Understanding the Impact of INSET on Teacher Change in China

Ming Li

• Publisher: Palgrave Pivot
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN:
  9789811333101
• eBook ISBN:
  9789811333118
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Theory & Practice

This pivot considers the impact of INSET courses on EFL teachers practicing under the national curriculum reform in China. Providing context-specific findings on the policy and implementation of INSET as well as its impact on teacher education initiatives in both China and similar contexts, it explores the limitations of one off training events such as INSET and the inconsistency between teacher learning results and their classroom practices. The book argues that teachers, when returning to pre-INSET teaching, are influenced by their prior deeply-rooted beliefs largely considered more powerful than newly-learnt theories. Addressing the rarely discussed fact that the complex and dynamic characteristics of teacher learning change over time and support the construct of teacher learning as a social event rather than a one-off event, the book also offers practical solutions on how to improve teacher education and enhance the long-term INSET impact on teacher development, with the ambition of promoting education reform for both teachers and students alike.   

© The Author(s) 2019

Ming LiUnderstanding the Impact of INSET on Teacher Change in Chinahttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3311-8_1

Begin Abstract

1. Introduction

Ming Li¹  

(1)

Southwest University, Chongqing, China

 

 

Ming Li

Abstract

This chapter introduces the general research background and the rationale of the study, and then, an introduction to the structure of the book follows with chapter abstracts.

Keywords

Teacher learningEducational reformINSET courseResearch purposes

End Abstract

Teacher learning has been widely deemed as a key element to achieve the effectiveness of education and the improvement of students’ learning outcomes (Cumming, 2011; Kelly, 2006). Of various forms of teacher learning and development in the world, the short INSET course has been widely used to bring about changes in teachers’ professional lives. This is very true in China.

With the implementation of national education reform in China, teacher professional development has been given great importance since teachers are the key implementers of the new curriculum . The new English curriculum presents a considerable range of changes which pose tremendous challenges to teachers. The goal of education has been shifted from knowledge accumulation to students’ whole-person development . Teachers are expected to develop their educational views and teaching skills to realize these reform ideas through changing their teaching behaviour in classroom. To help teachers cope with the challenges, in-service teacher education has become an essential part of preparation. To try to understand the extent to which such INSET course s help teachers to understand the reform ideas and change their practice seems important for both education reform and teacher education.

This study tries to clarify understandings of the impact of the INSET course on teacher learning with a focus on examining the process of teacher learning and the learning outcomes both articulated by the teachers and reflected in their practice. Three research questions will be answered:

• To what extent do teachers’ knowledge and beliefs change during the INSET course ?
• To what extent are teachers’ practices influenced by the course?
• What factors contribute to the impact of INSET on teacher learning ?

Findings to these questions will help understand the teachers’ own perspectives on their learning and the impact of the INSET course as well as the wider context on their implementation of the new curriculum . The findings are also expected to provide further evidence to the existing body of research on teacher education and the development of teacher education programmes .

This book comprises eight chapters in total, including this introductory chapter. Chapter 2 places in-service English teacher education in the background of educational reform and examines the general features of in-service teacher education both worldwide and in China. Chapter 3 focuses on the nature of teacher learning and develops a theoretical framework for this study based on existing literature on teacher cognition. Chapter 4 introduces the study and research procedures, and the case study findings are listed in Chapter 5. Chapters 6 and 7 are a detailed discussion of the findings in terms of the features of teacher learning for change and the influential factors. Chapter 8 makes a conclusion of this study.

References

1. Cumming, C. (2011). CPD: Support strategies for professional learning, national initiatives and major curriculum reform. Improving Schools, 14(2), 145–155.Crossref
2. Kelly, S. (2006). The CPD Coordinator’s Toolkit. London: Paul Chapman.

© The Author(s) 2019

Ming LiUnderstanding the Impact of INSET on Teacher Change in Chinahttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3311-8_2

Begin Abstract

2. Educational Reform and Teacher Education: A Theoretical Overview

Ming Li¹

(1)

Southwest University, Chongqing, China

Ming Li

Abstract

This chapter outlines the complexity of educational reform and the two most common in-service language teacher training models in terms of the role of teacher professional development in the success of educational reform. Due to the research context in this study, in-service English language teacher education in China has been examined based on existing literature particularly. It is found that the current training model in China seems ineffective to support teachers to meet the requirements from the national educational reform.

Keywords

Educational reformTeacher professional developmentIn-service teacher educationTraining-transmission modelDevelopment-constructivist model

End Abstract

2.1 Understanding the Complexity of Educational Reform

Educational reform has been a common phenomenon around the world in recent decades. Policy makers may initiate a large-scale reform for various reasons, such as the development of national competitiveness in a rapidly changing world or improving the quality of national education provision. The literature on educational reform indicates that “the perennial universal theme of change in all cultural and educational context globally [is] to solve problems, or bring about changes in the education system, and in the classroom teaching and learning process” (Yan & He, 2012: 2). What is implied in this assumption is that change is a complex process which might cause conflict and chaos between people’s established ideas and/or behaviours and new ones in the reform process. Here, Morrison’s (1998) definition of educational reform is adopted to outline the relevant aspects:

a dynamic and continuous process of development and growth that involves a reorganization in response to “felt needs”. It is a process of transformation, a flow from one state to another, either initiated by internal factors or external forces, involving individuals, groups or institutions, leading to realignment of existing values, practices and outcomes. (13)

This definition indicates three important aspects influencing the success of educational reform . The first is related to the felt needs from internal and external factors, such as the needs perceived by national policy makers for change to support the development of society or as a response to international trends. This implies that educational reform may be more than an issue within the field of education,but is also thought “to support desirable wider changes in other aspects of society as a whole” (Wedell, 2009: 14). The second aspect emphasizes that educational reform is a process, proposing a hoped-for state different from the current one. The core of this process lies in its classroom implementation with teachers as key participants contributing to the success of reform (Edwards, 2012; Lieberman & Pointer Mace, 2008). The last aspect concerns the real changes that are needed for true educational reform to take place. Educational reform may usually be started or initiated by policy makers through publication of new documents and/or plans, but what lies at the heart of these are changes in the existing values of the people involved in the reform and consequently changes in their practice. These three aspects indicate that, within the context of curriculum reform, achieving the expected goals is a complex process which may challenge existing teaching and learning norms and practices across the education system. Therefore, the success of any education/curriculum reform does not depend purely on technical attempts to introduce new teaching approaches, but rather on the responses of all relevant participants.

Existing literature suggests a number of...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• 1. Introduction
• 2. Educational Reform and Teacher Education: A Theoretical Overview
• 3. Teacher Learning Research: A Critical Overview
• 4. The Study of Teacher Learning on INSET
• 5. Case Studies: Teachers’ Experiences of Change
• 6. Teacher Learning: A Multifaceted, Situated and Dynamic Process
• 7. INSET: Essential but Insufficient Catalyst for Teacher Change
• 8. Conclusion
• Back Matter