01. Professional Learning and Development
Paper
The Professionalisation of Adult Educators in Portugal: A Process under Construction
Catarina Paulos1, Carmen Cavaco2
1IP Beja, Portugal; 2IE-ULisboa, Portugal
Presenting Author: Paulos, Catarina
The paper aims to analyse the professionalisation process of adult educators involved in the recognition of prior learning (RPL), in Portugal. The analysis presented is the result of the synthesis of the results obtained in a research within the scope of a doctoral degree in Education.
In Europe, the professionalisation of the adult education field has triggered a debate, mainly since 2000, and subsequently with the publication of the document Action Plan on Adult Learning: it is always a good time to learn by the European Commission in 2007 (Zarifis & Papadimitriou, 2015). This document sets out the control mechanisms to be implemented by the Member States in order to achieve greater efficiency in the development and monitoring of their adult education systems. In many European countries, the education of adult educators lacks regulation, and highlight the absence of qualification standards and a common competence framework (Bernhardsson & Lattke, 2012; Sava, 2011). In order to promote the professionalisation of adult educators, instruments have been developed at the European level. An example is the Curriculum globALE, a cross-cultural core curriculum for training adult educators (Lichtenberg, 2020). However, the professionalisation of adult education can lead to the homogenisation and standardisation of practices in a professional field that is characterised by diversity in terms of professionals, contexts of intervention and participants, which would lead to losses of diversity, complexity and richness of these practices (Lattke, 2014).
Professionalisation can be seen both as a precondition for representing a specialised practice, being linked to the knowledge acquired through education, and as being related to professional activity (Abbott, 1988; Evans, 2008; Przybylska, 2008; Roquet, 2012). Also, professionalisation can be analysed from different levels, namely macro, meso and micro level (Lattke, 2016; Roquet, 2012) or from the State and its institutions, organisations, adult educators, learners and their interactions (Egetenmeyer et al., 2019). The study of the professionalisation process at the macro level refers to the analysis of the recruitment of individuals who carry out a particular professional activity, to the extent of the specification of the required educational, professional and social competences, and to the construction of professional paths. The analysis of the professionalisation at the meso level refers to an institutional dimension linked to the socialisation of actors that occurs in the institutions where the training processes and professional activities take place. The analysis of the professionalisation at the micro level is linked to the individual dynamics of knowledge production resulting from on-the-job training and differentiated training and professional activities throughout life (Roquet, 2012). The analysis presented here is focused mainly on the micro level, taking into account the professionalisation model proposed by Roquet (2012). In this sense, we sought to analyse the professionalisation based on initial and continuing education of adult educators.
The adult education field is very diverse and complex, with no clear boundaries and no well-defined occupational profiles. To circumvent the complexity and diffuse nature of the field, research on adult educators usually focuses on certain subgroups or professional activities (Lattke, 2016). This paper analyses the professionalisation of adult educators involved in the RPL. This educational practice, integrated in public policies on adult education, began to be implemented in Portugal, in 2000, with the purpose of increasing the qualification of adults with a low level of schooling by valuing life experiences and knowledge acquired through informal and non-formal education (Cavaco et al., 2014).
This paper seeks to answer the following questions: How is initial and continuing education of adult educators who intervene in the recognition of prior learning characterised? How is professionalisation of these adult educators in Portugal characterised?
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedFrom an epistemological point of view, this study is framed in the phenomenological perspective by focusing on the essence of human experiences, in relation to a phenomenon, according to the description and meanings assigned by individuals (Creswell, 2007). The central idea of this perspective is to understand the intentions and perceptions that individuals place on their own actions, in relation to others and contexts. In this research, we sought to understand the interpretations of adult educators involved in recognition of prior learning, relative to how they perceive themselves and the work they perform.
In the methodological scope, we adopted the qualitative approach as we believe it allows a deep understanding of the issues under investigation, including the participants' voices, the researcher's reflexivity, and a complex description and interpretation of the phenomenon under study (Creswell, 2007). Empirical data were obtained through biographical interviews with adult educators, in order to access the discourse about themselves and their work (Berger, 2009). The biographical perspective is used in research about adult educators, particularly with regard to the study of professional development, identity and the professionalisation process, since it allows for an in-depth understanding of complex phenomena (Lattke, 2016).
Biographical interviews were conducted with 32 adult educators involved in RPL. These educators promote the involvement and accompaniment of adults with a low level of schooling along with the reflection on and analysis of their life path, so that they can appropriate their knowledge and skills, so that at the end of the process they become more autonomous and more empowered (Cavaco, 2020; Eneau, 2010).
