Steen Beck

The teacher's role and approaches in a knowledge society

This article is about changes in teaching and learning. It is argued that a pluralist approach, stressing differences in qualities and problems is favourable. The paper is based on a research project regarding changing conditions for teachers and professional identity in the Danish upper‐secondary school. Both theoretical and empirical points from the research project concerning teaching and learning in an area of reform are presented. The main purpose is to develop reflections on various approaches to method and learning styles in relationship to teacher and student roles.

Caught in the crossfire: educational research in context

Educational research is often criticized for its lack of impact on practice and policy. In this paper, we discuss different approaches to the application of educational research and criticize some of the existing positions for missing the point, namely that the context of interaction between researchers and practitioners is closely connected to trustworthiness and dissemination of results. Particularly, we criticize the linear model and focus on the political context of educational research instead. This is exemplified and discussed by presenting a self‐reflective case about comprehensive reforms in the Danish secondary school, which illustrates possible problems in research communication with teachers in an era of reform.

What are they talking about?: The construction of good teaching among students, teachers and management in the reformed Danish upper secondary school

This paper analyses how leaders, teachers and students are realising the reform of the Danish upper secondary school. We illustrate how they articulate good teaching: what they say characterises it, and what they think can facilitate and prevent it. Our claim is that reform discourses and changes to the organisation of teaching and teacher work create new ways of talking about teaching: new values are espoused, new dilemmas, rationalities and conflicts show up. From our point of departure in discourse and actantial analysis, we show that students, teachers and school management speak differently about good teaching. They have different ways of relating to other discourses when articulating good teaching. Management takes up the reform discourse when speaking of good teaching, which is related to the realisation of self-governing teacher teams. The teachers also refer to the reform discourse. But they also speak within a ‘typical’ teacher discourse in which good teaching depends on the teachers autonomy to exercise individual judgement. The students, on the other hand, position themselves within a psychodynamic discourse where good teaching is related to the teachers personal signature. Therefore, as we will argue, realisation of the reform of Danish upper secondary school is happening in unforeseen ways.