Years after Argyris and Schön (1974) popularised the idea of reflective practice among practition... more Years after Argyris and Schön (1974) popularised the idea of reflective practice among practitioners, and even more years after Dewey talked of reflection as the "persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it" (1910, p. 6, original emphasis), the idea of practitioner reflection is once more in the foreground of professional practice. Here in New Zealand, in the form of 'Teaching as Inquiry'. When Teaching as Inquiry (TAI) appeared in The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007) it appeared to be a very exciting development. At last teachers would be at the same time motivated to inquire into educational issues, sanctioned in that inquiry, and be recognised as having inquiring, active, intellectual minds which were capable of critique and development with regard to their own work, their school, the environments from which their students came, and the social, political and economic contexts in which their jobs were constructed. In reality, TAI is a cyclic model (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 35), consisting of three inquiring questions: What is important (and therefore worth spending time on), given where my students are at? ('focusing inquiry'); What strategies (evidence-based) are most likely to help my students learn this? ('teaching inquiry'); What happened as a result of the teaching, and what are the implications for future teaching? ('learning inquiry') (p. 35). Two major elements are missing here: critical reflection on structure and policy; and, even more significantly, the ethical implications embodied in Dewey's notion of reflection or inquiry. Thus it appears that TAI has been conceived very narrowly as a project, an additional task for teachers, which focuses their attention on an aspect of their own classroom work, with a view to 'improved outcomes', rather than as an aspect of their being, a disposition to inquire, a critical frame of mind. Jenny Vermunt (this issue) quotes a relevant extract: "The primary purpose of teaching as inquiry is to improve outcomes for students through purposeful assessment, planned action, strategic teaching and focused review. (Ministry of Education, 2011, p.1). This approach to practitioner reflection may have something to do with the penetration of education by notions of 'evidence-led practice', which, as Biesta (2007) has shown, is derived from a medical model. Clearly, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, motivated by such external factors as PISA test scores, and the perpetual mantra of 'one in five', will seek, by whatever means, the 'silver bullet' to raise student achievement, forcing teachers to turn in on themselves: to query their own performance as the source and cause of poor performance on standardised tests, and to absolve or ignore wider contextual The opinions expressed are those of the paper author(s) and not the New Zealand
Abstract: The release in 2006 by the New Zealand Ministry of Education of a Draft national Curric... more Abstract: The release in 2006 by the New Zealand Ministry of Education of a Draft national Curriculum set for release in November 2007 challenges schools and teachers to evolve their role to align with the priority to ‘embed ’ enterprise values and methodologies. These values and methodologies will be expressed in curricula that school communities will develop locally in line with the new national Curriculum. This paper contextualises the place of ‘enterprise ’ in the Draft New Zealand Curriculum of 2006 and considers some modifications in the final version released in November 2007. The possible impact of an emphasis on enterprise for teacher education is considered before evaluating ‘enterprise ’ in reference to the occupational role of teachers, expressed here as their ‘teacher professionality’, following the work of Hoyle & John (1995). This paper extends the concept of ‘professionality ’ to what is termed ‘ethical teacher professionality’. It concludes by giving thought to how ...
Over the last 18 years successive governments have tried various schemes to reward and encourage ... more Over the last 18 years successive governments have tried various schemes to reward and encourage good research, without actually conducting much research into the effectiveness of the rewards and discouragements inherent in their schemes. Universities have been very quick to analyse where the weaknesses in the successive formats gave them opportunities to promote their stronger players, and hide their weaker ones, to the point where the focus of universities seems to have become playing the rules, rather than actually supporting good research.
