Characteristics and Conditions for Innovative Teachers: International Perspectives is a must-read for all those with an interest in teacher education and in enabling teacher innovation. It provides a blend of education theory, practice and research and will appeal to a wide audience including teachers, teacher educators, student teachers, school leaders, policy makers and other stakeholders.
Drawing on a wealth of international perspectives, this key text provides a unique insight into how innovative teachers are understood and supported in their respective contexts. It provides recommendations and insights into the characteristics of innovative teachers and considers how best to support professional development to ensure innovation is both encouraged and meaningful.
Considering the impact of conditions, context and agency on innovative teachers, the book explores the concept of innovation. It provides rationales for the focus on innovative teachers, identifies characteristics of innovative teachers and offers conceptual models underpinned by research, along with an analysis of current international policy on innovation in education. It explores the rich data obtained from research undertaken in 16 different countries and concludes by focusing on how to nurture innovative teachers through professional development.
Author(s): Kay Livingston, Carol O’Sullivan, Karl Attard
Series: ATEE Series
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 185
City: London
Cover
Endorsement page
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of illustrations
Figures
Tables
About the editors
List of contributors
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: Introduction to the Developing and Supporting Innovative Teachers Research Study
Introduction
Context for the development of our research study
Review of literature
Design of the research study
Further development of the research study
Initial conceptual model of an innovative teacher
Concluding remarks
Notes
References
Chapter 2: Policy context for the development of innovative teachers
Introduction and background
International policy impact on teachers’ innovativeness: literature review
Reviewing policy documents: analytical and methodological approach
Defining innovations: mission impossible?
Demanding education innovation: the smuggling of neoliberalism?
Conditions for successful innovation: ‘do as I say, not as I do’
The role of teachers and the teaching profession in leading innovations in education: a Herculean effort or a Sisyphean effort?
Concluding remarks: policy consequences and paradoxes for teachers
References
Chapter 3: Characteristics of and conditions to support innovative teachers: Agency to transform learning and teaching
Introduction
Innovative teachers: interaction of characteristics and conditions
Concept of agency and its relevance to innovative teachers
Methodology
Discussion of the findings
Characteristics of innovative teachers
Professional competences
Conditions that support or hinder innovative teachers
Developing teacher agency to support teacher innovation and transformational practice
References
Chapter 4: Being an innovative teacher: Understanding qualities and processes
Introduction
Literature review: innovative teachers
Methodology
Participants and settings
Data collection and analysis
Findings
Characteristics associated with being an innovative teacher
Teacher knowledge
Skills and abilities
Personal traits and attitudes
Processes associated with becoming an innovative teacher
Lived experiences associated with becoming an innovative teacher
Organisational school cultures
Discussion
Conclusion
References
Chapter 5: Innovative preschool teachers as educational development leaders: A Swedish case
Introduction
Research background and theoretical framing
Educational development leaders (EDLs) in a Swedish context
Method
Results
Mission to lead for innovation
Middle leadership as an innovative career possibility
A mission to supervise and lead for innovation
Trust and social mandate to lead
Experience of trust and mandate from the principal
Experience of trust and mandate from colleagues
Developing analytical thinking
Making use of theory
To share research results for interpreting the curriculum
Time allocation for reflection and problem solving
Networking for innovative ideas
Discussion
Conclusion
References
Chapter 6: The innovative teacher within learning organisations: A leadership perspective
Introduction
Review of literature
Research purpose
Theoretical and conceptual frameworks
Methodology
Findings
Personal Mastery
Mental models
Building shared vision
Team learning
Discussion
Implication for the developing model
Conclusion
Note
References
Chapter 7: Innovative teachers – How? Under which circumstances?
Introduction
Literature review
Theoretical foundation
Methodology
Findings and discussion
Conclusion
References
Chapter 8: Innovative teachers from the perspective of teacher educators
Introduction
Innovation in teacher education
Critical pedagogy
Methodology
Paradigm
Interpretative phenomenological analysis
Findings
Characteristics of the innovative teacher
Openness to change
Risk taker
Ability to reflect critically on practice and context
Flexible
Curious
Creative
Conditions for the innovative teacher
Effective leadership
Teamwork
Resourcing
Contribution of teacher education to the development and support of innovative teachers in schools
Facilitating competence in IT
Commitment to CPD
Incorporating research into practice
The importance of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)
Conclusion
References
Chapter 9: Analysing practice as a gateway towards developing various desirable characteristics of innovative teachers
Introduction
Innovation in education – an inaccurately used term?
Methodology
Analysis of practice by the innovative teacher
The role of teacher education in facilitating the development of personal characteristics that are needed for innovative teaching
Conclusion
References
Chapter 10: Transformative professional development to develop and support innovative teachers
Introduction
Contribution of professional development to innovative teaching
Teacher agency
Innovative teachers taking ownership of their own learning
Transformative professional learning
Conditions for transformative professional development that is embedded in practice
A humanistic counter-narrative for teacher innovation
Revisiting the conceptual model of an innovative teacher
References
Index
