Transforming teacher education, an activity theory analysis

Abstract

This paper explores the work of teacher education in England and Scotland. It seeks to locate this work within conflicting socio-cultural views of professional practice and academic work. Drawing on an activity theory framework that integrates the analysis of these contradictory discourses with a study of teacher educators’ practical activities, including the material artefacts that mediate the work, the paper offers a critical perspective on the social organisation of university-based teacher education. Informed by Engeström’s activity theory concept of transformation, the paper extends the discussion of contradictions in teacher education to consider the wider socio-cultural relations of the work. The findings raise important questions about the way in which teacher education work within universities is organised and the division of labour between schools and universities

A survey research on Finnish teacher educators’ research-teaching integration and its relationship with their approaches to teaching

“…Teacher education varies across the world with regard to systems, policies and development strategies. However, teacher educators worldwide share some similar experiences when engaging in research and face with challenges alike when they attempt to accomplish their diverse roles (Gunn et al 2016;Hill and Haigh 2012;McNicholl and Blake 2013). The present study is located in the distinctive Finnish teacher education context and analysed the research-teaching nexus and integration of the university-based teacher educators, but yields insights for teacher educators to improve their professional practice in teaching and research locally and globally at a broad level.…”

“…The situation gets even worse when teacher educators face obstacles, such as lacking institutional support to engage in research work (Lunenberg 2010). Concerns have been raised about teacher educators working as researchers considering their capacity, working conditions and the tension created by their research productivity and other responsibilities (Gunn et al 2016;Hill and Haigh 2012;McNicholl and Blake 2013). However, the contention is not whether teacher educators should be more active in research or teaching.…”

“…However, besides the close and positive researchteaching nexus teacher educators experience, research and teaching can also be in conflict (Healey 2005a). The various strategies universities apply to position research in teacher education shape teacher educators' different perceptions and experiences of research-teaching nexus (Gunn et al 2015;McNicholl and Blake 2013).…”

The changing work of teacher educators in Aotearoa New Zealand: a view through activity theory

“…Despite some countries supporting a shift of programmes of teacher education out of the university sector -a trend in England and Scotland (McNicholl & Blake, 2013) as well as the United States (Townsend & Bates, 2007;Zeichner & Pena-Sandoval, 2015) -others have retained and/or strengthened university-based provision. For example, in…”

Case study examining the activities and experiences of co-teachers at Apple Valley Elementary

“…Critics of activity theory. Activity theory has grown in popularity amongst researchers and has been utilized to study multiple disciplines such as education (Mcnicholl & Blake, 2013;Yamagata-Lynch, 2003), medicine (Engeström, 1995;Eppich & Cheng, 2015), business (Artemeva & Freedman, 2001), and technology (Karanasios, 2018). Despite the growing interest of utilizing Activity Theory as a theoretical framework to guide empirical studies, there are still some criticisms of the theory.…”