32. Organizational Education
Paper
Creating Order in Chaotic Environments – Teacher’s Coping Strategies in Provisional Schools
Tal Gilead1, Nadav Marco1, Nadav Ehernfeld2, Yael Nurick1
1Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel; 2Weizmann Institute of Science
Presenting Author: Gilead, Tal;
Marco, Nadav
Research Context:
Hamas's attack on Israel on the 7th of October started a war with tragic consequences for both sides. One of these consequences was the displacement of 120,000 Israelis who live close to its northern and southern border for their own protection. The displaced have been placed in hotels and other forms of provisional housing for an indefinite period (by the time this proposal was submitted, they have yet to return). To cater to the educational needs of the displaced, provisional schools were opened across the country in the hotels themselves, cultural institutions, and other locations. These schools relied mainly on volunteers, including many former teachers, from the cities to which the displaced had been moved. The schools were designed to provide immediate, short-term educational support for tens of thousands of pupils.
Research focus:
The presented research examines the experiences of the educational staff in the schools for the displaced. We interviewed 16 staff members of these schools (see Method section for more details). The aim of the research was to explore some of the challenges faced by educational staff in temporary educational settings and to inquire into their coping strategies. More specifically, we have asked how teachers and administrators set goals adapted to their needs and the students' capabilities in institutions characterized by a high-degree of uncertainty and disorder. Since most of those interviewed described the situations in these schools as chaotic, we placed an emphasis on questions of educational/organizational adaptations and solutions that the educational staff developed to stabilize the system and achieve its objectives. The following questions formed the basis for empirical examination: (1) How are order, disorder, and autonomy expressed in the way educators and administrators present their challenges, their goals, and their coping strategies within the institutions? (2) How does the educational staff create order? What methods do they use? Is it a 'new order' or an 'old order' (which prevailed before the war)?
Theoretical framework:
The research is grounded in complexity theory, a framework initially devised in the natural sciences for the study of dynamic systems (Mitchel, 2009). This theory played a significant role in shaping the research questions and provided valuable insights for the data analysis process. Complexity theory, which is increasingly used in the social sciences and education, offers powerful models for analyzing change, innovation, and the behavior of systems (Byrne 2022, Radford, Burns & Koster, 2016, Radford 2008). By placing emphasis on concepts such as self-organization, emergence, path dependence, and the influence of external factors, it provides a valuable lens through which to explore the dynamic elements of education in general and in the schools for displaced students in particular (Boulton, Allen and Bowman, 2015). Given that this research took place during a time of crisis marked by ongoing change, uncertainty and instability, complexity theory has proven exceptionally valuable in understanding how teachers and administrators responded to their challenging circumstances.
Objectives: The primary objective of this research is to explore and understand the methods teachers employ to create order in institutions that are characterized by disorder. The unique educational settings of schools for the displaced, often lacking in conventional structure, offer a distinctive opportunity to study how teachers can autonomously operate and establish their own goals and practices in the absence of traditional organizational frameworks. Another important aim of the research is to examine how teachers exhibit their autonomy during times of crisis, highlighting their adaptive strategies and decision-making processes. By addressing these issues, we hope to provide some insights into the overall organization and functioning of schools in emergency situations.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThe presented research is a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with educational staff in short-term emergency schools in Israel (Brinkmann & Kvale, 2015). We conducted 16 interviews with staff members in schools that were established to meet the needs of children who were displaced from their homes due to war. Most interviews were held with teachers and educators, but some were also conducted with school principals and educational counselors. Each of those selected to be interviewed in the study has worked in these emergency schools for at least three weeks. The interviews lasted for 40-60 minutes and were recorded and transcribed. Those interviewees were asked about the challenges they face and how they navigate between their personal goals and the institutional objectives within the complex and frequently changing work environments in which they operate. None of the teachers interviewed were themselves displaced or had experienced substantial trauma or direct injury in the war.
The data collected in the interviews was analyzed using qualitative content analysis (Maryring, 2015). Qualitative content analysis is a type of research method that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques (Mixed Method) and aims to derive a structure of categories from qualitative data. The categories in qualitative content analysis can either emerge from the data itself or be borrowed from existing theories. When pre-determined categories are used, the qualitative content analysis is called "deductive" (Mayring, 2015) or "directed" (Directed Qualitative Content Analysis; Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). We relied on directed methods since we used complexity theory to guide our analysis and borrowed concepts from it, such as self-organization and path dependence. The interviews were coded using the “Nvivo” software, with the upper categories derived from complexity theory being inhabited with and elaborated upon by emergent sub-categories stemming from the data. In addition, each interview was also read and examined as a separate complete narrative in order to gain a broader perspective (Clandinin and Pushor, 2007).