Throughout the research, we sought to respect ethical principles; in this sense our conduct was based on a relationship guided by empathy, recognition and dialogue (All European Academies [ALLEA], 2018; Sociedade Portuguesa de Ciências da Educação [SPCE], 2021). The interviews were conducted after obtaining the participants' informed consent about the research objective, the procedures and the voluntary nature of participation.
Categorical content analysis (Bardin, 1995) was used in the analysis of the data from the biographical interviews. The coding categories resulted from the formulated research questions, but some of them emerged from the content of the interviews themselves, at the time of data analysis. The treatment of the data from the biographical interviews allowed for the construction of a descriptive framework, from which elements and meanings were extracted from answers to the research questions using the inductive process.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsIn terms of initial education, the only criterion defined for access to the activity of an adult educator in the RPL is the holding of higher education qualifications, without specification of the area. Most of the interviewed adult educators had attended short-term continuing education in adult education during their professional activity. This training allowed them the development of competences considered important for conducting the RPL. Diversity and the ambiguous situation that characterise the adult education field hinder the consolidation of the professional status of adult educators, the visibility and social recognition, and the sharing of a common identity representation (Sava, 2011). Regarding this last aspect, it should also be noted that not all professionals working in the field of adult education see themselves as adult educators (Oliveira & Amaral, 2019; Paulos, 2020).
The heterogeneity that characterises this field of practices makes the professionalisation of adult educators, on the one hand, an open process prone to change and, on the other hand, a prolific domain for the implementation of standardised techniques and procedures aimed at improving quality in this professional field (Egetenmeyer, 2010). The specificity and complexity of the RPL justifies the importance of the training of adult educators, who need to have multiple skills and knowledge for the proper exercise of their professional activity, which to a large extent occurs through practice in work context (Egetenmeyer et al., 2019; Rohs & Bolten, 2017). Professionalisation resulted, essentially, from the publication of legal diplomas regulating the recruitment of these professionals and from the promotion of continuous education. The regulation of the conditions of employment through the definition of a minimum higher education degree favoured the emergence of a fragile process of professionalisation of the adult educator in Portugal (Guimarães, 2016).
ReferencesAbbott, A. (1988). The system of professions. An essay on the division of expert labor. The University of Chicago Press.
Bernhardsson, N., & Lattke, S. (2012). Core competences of adult educators in Europe. Findings from a European research project. Journal of Educational Sciences, 14(1), 44-53.
Cavaco, C., Lafont, P., & Pariat, M. (2014). Policies of adult education in Portugal and France: the European Agenda of validation of non-formal and informal learning. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 33(3), 343-361. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2014.896086
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Sage Publications.
Egetenmeyer, R. (2010). Professionalisation in adult education: a European perspective. In R. Egetenmeyer & E. Nuissl (Eds.), Teachers and trainers in adult and lifelong learning. Asian and European perspectives (pp. 31-44). Peter Lang.
Egetenmeyer, R., Breitschwerdt, L., & Lechner, R. (2019). From 'traditional professions' to 'new professionalism': A multi-level perspective for analysing professionalisation in adult and continuing education. Journal of Adult and Continuing Education, 25(1), 7-24. 10.1177/1477971418814009
Evans, L. (2008). Professionalism, professionality and the development of education professionals. British Journal of Educational Studies, 56(1), 20-38.
Lattke, S. (2014). An international core curriculum for the training of adult educators: Curriculum globALE. Professionalisation between convergence and diversity. In S. Lattke & W. Jütte (Eds.), Professionalisation of adult educators. International and comparative perspectives (pp. 129-144). Peter Lang Edition.
Lichtenberg, T. (2020). Curriculum globALE: A Global Tool for Professionalising Adult Educators. In R. Egetenmeyer, V. Boffo, & S. Kröner (Eds.), International and Comparative Studies in Adult and Continuing Education (pp. 213-219). Firenze University Press.
Paulos, C. (2020). Professional identity of adult educators in recognition of prior learning. In B. Merrill, C. C. Vieira, A. Galimberti, & A. Nizinska (Eds.), Adult education as a resource for resistance and transformation: Voices, learning experiences, identities of student and adult educators (pp. 299-306). FPCE-UC, CEAD-UAlg & ESREA.
Przybylska, E. (2008). The account of the TEACH Project: halfway through the journey to profession, professionalism, and professionalisation. Studies for the Learning Society, 1, 73-84.
Rohs, M., & Bolten, R. (2017). Professionalization of adult educators for a digital world: an european perspective. European Journal of Education Studies, 3(4), 298-318.