Abstract Lefebvre’s triadic conception of spatial practice, representations of space and represen... more Abstract Lefebvre’s triadic conception of spatial practice, representations of space and representational spaces provides the theoretical framework of this article, which recognises a productive relationship between space and social relations. Its writing stems from a current and ongoing qualitative study of innovative teaching and learning practices in new technology-rich flexible learning spaces, characterised by large open spaces, permeable boundaries and diverse furnishings emphasising student comfort, health and flexibility. Schooling in the twenty-first century, certainly in the developed world, is required to ensure that children and school-leavers have appropriate life-long skills in preparation for participation in the twenty-first century knowledge economy. This world is characterised as complex and dynamic, deeply influenced by globalisation and the revolution in digital technology. Developing these skills calls into question ‘outmoded’ transmission models of teaching and requires teachers and school leaders to approach their work in radically new ways. Open school design encourages flexibility in learning and teaching, and allows collaborative, team teaching, with designers claiming significant educational benefits. This arrangement of multiple classes using innovatively designed, technology-enriched common space, facilitated by multiple teachers, working in collaborative teams, is far-reaching in its likely implications for community expectations and responses, relationship-building, assessment, student learning, teachers’ work and initial teacher education.
This chapter is simultaneously about school-University partnerships, it describes an instance of ... more This chapter is simultaneously about school-University partnerships, it describes an instance of a specific school-university research partnership, and its writing is a living exercise in partnership. It presents a review of literature outlining the subject of school-university partnerships, a practitioner perspective and a researcher perspective. The focus of the chapter is a discussion of the implications of the research process and findings for the development of practitioner research arising from school-university research partnerships.
This paper takes lessons and directions from Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of Freedom (1998) that both ... more This paper takes lessons and directions from Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of Freedom (1998) that both inform the theme of Dialogue and Difference and a particular conception of ethical teacher professionality. Freire’s vision of teachers and teaching challenges managerialist notions of teachers as dispassionate, data-driven objects of bureaucratic policy, aligned to a sanitised list of features that make up ‘the effective teacher’. This representation of teachers is unlikely to motivate or prepare teachers in the future to be critical thinking ethical professionals. An alternative conception of the teaching professional is required, and one is presented here which has strong links to Pedagogy of Freedom in particular, and critical pedagogy more generally. Expressed as ‘ethical teacher professionality’, this account suggests a broader approach to the role of teacher than provided by notions such as ‘satisfactory teacher dimensions’ or ‘characteristics of quality teaching’. The New Zealand...
Educational evaluation in New Zealand schools harmonises with the reformist agenda of public choi... more Educational evaluation in New Zealand schools harmonises with the reformist agenda of public choice theory. Variously accused of engaging in politics of blame or teacher bashing, ERO has attempted to present itself as supporting schools in a cycle of ‘complementary’ review, which synthesises external accountability with internal learning from review. This paper will examine the underpinning epistemology of the Education Review Office approach to review and reflect on its particular research method, arguing that it is motivated by a commitment to ‘evidence–led’ teaching, a problematic concept. Questions are raised regarding the ‘complementary’ nature of the review process to establish whether there is commitment to democratic participation by schools in the review process, as implied in the concept of complementariness. With reference to Foucauldian concepts, it will be argued that the so–called ‘complementary’ dimension of the Education Review Office process is characterised by the ...
Bell and Stevenson (2006) suggest a policy analysis strategy which can also be fruitfully applied... more Bell and Stevenson (2006) suggest a policy analysis strategy which can also be fruitfully applied to draft policies and discussion documents that may lead to full-blown policies in the near-future. They concur with views that the local context is fluid (Ball, 1993); and teachers and leaders in schools are not simply mechanical homunculi who carry out policy unthinkingly, though of course many may choose to implement policies uncritically (J. O'Neill, 2005). When considering policy formulation, Bell and Stevenson consider the sociopolitical environment and strategic direction. In relation to policy implementation, Bell and Stevenson also suggest two aspects, namely organisational principles and operational practices. In a pluralist democracy like New Zealand, it is not uncommon for draft policy to be released for discussion and consideration by a public audience. An instance of a discussion document that may lead to policy is the Final Report of the Education Workforce Advisory G...