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsAlthough the data analysis has not yet been completed, some preliminary findings already emerged from the initial examination.
Teachers identify disorder as a major threat and strive to eliminate it. This perception drives them to exert considerable effort towards reinstating order. Although in the literature on complex systems, disorder is often conceptualized as an opportunity to create awaited positive change, we found that this possibility has rarely even been considered by the teachers interviewed (Floke, 2006).
It was also found that in facing disorder, teachers rarely adopt new goals or aims that are responsive to the evolving situation. Instead, they tend to revert to familiar behaviors and practices, often resorting to the basics of traditional teaching and learning, even when such actions contradict their own educational ideologies. This finding corroborates existing research on crises in dynamic systems, adding a layer of empirical evidence to the theoretical framework that distinguishes between reactive and proactive crises (Novalia and Malekpour, 2020).
However, the research shows that within the framework of their established goals, teachers demonstrate a notable degree of operational flexibility. They re-examine and adjust their goals to what the situation allows, exhibit a willingness to innovate and adapt their methods to suit the specific challenges presented by disorderly conditions. This adaptability is crucial in navigating the complexities of such environments and enabling the self-organization of classes (Davis and Sumara, 2014).
Moreover, the research highlights the value teachers place on their autonomy (Hong and Youngs, 2014). Practicing autonomy emerges as a powerful tool that enables them to manage disorder effectively and empowers them in their professional roles. While they cherish this autonomy, teachers also self-impose limits on it, suggesting a nuanced understanding and application of their independence.
By the time the conference will start we will complete the data analysis.
ReferencesBoulton, J. G., Allen, P. M., and Bowman, C.. Embracing complexity: Strategic perspectives for an age of turbulence. Oxford University Press, 2015.
Burns, T. and Köster F., eds. Educational research and innovation governing education in a complex world. OECD Publishing, 2016.
Byrne, D, and Callaghan, G. Complexity theory and the social sciences: The state of the art. Routledge, 2022.
Clandinin, D. J., Pushor, D., & Orr, A. M. (2007). Navigating sites for narrative inquiry. Journal of Teacher Education, 58(1), 21–35
Davis, B, and Sumara, D. Complexity and education: Inquiries into learning, teaching, and research. Routledge, 2014.
Folke, C. "Resilience: The emergence of a perspective for social–ecological systems analyses." Global environmental change 16.3 (2006): 253-267.
Hong, W. P. & Youngs, P. (2014). Why are teachers afraid of curricular autonomy? Contradictory effects of the new national curriculum in South Korea. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 36(1), 20–33.
Hsieh, H. F., & Shannon, S. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis.
Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277–1288.
Mayring, P. (2015). Qualitative content analysis: Theoretical background and procedures. In A. Bikner-Ahsbahs, C. Knipping and N. C. Presmeg (Eds.), Approaches to qualitative research in mathematics education (pp. 365–380). Springer.
Mitchell, Melanie. Complexity: A guided tour. Oxford university press, 2009.
Novalia, W. and Malekpour, S. "Theorising the role of crisis for transformative adaptation." Environmental science & policy 112 (2020): 361-370.
Radford, Mike. "Prediction, control and the challenge to complexity." Oxford Review of Education 34.5 (2008): 505-520.
32. Organizational Education
Paper
Are Young French People Embracing the World of Work? The Influence of Qualifications Level.
Arthur Imbert1,2, Ines Albandea1,2, Julien Berthaud3,4
1Nantes University, France; 2Centre de Recherche en Education de Nantes, France (CREN); 3Université de Bourgogne, France; 4Institut de Recherche sur l'Education (IREDU)
Presenting Author: Imbert, Arthur;
Albandea, Ines
In France, a recurrent and widely publicised managerial discourse points to the allegedly specific relationship to work of the younger generation (Desplats & Pinaud, 2015; Dalmas, 2019; Haegel, 2020). Moreover, recruiters identify negative characteristics in young people simply because of their age (Dagnaud, 2013: Corteso et al. 2018). Less motivated by their work, more interested in other spheres of their lives, no longer respectful of the hierarchical framework, these young people would challenge the traditional organisation of the world of work.