Sava, S. (2011). Towards the professionalization of adult educators. Andragoške studije, 2, 9-22.
Zarifis, G. K., & Papadimitriou, A. (2015). What does it take to develop professional adult educators in Europe? Some proposed framework guidelines. Andragoske Studije, 2, 9-22.
01. Professional Learning and Development
Paper
A Longitudinal Exploration of Professional Agency from Teacher Education to Early Career Teaching
Yngve Antonsen1, Ømur Caglar-Ryeng1, Auli Toom2
1UiT The arctic university of T, Norway; 2University of Helsinki
Presenting Author: Antonsen, Yngve;
Caglar-Ryeng, Ømur
We investigate longitudinally how Norwegian early career teachers (ECTs) perceive their personal development of professional agency in professional communities after completing a piloted five-year research-based master teacher education for primary and secondary school. Agency, recognized as a crucial element in teacher learning and professional development (Pyhältö et al., 2015; Toom et al., 2017; Toom et al., 2021; Priestley et al., 2013), is related to actions that we do or achieve to initiate meaningful education (Priestley et al., 2015, p. 3). Priestley and colleagues elaborate that “teacher agency” is about how people act upon specific contexts or situations and that these actions are influenced “through the interplay of personal capacities and the resources, affordances and constraints of the environment by means of which individuals act” (2015, p. 19). Further, Eteläpelto et al. (2013) and Pyhältö et al. (2015) connect teacher learning in workplace to the development of professional agency. Pyhältö et al. (2015) elaborate how teacher learning, understood as professional agency in professional communities, includes elements such as skills, efficacy beliefs and motivational factors which also involve active strategies for seeking help and improvement of teaching practices.
Regarding the impact of context on ECTs’ agency, Priestley et al. (2015) underscore that performativity involves demands from both the school and ECTs to perform and generate achievements towards a specific outcome. Performativity has a double meaning, as it not only concerns ECTs having to perform but also involves performance pressure. External performativity often weakens teacher agency, with many teachers choosing to ‘go with the flow’ despite their dissatisfaction with it (Priestley et al., 2015, p. 125). Accordingly, Priestley et al. (2015) identify four key elements that ECTs need to balance their agency within their professional practice: their individual practical knowledge (pedagogical knowledge and responsibility), their clients (students and parents), their employer (the organisation) and the state (through steering documents, for example). Given the significance of collaboration in teachers' professional agency development, it is useful to refer to the concept of collective agency. Hökkä et al. (2017, p. 37) regard collective agency as ‘the capacity to reflect social contexts collaboratively, and to contribute to the transformations of culture and structures over time’. As such, collective agency comprises forms of collective action that contribute to the transformation of teachers’ practice of teaching and other professional tasks.
Biesta et al. (2015) call for more research on how contextual factors may promote or hinder the development of professional agency among teachers, while Toom et al. (2017) urge more investigation into the development of professional agency from teacher education into professional work.
Our main research questions are as follows:
1) How do ECTs perceive the development of agency in terms of motivation, self – efficacy and strategies for facilitating professional learning from completing teacher education through the first five years in the profession?
2) What individual, contextual, and systemic factors, as perceived by ECTs, promote or hinder the development of professional agency?
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedNorwegian context
We study ECTs who have completed a pilot five-year master-based teacher education program, emphasising specialisation in two to four subjects in addition to knowledge in teaching, learning and research methods. The ECTs wrote their master’s theses on themes related to either subject specialisation or general education (Antonsen et al., 2023). They collaborated on an action research assignment during their practice period in schools that they later analysed by using theory. Most colleagues these ECTs encounter in the school fulfilled a previous four-year bachelor's education program. Research has revealed how these ECTs handle teaching within their subject specialization (Antonsen et al., 2020) and learn to contribute and collaborate with colleagues during their first year in service (Antonsen et al., 2023).
Informants and data
This longitudinal study consists of semi structured interviews (Kvale, 2008) with 27 ECTs shortly after completion of teacher education and at intervals of one, three and five years into the profession. The study did not include specific questions directly related to current research questions. However, the ECTs were asked about learning, subject specialisation, professional development, collaboration and their strengths and challenges at work as well as their goals for the future. The number of informants allowed us to capture variations in the school context. The interviews lasted around 30-60 minutes and were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim.
Thematic analysis
Reflective thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data, drawing on the six-phase model proposed by Braun and Clarke (2022).
Step 1) We read all the interviews openly without coding them.
Step 2) We did an open inductive coding of the data.
