Renata Phelps

Complexity and action research: exploring the theoretical and methodological connection

Abstract Complexity theory is essentially a formal attempt to question how coherent and purposive wholes emerge from the interactions of simple and sometimes non-purposive components. Explicit recognition of complexity can provide a fresh and enlightening perspective on action research. Through an expository discussion of the foundational postulates of complexity theory this article demonstrates the theoretical and methodological connections between complexity and action research, with particular emphasis on the relevance of complexity in educational and workplace contexts. Complexity is an emerging theoretical perspective, which presents possibilities for revolutionizing approaches to action research, as well as strengthening arguments promoting the value of action research in a wide range of contexts. Complexity, it is argued, can provide a valuable theoretical underpinning for action research. Furthermore, action research provides a valid methodological approach to the study of complexity. This article is primarily theoretical and attempts to demonstrate the application of complexity to a specific action research project will be left to future publication(s). Rather, this article explores the general applicability of complexity as both theory and metaphor in action research. The article begins with a brief exploration of the theory, particularly focusing on its application in the social sciences. The theoretical and methodological connections between complexity and action research are discussed through several of the foundational postulates of complexity, how these manifest in action research and how they add to our understanding of action research itself.

Competency, capability, complexity and computers: exploring a new model for conceptualising end-user computer education

Notions  of  competency  have  dominated  the  computer  education  literature, and have underpinned Competency-Based Training (CBT) in information technology at all levels of education and training. The emergence of counter-narratives underpinned by the capability movement, have as yet had minimal impact on practice in computer education. New discourses in educational theory and practice which are founded on non-linear approaches to learning and teaching provide added impetus to engage in the competency/capability debate, and re-examine our approaches to computer education. This paper explores complexity theories and demonstrates how complexitys pedagogical implications can lead to new models for understanding computer learning and teaching. A new model for conceptualising end-user computer education is presented that was derived from a three-year action research initiative with pre-service teachers.

Supporting children’s mental health in schools: teacher views

Schools have increasingly been targeted as appropriate sites for mental health promotion and teachers are considered well placed to identify issues concerning students’ social and emotional well-being. Whilst teachers are now expected to be responsive to a wide range of student needs and circumstances, they receive little in their pre-service and subsequent teacher education to adequately prepare them for such realities. This paper reports the findings of a study that investigated teacher perspectives on student mental health and mental health education, including their sense of self-efficacy in relation to promoting and supporting children’s mental well-being in schools. These findings highlight a complex interplay between teachers’ constructions of ‘mental health’, the importance they place on mental health promotion in schools, issues of teacher confidence, role identity conflict and school culture, as well as teachers’ own sense of mental well-being. The discussion signals a need to pay close attention to the assumptions, values, beliefs and attitudes of teachers in relation to children’s mental health since these are integral to their confidence and skill in supporting children’s social and emotional well-being.

Recipe or performing art?: challenging conventions for writing action research theses

This article explores the tensions and incongruities between conventional thesis presentation and the principles of action research. Through the experiences of the authors alternative approaches to thesis structure are proposed which are argued to be more congruent with the epistemological, methodological and ethical aspects of action research. Consistent with our arguments, the article is presented as a play. Act I considers the tensions facing research students wishing to write up their action research in the context of conventional thesis writing requirements; Act II consists of four ‘scenes’, each of which illustrates a key learning arising from our own stories: writing in the researcher as central to the research; staying true to the unfolding research story; using metaphor; and finally, weaving literature throughout the thesis. Act III considers the challenges of examination in the face of breaking with tradition. We conclude with a ‘curtain call’ from the narrator that offers a reflexive engagement with the main themes of the article.

Acknowledging the complexity and diversity of historical and cultural ICT professional learning practices in schools

Professional development in information and communication technology (ICT) remains a major imperative for schools as technologies, and what teachers are able to do with them, continue to evolve. The responses of individual schools to this ongoing challenge can be highly diverse and inevitably shaped by past and current cultural practices, which include the values, attitudes and beliefs of school leaders and teachers themselves. This paper provides case study data from seven schools, drawing attention to the diverse ways in which individual schools approach teacher learning and providing a stimulus for educational leaders to reflect upon how the histories and cultures within their own schools may enable or constrain change in relation to ICT use. Informed by complexity theories, the paper argues that a focus on the complex, nuanced, social dynamic of ICT professional learning within the whole-school context is critical in supporting change surrounding ICT integration.

Developing technology together, together: a whole-school metacognitive approach to ICT teacher professional development

