Pamela Osmond-Johnson

This paper draws on data collected as part of a study of the discourses of teacher professionalism amongst union active teachers in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Ontario. Interviews revealed a triad of influences on the professionalism discourses of participants: engagement in teacher associations, the larger policy environment, and teacher agency. The manner in which this triad played out in each case, however, was unique to the particular political and organizational contexts framing the spaces in which such discourses were created. Using cross-case analysis, this paper specifically highlights the complex and contextualized nature of teachers' conceptions of professionalism, paying particular attention to the nuanced enabling and limiting conditions identified between the cases. Cet article s'appuie sur des données recueillies dans le contexte d'une étude portant sur le discours concernant le professionnalisme des enseignants actifs dans leur syndicat et vivant...

Drawing on data from a mixed methods study of the Saskatchewan Professional Development Unit’s (SPDU) Facilitator Community, this paper highlights the potential of teacher-led professional learning in developing professional capital through engagement in teacher leadership. Analysis of survey, interview, and observational data revealed the Community to be a powerful platform from which teachers extended their own individual skills (human capital), learned from and with each other (social capital), and used their collective expertise to lead the learning of their peers (decisional capital). Teacher leadership within the community is nurtured through a mentored model of gradual release designed to create an environment conducive to supporting organic and meaningful learning and growth experiences for its members. It is this same environment that serves as the platform for the development of professional capital.

Drawing on data from a larger doctoral study, this paper specifically explores influences on the discourses of professionalism amongst a sample of highly engaged members of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO). Based on the assumption that discourse takes shape within a highly politicized system of socialization where language plays a significant role in the maintenance of particular power structures and the cultures that support them (Hilferty, 2004), the case suggests that the professionalism discourses of teachers and their unions and those of government are not necessarily as mutually exclusive as they are often presented in the literature.

This paper explores understandings related to teacher professionalism amongst a sample of highly engaged members of the Alberta Teacher’s Association (ATA). Highlighting the many ways in which the Association supported members in their bid to embody roles as leaders, learners, advocates, and policy actors, I argue that the ATA serves as a platform for the development of teacher leaders and advocates who aim to improve the quality of education on a broader scale through their work both inside and outside the classroom.

PurposeThis paper draws on data from a research project that examined the impact of a community of practice (CoP) model of teaching practicum that engaged teacher candidates in collaborative inquiry projects based on self-identified problems of practice that emerged during their practicum experiences.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach was adopted to better understand the ways in which the CoP served as a support mechanism for teacher candidates to develop social capital during internship. Data collection included anecdotal observation notes, student postings in online discussion forums, and a one-hour post-project focus group. Data analysis was rooted in phenomenology (Lin, 2013) and was guided by the four pronged coding process outlined by Bicudo (2000).FindingsAs the paper illustrates, the CoP created rich opportunities for teacher candidates to cultivate social capital, which positively impacted their human and decisional capital. Relatedly, teacher candidates demo...

Teachers’ professional development and learning is of high interest in educational reform internationally. We present findings from the State of Educators’ Professional Learning in Canada study. We identify ten features proposed for effective professional learning: evidence-informed; subject-specific and pedagogical content knowledge; a focus on student outcomes; a balance of teacher voice and system coherence; active and variable learning; collaborative learning experiences; job-embedded learning; ongoing in duration; resources; and supportive and engaged leadership. Our findings indicate that these features are present in current professional learning experiences within Canada. However, we also found important differences in the details of professional learning within and across Canada. We suggest it is important to research, value and understand the diversity of professional learning needs, activities, experiences and outcomes within and across countries. We discuss potential con...

Teacher federations are often criticized as “roadblocks” to educational change. It is arguable, however, that their advocacy work has been paramount in securing safer return to school conditions across Canadian Educational jurisdictions. Utilizing Carter et al. (2010) framework of union responses to changing policy environments, this paper draws on publicly available documents and social media posts from March through to October of 2020 to examine the ways in which teacher unions in various Canadian contexts have responded to the issue of school reopening plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the paper analyzes the extent to which Canadian teacher unions have been able to move into the realm of union renewal as a means of building internal capacity and developing external networks to strengthen their public advocacy work.

