Päivi Hökkä

Seeking New Perspectives on the Development of Teacher Education: A Study of the Finnish Context

Studies show that changes in teacher education around the world occur slowly and are difficult to implement. This study aims to contribute to the discussion on the major resources for and obstacles to developing teacher education and finding novel solutions to overcome the obstacles. Resources and obstacles were investigated in the context of academic and university-based teacher education in Finland. Findings revealed three major challenges: (a) obstacles in renegotiating professional identity, (b) internal competition between subject-matter groups within the department, and (c) discrepancies between individual agency and organizational development. Based on the findings, this study argues that teacher educators’ individual and collective agency must be supported to enhance their continuous professional learning and organizational change. This goal can be achieved by developing teacher education concurrently at multiple levels, including the individual, work community, and organizational levels. In addition, there is a need to construct multiple couplings between these levels.

The professional agency of teacher educators amid academic discourses

Agency has been seen as fundamental in the renegotiation of professional identities. However, it is unclear how teacher educators exercise their professional agency in their work, and how multiple discourses frame and restrict the practice of their professional agency. This study examines how teacher educators practise agency in negotiating their professional identities amid the multiple discourses emerging from the academic context of their work. The aim was to investigate educators’ locally expressed professional agency in the context of the more global discourses that may construct teacher educator identities. The analysis made use of applied thematic discursive analysis to address patterns of talk relating to teacher educators’ manifestations of agency within their work as teachers and researchers. Professional agency was found to be strong in the construction of their teacher identity. By contrast, the construction of their researcher identity was subjugated, complex and characterised by a lack of resources. Furthermore, teaching and researching were mainly described as two separate functions. In discussion these findings are analysed to show what they imply for the renegotiation of teacher educators’ professional identities and for the development of teacher education in an academic institution.

How do novice teachers in Finland perceive their professional agency

This study investigated novice teachers’ perceptions of their professional agency during the initial years of their work in schools. The research questions were: (i) How do novice teachers perceive their professional agency within their work, and what do they see as the main restrictions and resources affecting that agency? (ii) How do novice teachers perceive their professional agency in the construction and renegotiation of their professional identities, and what do they see as the main restrictions and resources affecting their sense of agency? In theoretical terms, we adhere to a subject-centered sociocultural approach. This implies understanding subjects as active agents from a developmental perspective, with attention also given to professional identities. The subjects of this study were 13 qualified primary-level class teachers who had worked from one to five years as class teachers in Finnish primary schools. Data from open-ended interviews with the novice teachers were analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicated that all the novice teachers perceived strong agency in their opportunities to apply and develop pedagogical practices within the classroom. However, they had a much weaker sense of agency as regards the social management of the classroom. When the teachers entered into the practical school context, most of them became aware that they would have to renegotiate their professional identities. This involved re-assessing their professional ideals and ethical standards. The major perceived constraint emerged from their lack of competence in providing support for the children’s psychological well-being. The role of the school principal was seen crucial for the novice teachers’ work in the schools: the principal was seen as acting as a resource but also as a constraint on the teacher’s sense of professional agency, both at the individual and school levels. In addition, close collaboration and support from other teachers in difficult everyday situations was seen as crucial for the teachers’ survival in the practical school context. The study provides insights into the challenges and constraints affecting novice teachers’ sense of professional agency, and on the resources and support that they need in their first years at work.

Identity and Agency in Professional Learning

This chapter elaborates professional learning from two complementary perspectives, namely professional identity and agency. Starting with the conceptualization of identity and agency, the chapter illustrates how professional identity and agency are intertwined with workplace learning at the individual and social levels. In theoretical terms we adhere to a subject-centred socio-cultural approach. This implies that professional learning is seen as a dual process, involving identity negotiation and the development of work practices (including the practice of agency), with both aspects taking place within the socio-cultural and material conditions of the workplace. We see professional identity as constituted by subjects’ conceptions of themselves as professional actors, i.e. as individuals with professional commitments, ideals, interests, beliefs, values, and ethical standards. Agency is needed for the renegotiation of work identities, and for the continuous and innovative development of work practices. We see professional agency as being exercised when professional subjects and/or communities influence, make choices, and take stances on their work and/or their professional identities. The chapter summarizes evidence on the constraints and resources that appear to be most influential for professional identity negotiations and for the practice of professional agency at work, especially in education and health care work. Empirical evidence is presented on aspects operating at the work community, work organization, and individual levels. As a practical conclusion, it is suggested that there is a need for practice-based interventions that will promote professional learning concurrently at the individual and social levels. Such interventions will involve agency-centred couplings between these levels.

Agency-centred coupling—a better way to manage an educational organization?

