Theorising teacher performance dispositions in an age of audit

Abstract

This article provides a critical and theoretical exploration into teacher performance dispositions (orientations towards performance). The article explores research literature on dispositions, highlighting the representation of teachers in education policy and standards documents across several nations of the OECD: Australia, the USA and the UK. The article draws on aspects connected to the Bourdieuian conception of dispositions, arguing that economic imperatives continue to drive research and policy directions of teacher performance, shaping teaching practice/s distorting the educative process. The article suggests that the work of teachers is increasingly being repositioned towards narrow conceptions of pedagogy and performance, aligning the educative experience with the ability to compete in the knowledge economy. Developments of this kind commodify knowledge, which may have implications for what it means to be educated or to educate. The research in focusing on teacher performance dispositions reminds teachers and policy‐makers about the moral and ethical importance of a person‐centred education policy approach. Such an approach eschews prescribed curricula and standardised learning, opting instead for the professional judgement of teachers in crafting studies with educative potential tailored to individual student need.

Trojan horses: Creating a positive hidden (extra)curriculum through a Justice, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) initiative

“…employability via a minimum degree classification) and the rigours of performance. Associated research-based pressures to compete for high-ranked journal outputs can be detrimental to teaching quality (Skourdoumbis, 2019). Some academics may be influenced to measure and reward academic performance by tailoring student projects to align with quantifiable, active and observable corporate outputs, not nuanced (potentially personal and unobservable) pedagogical outputs with oft-times intangible rewards (Gourlay, 2015).…”

Framing headship: a demand-side analysis of how the headteacher role is articulated in job descriptions

“…This collective agency might be developed through professional learning practices that work to promote shared understandings ; the adoption of an inquiry orientated stance (through being curious and inquisitive about practice and embracing disruptive thinking) (Guskey, 2002); enabling professional judgement and autonomy and working to create cultures of shared trust and mutual endeavour that resist expert novice hierarchical conceptualisations (Biesta, 2015 et al;Langdon & Ward, 2015). Adopting these ways of working involves a shift towards an understanding of the headteacher role as an educative agent, employing approaches from educative leadership and mentorship (Daly & Milton, 2017;Bezzina, 2012;Norman & Feinman-Nemser, 2005) to support teaching as an educative process for all (Dewey, 1933;Skourdoumbis, 2019). The findings therefore raise questions in relation to how at times of policy change, headteachers will need high-quality professional learning opportunities to support them in realising new aspirations, which require a different balance between occupational and organisationally-orientated professionality.…”

The Effects of Servant’s Leadership and Work Loyalty on Teacher’s Performance

“…Teacher's performance focus on the ways in which teachers might actively raise their students' academic outcomes. This includes going above and beyond in terms of basic commitments such as topic knowledge, pedagogical expertise, and the ability to effectively manage and assess student progress in the classroom (Skourdoumbis, 2019). The effectiveness of a teacher can be measured by how much their students improve in school and how much responsibility they take for their students' education.…”