The current economic context of the neoliberal policies of French governments since 2017 and the context of recovery from the crisis have led to a significant fall in unemployment, particularly among young people. This is leading to labour shortages and tensions on the labour market (Niang et al., 2022). In other countries, such as the United States, researchers are even talking about the "great resignation" (Liu Lastres et al., 2022). In such a context, the question of matching the supply of candidates, posed in terms of a failing relationship with work, with employers' demand under pressure, seems less and less relevant.
The idea that the younger generation's relationship with work can take a radical turn is not new, as Inglehart (1977) already suggested. Our paper therefore explores the reality of this 'new' relationship between young people and work. This notion is understood in a broad sense, referring as much to what young people think about the activity of work itself, about their jobs, as about the professional world and the structure of its relationships (Longo, 2019). The first question in our work is therefore to compare the discourse of young people with that of the media. Studies have shown that the younger generations aspire to benefit more from other spheres of life than work. This observation is linked to the general rise in educational attainment and is dependent on national contexts (Méda & Vendramin, 2013; Huang et al., 2003). A higher level of education gives a more distanced view of work, but also more self-confidence in relation to the labour market. In addition, there is a variation in the view of professional integration depending on the course of study followed in higher education. Students on literary and artistic courses, for example, are the ones who "refuse" to enter the labour market (Delès, 2018). Furthermore, job security appears to be more important for graduates of vocational courses, whereas job content is more important for graduates of general courses (Bene, 2021). These observations tie in with others on the influence of social origin on the relationship with the world of work (Altreiter & Flecker, 2020). The level of qualifications and the choice of course of study are correlated with a young person's social background. Students from working-class backgrounds have less knowledge of the labour market (Baker et al, 2018). On the other hand, students from the middle and upper classes are more familiar with the codes of the labour market and use them to secure the best possible job placement (Bathmaker et al., 2013; Burke et al., 2017). These results therefore tend to prove a correlation between level of qualifications, educational pathway, social origin and the critical dimension in the relationship to work. To pursue this line of thought, we wanted to investigate by distinguishing three groups of young people: students in selective courses of study, students in non-selective courses of study, and young people neither in training nor in employment,. So to what extent do young people's attitudes to work and their commitment to the world of work depend on their level of qualification and the training they have received?
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThe data presented in this paper was gathered as part of a major survey, bringing together economists and sociologists. The aim of this research is to understand recruitment difficulties by comparing the representations and views of employers with those of young people. This paper focuses on young people. To answer our question, we conducted semi-directive interviews (n=89) with three sub-groups: students enrolled in so-called 'selective' courses such as the grandes écoles (n=32), students enrolled in ordinary courses (general and vocational) (n=29) and unemployed young people monitored by employment services specialising in young people ('Missions locales') (n=25). The interview guide enabled us to examine three main aspects: young people's relationship with school and training, and their relationship with work and employment. We limited selection bias in the construction of our respondent population. To select the students on non-selective courses at university, we asked the heads of the courses to randomly select some of the students in the third year of the course. As for the young people who were furthest away from training, we went to the organisations that supported them in their job search and we asked them, again at random, to answer our questions. The profile of the people we interviewed was therefore very diverse in terms of gender, previous schooling, employment experience, social background, etc. We asked them to answer our questions at random.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsOur analyses reveal that there is no uniform resignation trend in the relationship to work of the young people interviewed. Young people still aspire to find a job that allows them to earn money, develop themselves and maintain social ties.
Nevertheless, we can observe a questioning, albeit in a minority, of the hierarchical organisation. This criticism is based on the individual experiences of vexation or humiliation. Criticism of superiors (bosses or managers) in employment leads some to aspire to be their own boss, i.e. to either set up their own business, to get away from the verticality, or to become self-employed. The desire to set up their own business can be found among the most highly educated as well as those who have had very little training. This observation confirms the idea that the first experiences of the world of work are important in building a relationship with the professional world (Charles, 2014; Daniels & Brooker, 2014).
