school, or an informal social setting. Using an ecological framework which incorporates a wide range of influences at multiple levels, including intrapersonal, interpersonal/ cultural, institutional, and physical environment, this research sets out to explore the influence of the school context on teachers" engagement in informal learning activities. Data are collected through semi-structured open-ended interviews with six EFL teachers working in different upper secondary schools in Vietnam in an attempt to uncover what types of informal learning activities these teachers engage in and how the school context affects their engagement. Findings show multiple work-based factors that influence teacher learning in the school. The study provides evidence to teacher educators about the relationship between school context and teachers" degree of engagement in informal learning.Keywords: ecological framework, professional development, informal learning, personal characteristics, teacher learning Abstrak: Penting bagi perkembangan profesi guru adalah pembelajaran guru, yang disituasikan di sebuah kelas, sekolah, atau seting sosial nonformal. Dengan menggunakan kerangka kerja ekologi yang menggabungkan sejumlah besar pengaruh pada berbagai tingkatan, termasuk interpribadi, antarpribadi/budaya, institusi, dan lingkungan fisik, penelitian ini berusaha untuk menyelidiki pengaruh konteks sekolah terhadap keterlibatan guru dalam kegiatan belajar nonformal. Data dikumpulkan melalui wawancara semi terstruktur dan terbuka-tertutup dengan enam guru Bahasa Inggris untuk Penutur Asing yang bekerja di beberapa sekolah menengah di Vietnam sebagai usaha untuk menemukan jenis-jenis kegiatan belajar nonformal yang dilakukan oleh para guru ini dan bagaimana konteks sekolah mempengaruhi keterlibatan mereka dalam kegiatan tersebut. Temuan menunjukkan berbagai faktor berbasis pekerjaan yang mempengaruhi pembelajaran guru di sekolah. Kajian ini memberikan bukti bagi pendidik guru akan adanya hubungan antara konteks sekolah dengan tingkat keterlibatan guru dalam pembelajaran nonformal.Kata kunci: kerangka kerja ekologis, perkembangan profesi, pembelajaran nonformal, karakteristik pribadi, pembelajaran guru

Social networking sites as affordable tools for high-potential personal learning networks: the case of teachers as learners in Vietnam

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“…Teacher participants' demographics are summarised in Table 1. It should be noted that in terms of gender, female participants dominated, which actually reflects the gender imbalance of the teaching workforce in Vietnam (see Le & Nguyen, 2012;Nguyen, 2017 for example).…”

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Prospects and Challenges towards Professional Development of English Lecturers in Islamic Tertiary Education in Indonesia

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