Nation states are increasingly linked by a homogenised imaginary of a future that calls for indiv... more Nation states are increasingly linked by a homogenised imaginary of a future that calls for individual citizens to be innovative and creative lifelong learners, who have to be provided the skills and dispositions to compete successfully in creative, twenty-first century knowledge societies. An emerging strategy in working towards this imaginary is to drastically reshape the physical environment of learning. This chapter considers two separate and different examples of such reshaping occurring in two different national contexts. These examples are used in this chapter to develop an application of Lefebvrian theoretical constructs and a critique of the way space influences, shapes and directs the work of educators, and the messages it conveys regarding what counts as worthwhile education for students in the twenty-first century.
The role played by innovative educational environments to support learning for the 21st century h... more The role played by innovative educational environments to support learning for the 21st century has attracted the interest of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development at the global governance level and at the national policy level internationally. This article draws on global, European and Australasian research and data from a qualitative study of consultation and participation in the development of innovative and flexible learning spaces in the New Zealand context. It focuses specifically on the role of parents, drawing data from relevant policies and documents, a parent questionnaire and interviews of parents, architects and Ministry of Education Delivery Managers, responsible for delivering large capital works projects. While the architect participants believe their bold designs are inspirational and promote new pedagogical styles, and positive relationships, some parents view these open-plan learning areas (and associated pedagogies) as needlessly experimental, ...
Contemporary learning environment designs bring to life schools featuring loose fitting, flexible... more Contemporary learning environment designs bring to life schools featuring loose fitting, flexible layouts that upset the stable certainty of the four-walled classroom. This article presents the argument that adopting a theoretical approach to researching the role of spatiality and space in relation to innovative building design in education will enable insights otherwise not possible, and, in the process, enhance the available store of knowledge and understanding. A review of a sample of published research that considers innovative learning environment design suggests that robust theoretical approaches are eschewed in favour of instrumental research often concerned with the role played by building fabric or with psychosocial responses to the surrounding learning environment. To adopt an alternative, theoretical perspective that privileges the concept of ‘space’ in education, it is first important to understand developments in spatiality. Exemplifying one such theoretical approach to questions of spatiality in education, Lefebvre’s spatial theory is applied to the recent development of FLS and ILE in New Zealand, though several optional theoretical approaches to spatiality are suggested as open to education researchers.
Years after Argyris and Schön (1974) popularised the idea of reflective practice among practition... more Years after Argyris and Schön (1974) popularised the idea of reflective practice among practitioners, and even more years after Dewey talked of reflection as the "persistent, and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it" (1910, p. 6, original emphasis), the idea of practitioner reflection is once more in the foreground of professional practice. Here in New Zealand, in the form of 'Teaching as Inquiry'. When Teaching as Inquiry (TAI) appeared in The New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007) it appeared to be a very exciting development. At last teachers would be at the same time motivated to inquire into educational issues, sanctioned in that inquiry, and be recognised as having inquiring, active, intellectual minds which were capable of critique and development with regard to their own work, their school, the environments from which their students came, and the social, political and economic contexts in which their jobs were constructed. In reality, TAI is a cyclic model (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 35), consisting of three inquiring questions: What is important (and therefore worth spending time on), given where my students are at? ('focusing inquiry'); What strategies (evidence-based) are most likely to help my students learn this? ('teaching inquiry'); What happened as a result of the teaching, and what are the implications for future teaching? ('learning inquiry') (p. 35). Two major elements are missing here: critical reflection on structure and policy; and, even more significantly, the ethical implications embodied in Dewey's notion of reflection or inquiry. Thus it appears that TAI has been conceived very narrowly as a project, an additional task for teachers, which focuses their attention on an aspect of their own classroom work, with a view to 'improved outcomes', rather than as an aspect of their being, a disposition to inquire, a critical frame of mind. Jenny Vermunt (this issue) quotes a relevant extract: "The primary purpose of teaching as inquiry is to improve outcomes for students through purposeful assessment, planned action, strategic teaching and focused review. (Ministry of Education, 2011, p.1). This approach to practitioner reflection may have something to do with the penetration of education by notions of 'evidence-led practice', which, as Biesta (2007) has shown, is derived from a medical model. Clearly, the New Zealand Ministry of Education, motivated by such external factors as PISA test scores, and the perpetual mantra of 'one in five', will seek, by whatever means, the 'silver bullet' to raise student achievement, forcing teachers to turn in on themselves: to query their own performance as the source and cause of poor performance on standardised tests, and to absolve or ignore wider contextual The opinions expressed are those of the paper author(s) and not the New Zealand
Abstract: The release in 2006 by the New Zealand Ministry of Education of a Draft national Curric... more Abstract: The release in 2006 by the New Zealand Ministry of Education of a Draft national Curriculum set for release in November 2007 challenges schools and teachers to evolve their role to align with the priority to ‘embed ’ enterprise values and methodologies. These values and methodologies will be expressed in curricula that school communities will develop locally in line with the new national Curriculum. This paper contextualises the place of ‘enterprise ’ in the Draft New Zealand Curriculum of 2006 and considers some modifications in the final version released in November 2007. The possible impact of an emphasis on enterprise for teacher education is considered before evaluating ‘enterprise ’ in reference to the occupational role of teachers, expressed here as their ‘teacher professionality’, following the work of Hoyle & John (1995). This paper extends the concept of ‘professionality ’ to what is termed ‘ethical teacher professionality’. It concludes by giving thought to how ...