Step 3) We reviewed the open coding to start to identify patterns in the data.
Step 4) We then recoded the codes deductively for each interval of data based upon our theoretical framework that is developed from Edwards (2005) and further used and adopted from Liyuan et al. (2022). We used their categories or boxes to sort and organise the data:
• Motivation - I want to learn.
• Efficacy beliefs: I am able to learn.
• I have active strategies for facilitating learning, I can, and I do this to learn. (which subjects)
We also recoded the data according to factors that promote or hinder the ECTs’ agency, such as school subjects they were teaching, stress, time challenge, student-related challenges, and support from leadership.
Step 5 and 6 (not conducted yet)
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsAll the ECTs expressed that they were motivated and wanted to learn more after completing their education, as well as at the intervals of the first, third, and fifth years in service. They also expressed efficacy beliefs, showing confidence in their ability to learn new things and collaborate with colleagues in their professional learning community (collective agency). There exists a link between the development of agency and teaching subjects within the specialization gained during teacher education, promoting ECTs’ agency longitudinally from the first to the fifth year in their profession. This is because instructing their core subjects from teacher education enhances their experiences, allowing them to develop and share strategies for improved classroom teaching with colleagues. The longer the ECTs work in a school, the more likely that they have opportunities to teach their subjects with specialization.
This indicates that these ECTs with formal competence in two to four subjects have ambitions for improving themselves, but mostly in their subjects from their education, or for a few, by adding a new subject through further education.
In general, ECTs describe the development of agency as the ability to reflect on both individual and collaborative teaching within the professional community to improve teaching for students. These ECTs are not afraid of learning new things and actively take on roles for change in the organization.
Findings also indicate how contextual factors at school hinder agency. For example, teaching in different class levels or subjects than those from their teacher education, negatively impact the agency development of ECTs. Moreover, challenges related to neoliberal demands and work intensification hinder the development of agency and make ECTs reconsider their roles and positions within their schools and as teachers.
ReferencesAntonsen, Y., Jakhelln, R., Aspfors, J., & Bjørndal, K. E. W. (2023). Solo, collaborative or collective? Newly qualified teachers’ experiences of being stirred into induction practices. European Journal for Teacher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2023.2227339
Antonsen, Y., Jakhelln, R., & Bjørndal, K. E. W. (2020). Nyutdannede grunnskolelæreres faglige fordypning og masteroppgave – relevant for skolen? Nordisk tidsskrift for utdanning og praksis, 14(2), 103-121. https://doi.org/10.23865/up.v14.2209
Biesta, G., Priestley, M., & Robinson, S. (2015). The role of beliefs in teacher agency. Teachers and Teaching, 21(6), 624-640. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2015.1044325
Edwards, A. (2005). Relational agency: Learning to be a resourceful practitioner. International Journal of Educational Research, 43(3), 168-182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2006.06.010
Eteläpelto, A., Vähäsantanen, K., Hökkä, P., & Paloniemi, S. (2013). What is agency? Conceptualizing professional agency at work. Educational Research Review, 10, 45-65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2013.05.001
Liyuan, E., Toom, A., Sullanmaa, J., Pietarinen, J., Soini, T., & Pyhältö, K. (2022). How does teachers’ professional agency in the classroom change in the professional transition from early career teachers to more experienced ones? Learning: Research and Practice, 8(2), 169-190. https://doi.org/10.1080/23735082.2022.2076148
Priestley, M., Biesta, G., & Robinson, S. (2013). Teachers as agents of change: teacher agency and emerging models of curriculum. In M. Priestley & G. Biesta (Eds.), Reinventing the curriculum: new trends in curriculum policy and practice (pp. 187-206). Bloomsbury Academic.
Priestley, M., Biesta, G., & Robinson, S. (2015). Teacher agency: what is it and why does it matter? In R. Kneyber & J. Evers (Eds.), Flip the System: Changing Education from the Bottom Up. Routledge.
Pyhältö, K., Pietarinen, J., & Soini, T. (2015). Teachers’ professional agency and learning – from adaption to active modification in the teacher community. Teachers and Teaching, 21(7), 811-830. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2014.995483
Toom, A., Pietarinen, J., Soini, T., & Pyhältö, K. (2017). How does the learning environment in teacher education cultivate first year student teachers' sense of professional agency in the professional community? Teaching and teacher education, 63, 126-136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.12.013
Toom, A., Pyhältö, K., Pietarinen, J. & Soini, T. (2021). Professional Agency for Learning as a Key for Developing Teachers’ Competencies? Education Sciences, 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11070324
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