Re/constructing practice : tales of teachers and technology

This narrative research explores a different way of looking at teacher learning. It does so through investigating the complexities of teacher practice and the impact of internal and external influences. It presents the stories of eighteen teachers and their experiences in the demanding environment of one 21st century school in Melbourne, Australia. Particular challenges emerged for the teachers through the requirement to change pedagogy by integrating online learning into classroom practice through the use of an online curriculum and a variety of digital technologies. The research investigates the ways in which the teachers responded to this requirement for change. The review of the literature revealed the complexities underlying the teachers' responses, and highlighted the importance of teachers' identity and beliefs as a means of understanding their personal and emotional responses. In particular, the role of self-efficacy and identity development was set in the context of the realities of practice, being the expectations placed upon teachers and the pressures emerging from the digital, postmodern world. The role of trust was considered in the school setting where significant change was occurring. In order to reveal the teachers' tales in depth, a narrative methodology was considered the most appropriate. Autoethnography was chosen because of the ways in which it reveals the personal and the cultural and also positions the researcher as both insider and outsider. Autoethnography has allowed me to understand and acknowledge my own learnings and insights as they emerged from my participation in the research. Activity Theory was applied as both a theoretical framework and a tool for data analysis, as a means of gaining insight into the teachers' actions and reflections. The use of Activity Theory placed the teacher at the heart of the investigation, through its recognition that you are what you do. It revealed the important role of the teachers' beliefs systems, including their self-efficacy, and the role of experience in the building of such beliefs Eighteen teachers participated in the research by responding to survey questions in Phase 1. Six teachers in Phase 2 participated by trying new practice, attending meetings, and keeping a journal. Three of the teachers in Phase 2 participated in individual interviews. The teachers also had the opportunity to reflect upon bigger picture educational issues, in addition to day-to-day practice. This thesis proposes a different way of approaching teacher learning, through a more holistic approach recognising the importance of the teacher self. A challenge is presented for school leaders and teachers themselves to adopt new attitudes. School leaders will benefit from developing their awareness of the teacher as an individual. By rethinking their responses to pressures of time and ongoing change, teachers will have increased opportunities for expansive transformation (Engestrom) through changes to practice in order to provide the best learning opportunities for their students. To be a good teacher in the 21st century now requires skills in the use of digital technologies, and teachers and school leaders have their parts to play in ensuring that this occurs.