We also note that it is the young people on the most selective and prestigious courses, who are least affected by tensions on the labour market, who have the most distanced view of employment. Like students in the social sciences, they are also more likely to construct an abstract discourse about work. The least qualified young people may also have a distanced and critical view of the world of work, although their discourse is less theorised and abstract. Basically, it is also their experiences in employment that enable them to say that they reject certain forms of work organisation or the hierarchical relationship. Conversely, young people from vocational training courses, which are shorter but very closely linked to a specific profession, are those who are most in tune with the world of work and employers' expectations (Delès, 2018).
ReferencesAltreiter, C., & Flecker, J., 2020, « I Get Money for What I Like Doing Best’ : The Class Origin of Young Blue-Collar Workers and their Commitment to Work », Work, Employment and Society, 34(6), 1097 1113.
Baker, R., Bettinger, E., Jacob, B., & Marinescu, I., 2018, « The Effect of Labor Market Information on Community College Students’Major Choice », Economics of Education Review, 65, 18-30.
Bathmaker, A.-M., Ingram, N. & Waller, R., 2013, « Higher education, social class and the mobilisation of capitals : Recognising and playing the game », British Journal of Sociology of Education, 34(5-6), 723-743.
Burke, C., Scurry, T., Blenkinsopp, J., & Graley, K. (2017). Critical perspectives on graduate employability. Graduate employability in context: Theory, research and debate, 87-107.
Charles, N., 2014, « Quand la formation ne suffit pas : la préparation des étudiants à l’emploi en Angleterre, en France et en Suède », Sociologie du travail, 56 (3), 320-341.
Dalmas, M., 2019, « Génération Z et conception du travail : un nouvel enjeu pour la GRH », Revue internationale de psychosociologie et de gestion des comportements organisationnels, 24, 60, 97-116.
Daniels, J., & Brooker, J. (2014). Student identity development in higher education: Implications for graduate attributes and work-readiness. Educational research, 56(1), 65-76.
Delès, R., 2018, Quand on n’a « que » le diplôme… Les jeunes diplômés et l’insertion professionnelle, Paris, PUF.
Huang, X., & Van de Vliert, E. (2003). Where intrinsic job satisfaction fails to work: National moderators of intrinsic motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior: The International Journal of Industrial, Occupational and Organizational Psychology and Behavior, 24(2), 159-179.
Geay, B. (dir.), 2009, La protestation étudiante, Paris, Raisons d’agir.
Inglehart, R., 1977, The Silent Revolution, Princeton, Princeton University Press
Longo, M.-D., 2019, « Rapports des jeunes au travail, pratique d’emploi et diplômes. L’amalgame de parcours différenciés », Agora débats/jeunesses, 79/2, p. 67-85.
Liu-Lastres, B., Wen, H., & Huang, W. J. (2022). A reflection on the Great Resignation in the hospitality and tourism industry. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 35 (1), pp. 235-249
Méda, D. & Vendramin, P., 2013, Réinventer le travail, Paris, PUF.
32. Organizational Education
Paper
The Role of Workplace Training in Secondary Education as a Centripetal and/or Centrifugal Force
Petr Novotný, Katarína Rozvadská
Masaryk university, Czech Republic
Presenting Author: Novotný, Petr
This study is a part of the project Life Pathways of Unsuccessful Graduates (CZ.02.3.68/0.0/0.0/19_076/0016377). The project's main objectives were to gain in-depth insights into the (insufficiently researched) phenomenon of failure in the Matura examination and its consequences for the future life pathways of the students concerned and to formulate evidence-based recommendations for education policies.
In the Czech Republic, the format of the Matura examination changed in 2011. Since 2013, it has been roughly stabilised into two essential parts: a common and profile parts. The Centre for the Measurement of Educational Outcomes (CERMAT) is responsible for setting and evaluating the common part of the exam. The profile part consists of 2 to 3 exams based on the field of study, and in the case of secondary vocational schools, it includes a vocational qualification.
The objects of the research were the reasons for failure in the Matura examination itself, i.e. what led to the failure, and the further life pathways of unsuccessful examinees, especially regarding the educational path over two years. In drafting the research intent, the main research question was formulated: How do psychosocial stress and social exclusion in institutional settings affect the subsequent life and educational trajectory of unsuccessful secondary school examinees over the two years following the experience of failure?
Several specific questions arose from qualitative data analysis as a part of the project. One of them forms the axis of this paper: What is the role of workplace training in the course of study which leads to failure in Matura exam? Specific research questions are: What workplace experiences shape a student's path to failure in Matura? Can signals of future failure be identified in informants' retrospective narratives? What inputs improve or decrease the chance for success?
