Eve Eisenschmidt

Finding myself as a teacher: exploring the shaping of teacher identities through student teachers’ narratives

The aim of the study was to explore the professional identity development among student teachers in a five-year integrated teacher education programme in Estonia. Thirty-eight students in the first through fifth year of the primary school teacher education programme provided written stories about themselves as teachers today. The narratives were analysed both across different study years in the teacher education programme using inductive content analysis, and through in-depth thematic analysis of one case exemplifying the emergence of teacher identity. In the latter, Kelchtermans’ professional identity model was applied. Findings indicate that the practice periods appear to be highly influential for identity development. In the students’ development, phases similar to those identified in prior research emerged, with focus shifting from oneself towards teaching methods and skills and pupils’ learning. Teacher educators can help students recognise these patterns and support the students in reflecting on the strategies they have applied in their learning and development and their ways of coping with challenges, and help them to identify personal working theories developed during the education process. This way the newly qualified teachers entering schools can be supported to become teachers with solid professional identities well-equipped to begin their careers in primary schools.

Constructing model of teachers’ innovative behaviour in school environment

Teachers’ innovative behaviour influences not only their teaching practices and professional habits, but also has an impact on students’ creation of novel and original ideas. In spite of the increasing demand for innovative behaviour, and also relatively high academic achievements of Estonian students in international comparison, teachers in Estonia often do not use innovative teaching practices, according to Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). This study explores possible school environmental factors that may support the innovative behaviour of teachers. A model, where self-efficacy as a trait and different types of teaching practices as behaviour, are components of the model of teachers’ innovative behaviour. It is supposed that teachers’ innovative behaviour appears in school environments and may be supported by the following factors: interaction and involvement, need and freedom for innovation. The study is carried out as a secondary data analysis, based on a sample of TALIS survey. The results indicate that although the three factors mentioned do not constitute the integrated phenomenon, they do describe different aspects of a teachers’ innovative behaviour.

The Induction Program – Teachers’ Experience After Five Years of Practice

The induction program to provide support for novice teachers was introduced into teacher education in Estonia in 2004. The teachers who participated in the first program have now been working for several years. To evaluate the effectiveness of induction activities, we explored how mentoring and an induction program influence teachers’ opinions regarding these interactional processes in an organization. Our research suggested that teachers have become more critical of senior management support and cooperation with others and their opinions regarding some factors of school context have also become more negative. Teachers who gave a lower evaluation to interactional processes in an organization placed a higher value on the induction program. In our study, we raised the question of how to implement induction programs and mentoring, based on the individual needs of a novice teacher.

Teachers’ perceptions of school climate as an indicator of their beliefs of effective teaching

Abstract The ability to express oneself clearly in both a mother tongue and a foreign language is a foundation principle of the new national curriculum in Estonia. Therefore, research was conducted to determine whether there was a possible relationship between English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions of effective teaching and the contextual evaluation of the school. The aim of this article is to describe the relationship between the perceptions of school climate and effective teaching among EFL teachers. The study revealed that EFL teachers’ perceptions of the school climate correlate to some extent with their perceptions of effective teaching practices, with some differences between teachers of Estonian-language schools compared with those of Russian-language schools. The research also highlighted that senior management should place more emphasis on creating a cooperative school climate for developing a learner-centred teaching approach as one of the foundation principles of the new national curriculum.

Implementing a Design Research Approach and Facilitating Networking in the Process of Educational Change

Abstract Since the 1990s, educational systems in many European countries have been under reform and the pursuit of positive change has become central to educational discourse. In this article, the authors present a reflective meta-analysis with a focus on the role of cooperation and networking in the process of educational change. This analysis demonstrates how the research of these important aspects within the current project was facilitated by using a particular methodological approach – design research. The authors’ experience demonstrates that this approach provides a reliable framework for systematic and evidence-based planning of educational change. Networking facilitates the building of trust and enables access to local information, thereby helping to create a common understanding of the aims and content of the reform. The main challenges the authors faced were managing the networking, sharing the responsibility and overcoming some partners’ lack of experience and preparedness for participating in research and policy development.

Novice teachers’ learning and knowledge building during the induction programme

ABSTRACT This paper explores the Estonian novice teachers’ learning and knowledge building (LKB) practices in the extended professional community during the induction programme using well-known knowledge conversion model. The assumption in this study is that a teachers’ participation in the extended professional community facilitates their professional development. The survey was conducted with 101 novices after their induction programme. The patterns of novices’ LKB practices in the professional learning community during the induction programme were explored. The analysis showed to what extent extended professional community may be formed during the induction year. LKB practice patterns among the novices were identified. We discovered that many novices felt that there was insufficient support from other teachers and from university experts. It appears that it is challenging to develop a coherent induction programme as the extended professional community of educators, where different partners collaborate and share professional knowledge is challenging.

Associations of Newly Qualified Teachers' Beliefs with Classroom Management Practices and Approaches to Instruction over One School Year.

Abstract We focus on assessing whether newly qualified teachers’ professional outcome expectations and their beliefs about students’ intellectual potential are associated with teachers’ self-reported classroom management and instructional practices. One hundred and eighteen novice teachers participating in the induction year programme were studied during their first years as full-time teachers. Results attest to a salient association between teachers’ more optimistic views of the malleability of students’ intellectual potential and teachers’ confidence in themselves as positive change agents in student outcomes. Also, teachers’ belief-set in the beginning of their career was shown to be associated with significant differences in the level of using instructional practices promoting mastery goal orientation in the classroom as well as offering students emotional support during the learning process. In the light of the significant belief–behaviour links demonstrated, more explicit attention to the sophistication of teachers’ ability beliefs in teacher education programmes is recommended.