Over the last 18 years successive governments have tried various schemes to reward and encourage ... more Over the last 18 years successive governments have tried various schemes to reward and encourage good research, without actually conducting much research into the effectiveness of the rewards and discouragements inherent in their schemes. Universities have been very quick to analyse where the weaknesses in the successive formats gave them opportunities to promote their stronger players, and hide their weaker ones, to the point where the focus of universities seems to have become playing the rules, rather than actually supporting good research.
Abstract Lefebvre’s triadic conception of spatial practice, representations of space and represen... more Abstract Lefebvre’s triadic conception of spatial practice, representations of space and representational spaces provides the theoretical framework of this article, which recognises a productive relationship between space and social relations. Its writing stems from a current and ongoing qualitative study of innovative teaching and learning practices in new technology-rich flexible learning spaces, characterised by large open spaces, permeable boundaries and diverse furnishings emphasising student comfort, health and flexibility. Schooling in the twenty-first century, certainly in the developed world, is required to ensure that children and school-leavers have appropriate life-long skills in preparation for participation in the twenty-first century knowledge economy. This world is characterised as complex and dynamic, deeply influenced by globalisation and the revolution in digital technology. Developing these skills calls into question ‘outmoded’ transmission models of teaching and requires teachers and school leaders to approach their work in radically new ways. Open school design encourages flexibility in learning and teaching, and allows collaborative, team teaching, with designers claiming significant educational benefits. This arrangement of multiple classes using innovatively designed, technology-enriched common space, facilitated by multiple teachers, working in collaborative teams, is far-reaching in its likely implications for community expectations and responses, relationship-building, assessment, student learning, teachers’ work and initial teacher education.
This chapter is simultaneously about school-University partnerships, it describes an instance of ... more This chapter is simultaneously about school-University partnerships, it describes an instance of a specific school-university research partnership, and its writing is a living exercise in partnership. It presents a review of literature outlining the subject of school-university partnerships, a practitioner perspective and a researcher perspective. The focus of the chapter is a discussion of the implications of the research process and findings for the development of practitioner research arising from school-university research partnerships.
This paper takes lessons and directions from Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of Freedom (1998) that both ... more This paper takes lessons and directions from Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of Freedom (1998) that both inform the theme of Dialogue and Difference and a particular conception of ethical teacher professionality. Freire’s vision of teachers and teaching challenges managerialist notions of teachers as dispassionate, data-driven objects of bureaucratic policy, aligned to a sanitised list of features that make up ‘the effective teacher’. This representation of teachers is unlikely to motivate or prepare teachers in the future to be critical thinking ethical professionals. An alternative conception of the teaching professional is required, and one is presented here which has strong links to Pedagogy of Freedom in particular, and critical pedagogy more generally. Expressed as ‘ethical teacher professionality’, this account suggests a broader approach to the role of teacher than provided by notions such as ‘satisfactory teacher dimensions’ or ‘characteristics of quality teaching’. The New Zealand...