Teachers at the present time face continuous changes in their work and organizational practices. However, we lack empirical evidence as to what this implies for teachers and their work. This paper describes how two Finnish educational organizations restrict or enable teachers’ professional agency, in terms of how the teachers influence the conditions and contents of their work. The paper further addresses how agency is related to: (i) organizational and educational transformations, (ii) teachers’ professional development and identity negotiations and (iii) teachers’ commitment to the educational organization and well-being at work. This paper provides the comparative research evidence on both the strengths and weaknesses of different management practices of different educational organizations, identified here as a loosely coupled organization and a tightly coupled organization. It seems that strong agency supports teachers’ diverse learning, the practice of their professional orientations and also their well-being and commitment. Conversely, all these are threatened by teachers’ weak agency. However, teachers’ strong agency as individuals also appears to act as a brake on organizational transformation and collective learning. Based on our findings, we suggest novel future directions for the management of educational organizations and for the leadership of teachers’ work in terms of agency-centred coupling practices.

Professional learning and agency in an identity coaching programme

This article addresses the professional learning that occurred in an identity coaching programme. The arts-based programme aimed to enhance the participants’ professional learning, notably through helping them to process their professional identities. Professional learning was seen as resourced by the participants’ professional agency, and by the promotion of such agency. Through interviews, we investigated what the participants perceived they had learnt during the programme, and the potential differences in learning outcomes between professional groups from university and hospital contexts. The findings showed that the programme was perceived as a rich learning arena in the domains of the professional self (involving a crafted professional identity), professional relationships (involving increased knowledge of colleagues and becoming an active participant in the work community) and professional competencies (involving socio-emotional knowledge and skills). The professionals (academics and administrative personnel) from a university learnt more during the programme than did the nurses and physicians working in a hospital. The findings suggest that the primary emphasis in professional learning should be on professional identity and agency within the social relationships that exist in training and work settings. The article also presents our theoretical considerations regarding the connection between professional agency and learning.

An Agency-Promoting Learning Arena for Developing Shared Work Practices

Despite the emerging recognition of the pivotal role played by professional agency within work contexts, little is known about how agency is promoted and enacted in organised work-related learning settings. This chapter focuses on the work conference as an orchestrated agency-promoting learning arena. We understand professional agency as a necessary precondition of work-related learning, and we emphasise the potential of work conferences to activate and promote such agency. Our empirical study investigated three work conferences in education and healthcare organisations in Finland. Utilising assessments, the investigation addressed how the participants perceived the conditions for learning and the learning outcomes in these conferences. The work conference was mostly viewed as a worthwhile learning arena. The conference advanced participants’ professional agency and participation across entrenched professional boundaries, and work-related learning occurred at both individual and collective levels. A comparison of the three work conferences indicated that in terms of the generation and actualisation of innovative developmental discussions, the most prominent learning outcomes occurred when the participants were able to enact substantial professional agency, when there was comprehensive participation from the work community, and when boundary crossing occurred. This paper contributes to the understanding of the conditions that impede or support work-related learning.

Agentic perspective on fostering work-related learning

ABSTRACT Despite the increased recognition of the role that professional agency plays in work-related learning, little is known about what supports it. Based on current theoretical notions, the first purpose of this paper is to show that professional agency is closely intertwined with work-related learning. The second purpose is to introduce some main principles that promote professional agency and describe three work-related training settings that are aimed at fostering learning by taking into account agentic perspectives. These complementary settings include an identity coaching programme, a leadership coaching programme, and a work conference. Based on the qualitative meta-synthesis, the paper further provides an empirical overview of professional agency and learning in these settings. The paper contributes to the understanding of the potential of professional agency at the heart of work-related learning. To foster learning, it is necessary to create social events for the enactment and activation of agency so that social and individual resources (e.g. experiences) are utilised. Overall, the paper emphasises that individuals and communities are active crafters of their professional identities and practices, and it provides viewpoints to support their agency in work and training settings.

The Reciprocal Relationship Between Emotions and Agency in the Workplace

In conjunction with a growing interest in professional agency, there is a need to understand how emotions are embedded in agentic practice. This chapter examines the emotions bound up with work and how these emotions are related to professional agency. The subjects of our study were leaders (middle management) and employees working in Finnish education and health-care organisations. A qualitative meta-synthesis was conducted to describe the relationship between professional agency and emotions. The study revealed a variety of emotions, including fear and enjoyment, related to professional identity, work, and social relationships. Among both employees and leaders, emotions were found to play an important role in the enactment of agency. Negative emotions seemed to trigger the enactment of professional agency regarding one’s professional career and work practices, while positive emotions activated agency in terms of renegotiating professional identities. On a reciprocal basis, the enactment of agency seemed to foster positive emotions. Weak agency, for its part, seems to arouse negative emotions. The study suggests that the relationships between professional learning, agency, and emotions seem likely to provide avenues for research in the future.