A primary function of teacher unions is to bring teachers’ concerns about educational practice to the attention of policy makers (Bascia and Rottmann 2011). But in much of the world, teachers have little formal authority to directly influence policy decisions, and educational policy makers have limited knowledge about the dynamics of schooling. Governmental policy makers and teacher unions operate according to different priorities, the former focused on large-scale effects on educational practice and the latter on the conditions of teaching and learning. Often established after, and even in reaction to, formal educational systems (Murphy 1990; Smaller 1991; Urban 1982), teachers’ organizations are not often viewed as legitimate decision makers. Most of the research on teacher union–governmental relationships characterizes them as perennially conflictual and working at crosspurposes (Bascia and Osmond 2012).

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of a mentored model of gradual release to build social capital and support teachers as they adopt new identities as leaders of professional learning. Design/methodology/approach Data for the paper were collected as part of a case study which explored the Provincial Facilitator Community (PFC) in Saskatchewan, Canada as one approach to creating a collaborative culture of teacher-led learning and leadership. Findings The findings suggest that becoming a leader of professional learning is a complex process of gaining confidence, building capacity and transitioning into a new professional identity. In the PFC, this process was markedly supported through a structured and intentional system of modeling and peer-mentorship that promoted the development of social capital across the group. Originality/value The paper provides new insights around the use of a mentored model of gradual release to create opportunities to develop social cap...

In a 2016 special issue of the Wales Journal of Education focused on professional learning for teachers, the editors concluded: If Wales is to create a successful and equitable education system in the future, it seems clear that one of the key factors in this will be ongoing work to improve the quality of teaching in our schools and professional learning has a critically important part to play in achieving this. (Egan and Grigg, 2016: 10) The recent national mission articulated by the Welsh Government includes a central commitment to reforming and improving teachers' professional development from initial teacher education through to continuing professional learning, leadership development and schools as learning organisations (Education Wales/Welsh Government, 2017). To contribute to continuing dialogue and actions for school leadership and teachers' professional learning in Wales, this article explores the international research concerning the significance of professional l...

This paper explores understandings related to teacher professionalism amongst a sample of highly engaged members of the Alberta Teacher’s Association (ATA). Highlighting the many ways in which the Association supported members in their bid to embody roles as leaders, learners, advocates, and policy actors, I argue that the ATA serves as a platform for the development of teacher leaders and advocates who aim to improve the quality of education on a broader scale through their work both inside and outside the classroom.

Over the past 20 years, a host of formalized teacher leadership programs have emerged in response to numerous calls for the re-culturing (Fullan, 2001) and re-professionalization (Hargreaves, 2000) of teaching. That being said, very little research has explored the manner in which such programs have facilitated real change in the leadership capacity of teachers. As such, the purpose of this study was to explore the nature and sustainability of leadership roles experienced by three participants in the Teacher Learning and Leadership Program (TLLP), a one-year program in Ontario, Canada, where teachers ‘take the lead’ in developing context specific professional learning opportunities with the aim of impacting both student and teacher learning. Results indicate that the TLLP provided participants with an avenue for the development and enactment of various teacher leadership opportunities both in and beyond their own school. However, extending that leadership beyond the timeframe of their TLLP projects proved to be a difficult endeavour. Understanding the impact of cultural norms, top-down hierarchies, and historical views of the teacher as implementer on the sustainability of teacher leadership is of particular relevance to planning committees who organize and develop such programs as well as progressive school boards who are genuinely interested in promoting authentic change in school leadership development.

In this self-study, Pamela, a new science teacher educator, adopted Just-in-Time Teaching (JiTT) in the context of an elementary science education methodology course. JiTT is a teaching and learning strategy involving interaction between web-based study assignments and face-to-face class sessions. Students respond electronically to web-based assignments that are due shortly before class. The teacher reads students' submissions just before class and adjusts teaching and learning activities based on the students' online feedback. This study was guided by the research question: How do an instructor's pedagogical content knowledge and classroom practice develop during Just-in-Tiime Teaching?

In the student teaching triad model adopted in this study, pairs of pre-service teachers worked collaboratively with cooperating teachers during a 12-week field experience. The main objectives of the study were to document the benefits and challenges for pre-service teachers and cooperating teachers who participate in a triad model and to describe the co-teaching models that would emerge during this experience. Pre-service teachers and their cooperating teachers reported several strengths of the triad model in the following areas—learning from each other, professional support, outcomes for K-12 students, comprehensive feedback about teaching and classroom practice, and pre-service teacher confidence. Limitations and concerns identified by both groups included dependency, confusion with classroom management issues, loss of individuality, and competition between the pre-service teachers.