Educational evaluation in New Zealand schools harmonises with the reformist agenda of public choi... more Educational evaluation in New Zealand schools harmonises with the reformist agenda of public choice theory. Variously accused of engaging in politics of blame or teacher bashing, ERO has attempted to present itself as supporting schools in a cycle of ‘complementary’ review, which synthesises external accountability with internal learning from review. This paper will examine the underpinning epistemology of the Education Review Office approach to review and reflect on its particular research method, arguing that it is motivated by a commitment to ‘evidence–led’ teaching, a problematic concept. Questions are raised regarding the ‘complementary’ nature of the review process to establish whether there is commitment to democratic participation by schools in the review process, as implied in the concept of complementariness. With reference to Foucauldian concepts, it will be argued that the so–called ‘complementary’ dimension of the Education Review Office process is characterised by the ...
Bell and Stevenson (2006) suggest a policy analysis strategy which can also be fruitfully applied... more Bell and Stevenson (2006) suggest a policy analysis strategy which can also be fruitfully applied to draft policies and discussion documents that may lead to full-blown policies in the near-future. They concur with views that the local context is fluid (Ball, 1993); and teachers and leaders in schools are not simply mechanical homunculi who carry out policy unthinkingly, though of course many may choose to implement policies uncritically (J. O'Neill, 2005). When considering policy formulation, Bell and Stevenson consider the sociopolitical environment and strategic direction. In relation to policy implementation, Bell and Stevenson also suggest two aspects, namely organisational principles and operational practices. In a pluralist democracy like New Zealand, it is not uncommon for draft policy to be released for discussion and consideration by a public audience. An instance of a discussion document that may lead to policy is the Final Report of the Education Workforce Advisory G...
Nation states are increasingly linked by a homogenised imaginary of a future that calls for indiv... more Nation states are increasingly linked by a homogenised imaginary of a future that calls for individual citizens to be innovative and creative lifelong learners, who have to be provided the skills and dispositions to compete successfully in creative, twenty-first century knowledge societies. An emerging strategy in working towards this imaginary is to drastically reshape the physical environment of learning. This chapter considers two separate and different examples of such reshaping occurring in two different national contexts. These examples are used in this chapter to develop an application of Lefebvrian theoretical constructs and a critique of the way space influences, shapes and directs the work of educators, and the messages it conveys regarding what counts as worthwhile education for students in the twenty-first century.
The role played by innovative educational environments to support learning for the 21st century h... more The role played by innovative educational environments to support learning for the 21st century has attracted the interest of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development at the global governance level and at the national policy level internationally. This article draws on global, European and Australasian research and data from a qualitative study of consultation and participation in the development of innovative and flexible learning spaces in the New Zealand context. It focuses specifically on the role of parents, drawing data from relevant policies and documents, a parent questionnaire and interviews of parents, architects and Ministry of Education Delivery Managers, responsible for delivering large capital works projects. While the architect participants believe their bold designs are inspirational and promote new pedagogical styles, and positive relationships, some parents view these open-plan learning areas (and associated pedagogies) as needlessly experimental, ...
Contemporary learning environment designs bring to life schools featuring loose fitting, flexible... more Contemporary learning environment designs bring to life schools featuring loose fitting, flexible layouts that upset the stable certainty of the four-walled classroom. This article presents the argument that adopting a theoretical approach to researching the role of spatiality and space in relation to innovative building design in education will enable insights otherwise not possible, and, in the process, enhance the available store of knowledge and understanding. A review of a sample of published research that considers innovative learning environment design suggests that robust theoretical approaches are eschewed in favour of instrumental research often concerned with the role played by building fabric or with psychosocial responses to the surrounding learning environment. To adopt an alternative, theoretical perspective that privileges the concept of ‘space’ in education, it is first important to understand developments in spatiality. Exemplifying one such theoretical approach to questions of spatiality in education, Lefebvre’s spatial theory is applied to the recent development of FLS and ILE in New Zealand, though several optional theoretical approaches to spatiality are suggested as open to education researchers.
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Papers by Leon Benade