Teacher education and teacher autonomy: Creating spaces for experimentation in secondary school English language teaching
Online Access
http://hdl.handle.net/2260.2/10865Abstract
This article reports on a collective case study of four Hong Kong secondary school teachers’ experiences of constraints on teacher autonomy in English language teaching, and their implications for teacher education. Findings suggested that the constraints were systemic and mainly organized around ‘Schemes of Work’ and school-based supervision and surveillance mechanisms. Nevertheless, the four teachers were able to create spaces for teacher autonomy, but the nature of these spaces and what they were used for varied, partly according to the school context and partly according to the identities developed through previous experiences of the education courses that depend on experimentation with new ideas in the classroom is liable to be limited in many state school systems. It also concludes that language teacher education may benefit from a greater sensitivity to the affordances in teachers’ working conditions for teacher autonomy and experimentation.Date
2010-06-17Identifier
oai:repository.ied.edu.hk:2260.2/10865Benson, P. (2010). Teacher education and teacher autonomy: Creating spaces for experimentation in secondary school English language teaching. Language Teaching Research, 14(3), 259-275.
http://hdl.handle.net/2260.2/10865
Copyright/License
Copyright © 2010 Sage Publications.Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Nigeria (Ekiti) - TeachersWorld Bank (Washington, DC, 2014-04-07)Research suggests that teacher quality is the main school-based predictor of student achievement and that several consecutive years of outstanding teaching can offset the learning deficits of disadvantaged students (Hanushek and Rivkin, 2006; Nye et al, 2004; Park and Hannum, 2001; Rivkin et al, 2005; Rockoff, 2004; Sanders, 1998; Sanders and Rivers 1996; and Vignoles et al, 2000). However, it is not yet clear exactly which teacher policies can raise teacher effectiveness (Goldhaber, 2002 and Rivkin et al, 2005). Thus, devising effective policies to improve teaching quality remains a challenge. There is increasing interest across the globe to attract, retain, develop and motivate great teachers. While the World Bank has ample experience in supporting teacher policy reforms in developing countries, until recently there was no systematic effort to offer data and analysis that can provide policy guidance on teacher policies. The focus of the initiative is the design of teacher policies as opposed to their implementation on the ground. A number of complementary activities will be looking at implementation in a sample of countries as this will involve a different methodological approach and will require more financial and human resources.
-
Nigeria (Bauchi) - TeachersWorld Bank (Washington, DC, 2014-04-07)Research suggests that teacher quality is the main school-based predictor of student achievement and that several consecutive years of outstanding teaching can offset the learning deficits of disadvantaged students (Hanushek and Rivkin, 2006; Nye et al, 2004; Park and Hannum, 2001; Rivkin et al, 2005; Rockoff, 2004; Sanders, 1998; Sanders and Rivers 1996; and Vignoles et al, 2000). However, it is not yet clear exactly which teacher policies can raise teacher effectiveness (Goldhaber, 2002 and Rivkin et al, 2005). Thus, devising effective policies to improve teaching quality remains a challenge. The eight policy goals includes the following headings: setting clear expectations for teachers; attracting the best into teaching; preparing teachers with useful training and experience; matching teachers' skills with students' needs; leading teachers with strong principals; monitoring teaching and learning; supporting teachers to improve instruction; and motivating teachers to perform.
-
Nigeria (Anambra) - TeachersWorld Bank (Washington, DC, 2014-04-07)Research suggests that teacher quality is the main school-based predictor of student achievement and that several consecutive years of outstanding teaching can offset the learning deficits of disadvantaged students (Hanushek and Rivkin, 2006; Nye et al, 2004; Park and Hannum, 2001; Rivkin et al, 2005; Rockoff, 2004; Sanders, 1998; Sanders and Rivers 1996; and Vignoles et al, 2000). However, it is not yet clear exactly which teacher policies can raise teacher effectiveness (Goldhaber, 2002 and Rivkin et al, 2005). Thus, devising effective policies to improve teaching quality remains a challenge. The eight policy goals includes the following headings: setting clear expectations for teachers; attracting the best into teaching; preparing teachers with useful training and experience; matching teachers' skills with students' needs; leading teachers with strong principals; monitoring teaching and learning; supporting teachers to improve instruction; and motivating teachers to perform.