A Qualitative Case Study

Teaching Practices of University Professors Who Lead Change:

A qualitative case study

All realize the fact that significant change has occurred in our society. One means to describe this societal transformation is by understanding the drastic shift from a contemporary to a postmodern age. Modernity's shortfalls, the current information age, and challenges linked to postmodernity have made numerous researchers and theoreticians redefine both public institutions and its leading practices and plans. Change is ubiquitous and inevitable. It defines the era we live in. It accords significance, legitimacy, and relevance to a number of societal shaping institutions and people. Michael Fullan is one of the noted scholars who has remarked upon on the promises and failures of transformation efforts (Arcay, 2009).

Fullan starts the discussion on educational change using the following words: the dynamics and number of factors interacting with and influencing the educational change process are exceedingly great and disallow computation in anything that resembles a wholly determined method (p. 49). The scholar further explains that no standalone means exists for creating change. There are, in fact, innumerable ways to effect change -- equivalent in number to the situations required thereto. Fullan's simplification of this process of change begins by a mapping of change through outlines three rough phases centering on outcomes, classified as either "organizational capacity" or "student learning" (2012 p. 51). Initiation -- the foremost phase -- culminates in and encompasses the decision for embracing change, irrespective of what it is. Implementation -- the subsequent phase -- encompasses preliminary attempts to kick-start change. It covers the first three years of change incorporation. Institutionalization -- the final phase -- denotes total espousal of change by a school district or school. However, several factors operate simultaneously, intertwined within the above three phases, which do not essentially indicate the usual order in which change-related events occur.

Background

Learning communities are, historically, apparently the most recent educational change model and are in line with Fullan's Educational Change Theory. The theoretical 'learning communities' model recognizes and enables researchers to study educational institutions' multidimensional nature. As conceptualized, student development is supported cognitively, ideologically, and affectively by learning communities. A wholesome, operational learning community provides students a stimulating curriculum (the cognitive dimension), a shared school identity (the ideological dimension) and an encouraging social atmosphere (the affective dimension). The first (i.e., cognitive dimension) indicates the way and the extent to which a curriculum may be considered exacting, and learning, challenging. In wholly functional learning communities, rigor emphasizes individual students' learning and the learning practice in which it takes place. All students have a chance to attain their highest potential. Concerns regarding how a student learns give rise to an ever-present need to provide differentiated education (Ross, 2008).

According to Fullan (1993), educational systems are learning organizations (p. 4). The researcher acknowledges the fact that education is associated with an ethical purpose of making a difference for students, in their life (p. 4). Educators in such learning organizations grow into learners and researchers. Learning organizations motivate and sustain teacher efforts in effecting changes with regard to themselves as well as the teacher-student relationship. School principals become the enablers of a common purpose, values, and vision. A common purpose results in collaboration and teamwork, encouraging collectivism and individualism as key aspects of organizational learning. Individuals become capable change agents who are able to effectively deal with forces linked to change (Ross, 2008).

Problem statement

The question must be raised of why a 'disconnect' continues to exist between practice and theory when teachers are pressurized, as never before, to perform. One answer to this problem revolves around changing the learning environment of schools for promoting action research, reflective teaching, and other staff improvement initiatives. If teacher-related research deals with the professional teachers' practical knowledge, their opinions, and their expression of the facts linked to understanding schools and students, those opinions need to be learnt across the institution and curricula offered. Integrating reflective teaching and teacher research into academic courses is an option that ought to be taken into consideration when viewing education planning from a broader perspective. The outcomes of teachers taking up reflective teaching and action research make educators more capable of critically influencing the educational domain's future. Contemporary educators cannot afford to overlook their vital role in taking society across the challenges associated with current and future trends in the educational domain (Kril, 2002).

Purpose statement

This study's purpose is examination of teachers' views of changes within their university's instructional practices, for leading change. The study will look into teachers' views of action research's impacts on their thoughts on instructional practices as well as the consequences of these thoughts on instructional practices.

Research questions

1. How are teachers' perceptions of their teaching role described by them as regards action research?

1. What perception do teachers hold with respect to their teaching-related knowledge, in connection with Fullan's theory?