The theoretical framework of the analysis consists of three theoretical concepts. First, failure in the Matura exam is interpreted as one form of school dropout; the reasons for failure are comparable but not identical to reasons for various forms of dropout (conf. Battin-Pearson et al, 2000; Bowers & Sprott, 2012). Second, the interaction of structure and agency is used to interpret the student's school experience (conf. Heinz, 2009). The school, the workplace, and the Matura exam itself form the structure that determines, stimulates, and limits the agency, respectively, the bounded agency (Evans, 2017). Third, the concept of school engagement enlightens the student's participation and identification with the school environment (Rumberger and Rotermund, 2012).
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThe research was conducted through qualitative inquiry and the chosen research design was a combination of a multiple case study and a biographical design (life history) with regard to the research objective and research questions. In the combination of the two designs, it is possible to talk about a specific research design of case history (Thomson, 2007), which is mainly used in longitudinal studies. Since it involved following informants and the development of their life histories over time, albeit only two years, the research can also be described as a quasi-longitudinal investigation. The data corpus for this concrete study consists of biographical interviews with 46 VET students.
As these were biographical interviews exploring informants’ life paths, the interview scheme was based on a biographical narrative approach. Thus, biographical narrative interviews were based on the biographical narrative interview method (BNIM; Kutsyuruba & Mendes, 2023), which was originally introduced and developed primarily by Schütze (1992) and Rosenthal (2004) and later developed by Wengraf (2001). The interview scheme used in this study was in line with Rosenthal’s (2004) conceptualisation: 1. an initial narrative assignment, 2. internal narrative questions based only on the informant’s narrative response to the initial narrative assignment, 3. external narrative questions (pre-prepared questions, semi-structured interview type). The analysis of the repeated biographical interviews was followed by a comparative cross-case analysis aimed at the empirically anchored identification of key themes and types within the life stories (Kluge, 2000).
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsIn the student’s narratives presented in the paper, workplace training as a part of secondary education plays the role of a centripetal and/or centrifugal force. Student workplace engagement, which we understand as the degree of participation or identification with the workplace, is an essential factor concerning the risk of failure. Positive engagement can be described as student interest and active involvement in workplace activities. Insufficient engagement, on the other hand, is manifested by disinterest and a desire to avoid participation. In some cases, we identify a disjuncture between the workplace experience during the study and plans for future working life. The level of engagement during study can also be reflected in the preparation for the Matura examination with the consequences concerning success or failure.
ReferencesBattin-Pearson, S., Newcomb, M. D., Abbott, R. D., Hill, K. G., Catalano, R. F., & Hawkins, J. D. (2000). Predictors of early high school dropout: A test of five theories. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(3), 568–582.
Bowers, A. J., & Sprott, R. (2012). Examining the Multiple Trajectories Associated with Dropping Out of High School: A Growth Mixture Model Analysis. The Journal of Educational Research, 105(3), 176–195.
Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (2000). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research. Jossey-Bass.
Evans, K. (2017). Bounded agency in professional lives. In Professional and Practice-based Learning. 20, 17–36.
Heinz, W. R. (2009). Structure and agency in transition research, Journal of Education and Work, 22(5), 391–404
Kluge, S. (2000). Empirically grounded construction of types and typologies in qualitative social research.
Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 1(1), Art. 14.
Kellaghan, T. & Greaney, V. (2020). Public Examinations Examined. World Bank.
Kutsyuruba, B., & Mendes, B. (2023). Biographic narrative interpretive method. In J. M. Okoko, S. Tunison, & K. D. Walker (Eds.),
Varieties of qualitative research methods: Selected contextual perspectives,(pp. 59–65). Springer International Publishing.
Rosenthal, G. (2004). Biographical research. In C. Seale, D. Silverman, J. F. Gubrium, & G. Gobo (Eds.),
Qualitative research practice, (pp. 48–64). Sgae.
Rumberger, R. W., & Rotermund, S. (2012). The relationship between engagement and high school dropout. In Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 491–513). Boston, MA: Springer US.
Schütze, F. (1992). Pressure and guilt: War experiences of a young German soldier and their biographical implications (part 1).
International Sociology, 7(2), 187–208.
Wengraf, T. (2001). Qualitative social interviewing: Biographic narrative and semi-structured methods. SAGE.
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