Professional development of teachers in information and communication technology (ICT) continues to be an urgent educational imperative. While many teachers are integrating ICT (with varying degrees of confidence and creativity), a significant number still remain hesitant, reluctant and daunted by the rapid rate of technological change. Far from being a simple process, ICT professional development necessitates not only personal and professional changes for individuals, but changes in school culture including institutional attitude and support for professional learning, reflection and professional discussion, readiness to embrace change, collegiality, trust and encouragement to take risks. Grounded in research about what influences teachers’ adoption and integration of ICT, this paper describes a three-year action research initiative that led to the development of a whole-school metacognitive approach to ICT teacher professional development known as Technology Together. The paper will describe the approach and findings from the research, indicating that the metacognitive approach can be successfully implemented within a whole-school environment. Data suggests that the process can have a positive impact on the culture of the school and that the outcomes were most significant at schools who implemented the process most consistently with the foundations of the metacognitive approach. Educators have had a checkered history in the use of ICT over the last twenty-five years. While the ICT pioneers continue to traverse unmapped areas, the middle and late adopters are finding it difficult to continue without knowing their destination (Doherty, 2005). Research in relation to professional development for teachers in ICT has, for some time, been pointing to the limitations of traditional approaches, and in particular a focus on training in specific skills for individual staff (Tearle, 2003). Ertmer and her colleagues, (Ertmer, Gopalakrishnan, & Ross, 2001; Ertmer, Ottenbreit-Leftwich, & York, 2006-2007; Ertmer, 1999; Ross, Johnson, & Ertmer, 2002; Snoeyink & Ertmer, 2001), together with writers such as Ropp (1998), Higgins and Mosley (2001) and recently Levin and Wadmany (2006–2007) emphasise the importance of a clear focus on teachers’ attitude, values and beliefs as a primary focus in supporting teacher learning. Ertmer (1999) encourages us to challenge the traditional focus on first order barriers (those extrinsic to teachers including lack of access to computers and software, insufficient time to plan instruction, and inadequate technical and administrative support), and encourages a focus on second order barriers (those intrinsic to teachers, including beliefs about teaching, beliefs about computers, established classroom practices, and attitude to change). As Ertmer (1999, p.48) elaborates ‘second-order barriers require challenging one’s belief systems and the institutionalized routines of one’s practice’. In Australia, a number of key policy documents have begun to bring these issues into the spotlight for teacher learning and several key documents (Downes et al., 2001; MCEETYA ICT in Schools Taskforce, 2006; Moyle, 2006; QSITE, 2006; Zammit et al., 2007) together with UNESCO’s (2002) report have emphasised the: • complexity of change associated with ICT integration and learning; • criticality of school culture in approaching this change; • importance of whole-school strategies; • value of fostering collegial dialogue and building learning communities; • potential of mentoring in supporting teacher learning; • role of reflection in improving practice and transferring theory to practice and practice to theory; and the • centrality of school leaders. It is thus recognised that effective ICT professional development requires changes in attitude, values and beliefs that develop confidence for ongoing learning and adaptability to change (Phelps & Ellis, 2002b; Phelps, Graham & Kerr, 2004). Such approaches require teachers to challenge their pedagogical beliefs and practices and there is a strong case for approaches to professional development that promote life-long learning; where teachers are required to be more self-directed in identifying what they need to learn and in undertaking the actual learning. Yet in many schools, embedding this culture of acceptance of continual change and the need for ongoing learning represents a significant challenge. As emphasised by Downes et al. (2001, p.18), such models are ‘often messy, more difficult to account for, and longer in duration making them more difficult to account for time and results.’ The approach to ICT professional development for teachers described in this paper represents an attempt to provide schools with a very practical but research-based model and process that is flexible to meet the needs of individual schools. The paper will describe the theoretical foundations of the approach, and the research which led to its development and refinement. We also present some of the key findings of the research and depict the value of the approach by drawing on the voice of participants themselves.

Researching with children in Vietnam: cultural, methodological and ethical considerations

The involvement of children in research has gathered significant momentum following the almost universal ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the emergence of new theoretical interests that challenge conceptions of children as irrational, incompetent, vulnerable and unable to know and articulate what is in their own best interests. However, seeking the views of children and responding to what they have to say are heavily circumscribed by social and cultural norms and values that must be known and respected in order to ensure that the research is ethically and methodologically sound. This article reports on the experiences of a team of researchers undertaking a project that sought the views and perspectives of children in relation to learning and education in a rural province of Vietnam. It discusses the reflexive nature of such an endeavour that required a deep recognition of the influence of Confucian culture, particularly in relation to issues of who has authority to speak and on what matters, as well as detailed attention to children’s existing experience of being consulted.

The role of reflection and mentoring in ICT teacher professional development: dialogue and learning across the hemispheres

As school systems internationally seek to improve the models of professional development they are providing for their teachers to support them in integrating information and communication technology (ICT) in their teaching practice, growing opportunities emerge to compare and contrast approaches employed in different cultural contexts and to learn from each other. This paper arose from dialogue between the two authors about ICT professional development approaches being implemented in Norway and one regional area in Australia. Three programs of professional development which the authors had been involved with are described and these are compared and contrasted to reveal significant similarities and poignant differences between the approaches. The paper proposes some key success factors in ICT professional development, in particular mentoring and reflection, and goes on to illustrate how the comparative analysis of the approaches being used in different contexts was beneficial in informing further developments in both countries. In particular the paper argues that the processes and substance of reflection are critical to overall success, and that a focus on metacognitive reflection can support continuing professional learning outcomes for teachers.

Pushing the Boundaries or Overstepping the Mark?: Exploring the Potential of University Courses for Final Year High School Students' Career Pathways.

Abstract Australia is currently witnessing a melding of its various education sectors and a gradual erosion of distinctions between school, vocational education and higher education. Such developments are leading toward a ‘seamless web’ of post-compulsory education, a goal strongly articulated by governments, bureaucrats, business and educators in recent years. University Developed Board Endorsed Courses (UDBECs), which are developed by universities and undertaken by Higher School Certificate (HSC) students as part of their final year of study, are one such initiative. This paper discusses the role and function of UDBECs in the learning patterns and career decisions of final year high school students. A case study of one such course, Springboard into Teaching, is used to highlight the strengths and challenges of such initiatives. The evaluation of this particular UDBEC emphasises the benefits of partnerships between schools and universities, but highlights the need for further monitoring of the effects and longer-term outcomes of such initiatives.