1. How do educators describe changes to teaching practices (if any), relating to their involvement in leading change efforts?

1. How do educators describe modifications, if any, in reflective practice components and contents?

Theoretical foundation

Fullan believes it is impossible to solve the issue of change through confrontation. He recommends a purposeful and proactive coexistence with change. The above perspective influences the way one regards and reacts to change in the educational sphere. As per Fullan's educational change theory put forward in the year 1993, change represents a socially multifaceted process that cannot be condensed into a checklist. Rather, it is a multidimensional, evolutionary, and interactive process. Deliberating on the above theory is crucial to my study, since it reinforces the multidimensional strategy adopted by this study for examining Eagle's shift from the status of a failing school to one that is renowned. Fullan's theory offers insights and simplicity for dealing with and accepting the seemingly intractable issues linked to educational reform. The theory indicates why a novel mindset is required to contend with the challenge of constant, dynamic change (Fullan, 2012).

Michael Fullan highlights the fact that the processes of school change need to be met productively and proactively, rather than with anxiety and hesitation. Change represents a constant in society. Thus, modern schools have to supply problem solvers similar to schools of the early 19th century, responsible for developing individuals capable of tackling the rapid industrialization that occurred in that age. Generations of American citizens have striven to mold society via public schools (Ross, 2008). Fullan perceives the above factor of shaping society as an ethical purpose: making a difference in students' lives irrespective of their background, and helping produce citizens capable of living and working productively in progressively dynamically complex communities. By studying the variable elements of vision, sound leadership, strategic planning, accountability and evaluation strategies, stakeholder involvement, collegiality, and site-focused management, the researcher analyzes the process of change more closely (Fullan, 2012). Fullan proposes a need for learning to manage change, instead of an attempt to solve associated issues, among those involved in school change; that is, they need to work towards becoming efficient change agents. In addition, he indicates that educators' ability to learn from and support change, and aid students with this process, constitute key factors in future societies' well-being and progress (Ross, 2008).

Literature review

Teacher Evolution

After initial teacher training, the route to becoming an efficient professional educator continues. Pre-service training for teachers is a vital base for gaining proficiency. However, learning must take place throughout their career, in order for them to acquire and maintain high-level professional skills. Constant learning must promote assessment and reflection of teaching methods (Jensen, 2010). The above process may encompass formal education via seminars, formal meetings and conferences for discussing teaching approaches, and informal education that involves reflecting on one's personal teaching method (Postholm, 2008). Personal analysis of present teaching methods, or awareness of novel practices helping teachers gain a novel insight into, and understanding of, the teaching-learning process, forms the key. Successful professional development represents a continuous, interactive, and collective effort that connects with educators and the educational settings they work in (Battey & Franke, 2008; Jetnikoff & Smeed, 2012). Educators come to this process with distinctive understandings of professional requirements and teaching, because of different experience levels and subject specialties. While similarities can exist among schools or classrooms, individual teachers will have distinctive professional development requirements. Approaches urging educators to scrutinize the effectiveness of their respective teaching methods will further professional growth responsive to individual requirements (Burridge & Carpenter, 2013).

Professional Outlook

Another element contributing to the growth of professional careers is provincial technology-related curriculum. Participants of a study believed their involvement in teacher leadership contributed to advancing their career. They pointed out that dispositions and skills acquired via their experiences using teacher-leader theory led to the desire for more formal positions of leadership. This conforms to what has been suggested -- teacher leadership is capable of enhancing leadership function and development to "ladder" educators into higher-up, formal leadership roles. Lawmakers and researchers have indeed shown concerns with regard to strategies for enticing teachers to assume school leadership roles (Fink, 2010; 2011; White & Cooper, 2011).

Honing individual teachers will only end up improving those particular individuals. To make improvements to the overall school culture, one needs to bring about changes to the group. Principals, in the present situation, have been urged to develop faculty one by one. In fact, proliferation of novel assessment frameworks and tools work separately with teachers today. Consequently, principals now concentrate on direct feedback that is more of a superficial persuasion approach and seldom brings about actual improvement. School principals must utilize their time for building a culture focused on everyday learning. This will ensure their time is spent far more fruitfully -- in building teachers' capacity of teamwork, instead of observing several individual teachers. Finland, Singapore and other nations with strong education did not reach the heights they are in today by using an individualistic punishment-and-reward system. Rather, they helped educators collaborate to utilize student data for improving instruction, thus creating cultures characterized by superior-performance expectations (Fullan, 2014).

