Nataša Pantić

Developing teachers as agents of inclusion and social justice

Policies around the world increasingly call for teachers to become ‘agents of change’, often linked to social justice agendas. However, there is little clarity about the kind of competencies such agency involves or how it can be developed in teacher education. This paper draws on theories of teacher agency and inclusive pedagogy to clarify the meaning of teachers as agents of change in the context of inclusion and social justice. Inclusive practice requires the collaboration of teachers and others such as families and other professionals. Agents of change work purposefully with others to challenge the status quo and develop social justice and inclusion. We discuss the possibilities of combining theories of inclusive pedagogy and teacher agency for developing teachers as agents of inclusion and social justice in teacher education. These possibilities include: 1) nurturing commitment to social justice as part of teachers’ sense of purpose; 2) developing competencies in inclusive pedagogical approaches, including working with others; 3) developing relational agency for transforming the conditions of teachers’ workplaces; and 4) a capacity to reflect on their own practices and environments when seeking to support the learning of all students.

A Model for Study of Teacher Agency for Social Justice.

Internationally teachers are called upon to act as agents of change. However, there is little clarity about the kind of change teachers are expected to contribute to and even less empirical evidence about the ways teacher agency operates in schools and beyond. Empirical analyses of teacher agency require a clear articulation of the purpose and content of such agency in relation to a particular aspect of change, which could then help us specify appropriate units of analysis and generate hypotheses based on the insights provided by previous research. This paper articulates a model for study of teacher agency as a process whereby teachers act strategically to transform the risks of exclusion and underachievement into inclusion and improved outcomes for all students in contexts of cultural and social diversity. The model is guided by social theories of human agency within social structures and cultures, applied to the empirical insights into teachers’ inclusive practices. Potentially appropriate units of analysis and related variables are proposed, and face-validated in consultation with 12 experts from Scotland including teachers, (deputy) head teachers, researchers, teacher educators and policy-makers. The units include teachers’ inclusive practices at individual, school and broader policy and social levels, teachers’ moral purposes and competence as agents of change for inclusive education, scope of teachers’ autonomy including individual, collective and contextual variables, and teachers’ reflexivity. Implications for future research and teacher education are discussed.

Teacher Competence as a Basis for Teacher Education: Comparing Views of Teachers and Teacher Educators in Five Western Balkan Countries

Orientation of teacher preparation toward the development of competence has recently been suggested as a worthwhile direction of change in teacher education in the Western Balkan countries. In this study, 2,354 teachers, teacher educators, and student teachers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia responded to a questionnaire about the importance of four groups of teacher competencies: (1) self-evaluation and professional development; (2) subject knowledge, pedagogy, and curriculum; (3) understanding of the system of education and contribution to its development; and (4) values and child rearing. We compare the responses about the importance of these four groups across the five countries. The results are discussed with regard to their implications for reforms in teacher education policies and programs in contexts of decentralizing education systems.

Reconciling rigour and impact by collaborative research design: study of teacher agency

ABSTRACT This paper illustrates a new way of working collaboratively on the development of a methodology for studying teacher agency for social justice. Increasing emphasis of impact on change as a purpose of social research raises questions about appropriate research designs. Large-scale quantitative research framed within externally set parameters has often been criticised for its limited potential for capturing the contexts and impacting change, while smaller, locally embedded, mostly qualitative inquiries have been questioned on the grounds of their limited generalizability and sometimes compromising research rigour. New ways of working collaboratively are increasingly explored as a way of reconciling research rigour and impact. The paper presents the procedures for designing a study that is both methodologically rigorous and potentially impactful. Twelve researchers, practitioners and policy-makers in Scotland were extensively involved in designing a mixed-method study of teacher agency for social justice. The Critical Communicative Methodology was employed to establish egalitarian dialogue between researchers and practitioners. The procedures and the resulting research tools can be used in future studies, including large-scale quantitative analysis. The paper discusses the challenges of ownership, choice of methods, and knowledge transfer, that need to be addressed in these ways of working.

Citizenship and Education in the Post-Yugoslav States

Abstract This paper explores interactions between citizenship and education in six post-Yugoslav contexts. The aim is to map out policies shaping the intended young citizens’ identities, which might differ from their lived experiences of citizenship. Focusing on the ethnocentric, multicultural, and civic dimensions of citizenship, the paper looks at how education governance structures and policies promote inclusive and exclusive citizenship by adopting and adapting international norms protecting group and individual rights. Universal and consociational education systems have been distinguished, with the ethnocentric and exclusive citizenship concepts reflected in the context-dependent status of different minorities, and in the language policies that perpetuate dominant ethnic groups. Inclusive elements have been recognised in the anti-discriminatory measures for inclusion of Roma students in mainstream education. Minority language instruction options reflect multicultural approaches to linguistic and cultural rights in education, although ethnocentric motives can be discerned behind their territorial implementation. Observance of the EU membership criteria and relevant norms are an important driving force for adopting social inclusion and minority rights in education-relevant legislation and policy documents. The study illustrates how the domestic consolidation and limited implementation of these norms created tensions between ensuring group rights in education and protection of individual human rights and non-discrimination.

Teacher Education for the Changing Demographics of Schooling: Policy, Practice and Research

The focus of this book is on the role that teacher education can play in responding to issues of diversity in schools. By diversity we mean the cultural, linguistic, ethnic, developmental and other aspects of human difference that represent some of the many aspects of identity that characterize both individuals and groups and account for differences between people. A conceptualisation of diversity as an integral aspect of humanity rather than a series of categorical distinctions that differentiate and separate individuals and groups underpins our analysis. We seek new theoretical approaches for the preparation of teachers which understands diversity from multiple perspectives and aims to enable all students to flourish as learners. This conceptualisation is particularly important at this time of global uncertainty and challenge. The need for an educated populace to live and work together in ways that fosters tolerance is vital to solving transnational problems that range from enhancing sustainable development to reducing income inequality. While this gives rise to broad implications for policy, practice and research related to teacher education, we concentrate on identifying some of the structural and content-related aspects of how diversity is conceptualised, taught and researched in teacher education programmes. We also consider the implications for future research.

Teacher Education for the Changing Demographics of Schooling: Pathways for Future Research

In this chapter we reflect on the contributions made by our contributing authors and the stakeholders who participated in a UK Economic and Social Research Council seminar series, Teacher education and the changing demographics of schooling, designed to consider these questions in support of developing an agenda for future research in the field. Drawing on research in various areas of diversity, as well as teacher education more generally, the seminar series positioned a broad concept of diversity within the larger frame of research and policy on teacher education. Six seminars addressed issues of inclusive pedagogical practice and teacher agency across a series of topics. They considered how teacher education could be strengthened by reframing the issue of diversity as one of multiple overlapping identities relevant to each and every student in school rather than as unitary markers of identity (e.g. bilingual or disabled) for some. Discussions and key questions were summarised in a set of briefing papers produced after each seminar (http://www.ed.ac.uk/education/rke/centres-groups/rten/esrc-te-seminars). In the sections below we synthesise the issues raised across the seminars in order to outline some pathways for future research.