Significance of the study

This research will add to our grasp of educator experiences along the course of the action research phases of training and execution in schoolrooms, and resultant impacts on student learning and instructional practices. Educators may be given free rein to improve the teaching profession through opportunities promoting systemic, collective teacher research, performed in authentic classroom settings. They can employ teacher research for answering their own queries regarding how best to improve the practices of learning and teaching. Teacher leadership's importance as a means to improve schools has a tendency to cloud their significant role in their local-level career advancement. Aside from lack of studies on the subject of teacher leadership as a factor in their career advancement, literature tends to stress the circumstantial aspects of educator leadership and fails to explore the consequences and nature of this activity for educational systems and individual schools (Riveros, Newton, & Costa, 2013).

The proposed case study will examine the impacts of action research on educator views of instructional practices, together with the effects of these views on teaching methods. Using this information, the research will endeavor to contribute to the literature base on adult learning, considering the context of producing improvements in teaching practices. Firstly, it will assist in gaining an understanding of how participation in an action research activity influences and modifies the teaching role's scope. Secondly, it will help document the effect of teacher thinking and reflection on instructional methods, in connection with action research. Thirdly, the study will help develop a grasp of educator experiences relating to implementation of action research. These findings' significance may help guide them in future decision-making regarding teaching-learning techniques.

Research method

Case studies are stated to be the first types of research that was used in qualitative method. Presently they sum up a large amount of research in medicine, education, history, psychology etc. The method for this research is a case study which will explore the phenomenon of teaching practices of teachers in a university (Starman, 2013). Semi-structured interviewing will be the primary data collection method for this study. The aim is development of profound, strong insights into experiences and opinions of individuals formerly involved in teacher leadership regarding the process. Particular attention will be paid to eliciting participant experiences with the program and how this facilitated their professional growth, as educators and leaders. For fulfilling this research goal, we will explore the interpretations and understandings of participants in terms of their teacher leadership experiences. Iterative induction will be utilized for data collection (O'Reilly, 2009), because of our interactions with previous and present teacher leaders. An interpretivist frame will be applied for data analysis (Riveros, Newton, & Costa, 2013).

Study design (and particularly the process of data collection) will be modified as patterns emerge from data, for concentrating on areas most valuable to more in-depth research. These patterns will help isolate four main themes relating to (1) Processes leading to teacher leader emergence;

(2) How teacher leaders develop an understanding of the leadership role;

(3) Role played by motivations and professional interests in teacher leader recruitment; and (4) Organizational provisions facilitating teacher leader emergence

For a more in-depth exploration of the above themes, interview questions will probably have to be refined at some point. A more detailed description of the interview will be covered in the following section (Riveros, Newton, & Costa, 2013).

Research design

Qualitative researchers are interested in things beyond behaviour so it is common for them to interpret, and make sense of qualitative data that is full of the thoughts of participants' behaviour (Roller, 2015). Reputational sampling will be employed, inviting 21 individuals enrolled in a teacher leadership program, to take part in this study. Each participant will be interviewed, preferably one-on-one. Where this is not possible, videoconferencing will be utilized. The interviews' semi-structured nature will ensure participants can express their perceptions and experiences more effectively, and researchers will seek more details, as per requirement, in the course of interviews. Roughly one hour to an hour and a half will be allotted to each interview. Initial questions will be open-ended for enabling participants to express their personal understandings/opinions of experiences with the program effectively (Riveros, Newton, & Costa, 2013).

Population and sample

Study participants will be chosen from all of the geographic regions representing diverse demographics, in the province. Participants may be classroom teachers, private consultants, or even district superintendents and governmental employees. The aim is investigation of former participants' experiences with a teacher learning community initiative, and documentation of factors contributing to their growth as educational leaders. Budget and time constraints limit the number of individuals chosen (Riveros, Newton, & Costa, 2013).