Teachers’ general pedagogical knowledge: its nature, assessment and representation in practice
Date
2021-07-02
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Abstract
Õpetajakoolituse uurijad eristavad kolme peamist õpetajate teadmiste kategooriat: ainealased teadmised, õppesisu pedagoogilised teadmised ning üldpedagoogilised teadmised. Kui esimese kahe teadmiste kategooria raames on läbi viidud arvukaid uuringuid, siis õpetajate üldpedagoogilised teadmised on teadustöös saanud pigem vähem tähelepanu. Erinevad uurijad on üldpedagoogiliste teadmiste esialgset definitsiooni, mis hõlmas endas peamiselt klassi juhtimist ja korraldust, läbi aastate täiendanud. Lisaks tunnusele, et üldpedagogoogilised teadmised on õppeainest sõltumatud, defineeritakse seda teadmiste kategooriat kui õpetajate spetsialiseerunud teadmisi, mis aitavad luua ja hallata kõikide õpilaste jaoks efektiivset õpetamise ja õppimise keskkonda. OECD CERI eestvedamisel töötati välja Teacher Knowledge Survey (TKS) instrument, mille eesmärgiks on uurida õpetajate teadmisi testi abil. Käesoleva doktoritöö eesmärgiks oli analüüsida TKS instrumenti ning saada ülevaade praktikas kasutatavatest üldpedagoogilistest teadmistest. Andmeid koguti kombineeritud meetodi kaudu nii õpetajakoolituse üliõpilastelt, töötavatelt õpetajatelt kui ka õpetajakoolituse õppejõududelt. Tulemused näitavad, et üldpedagoogilised teadmised on pigem ühedimensioonilised. Uurimusest selgus ka, et Eesti üliõpilaste ja õpetajate üldpedagoogilised teadmised on pigem sarnased. Kui üliõpilaste teadmised kasvavad läbi õpetajakoolituse, siis praktikaga kokkupuutel olid kõikides valimirühmades teadmised pigem madalamad. Need tulemused viitavad sellele, et TKS test mõõdab pigem teoreetilisi teadmisi ja vähem praktilisi teadmisi, mida õpetajad omandavad pedagoogilise töö käigus. Sellest tulenevalt uuriti viimasena üldpedagoogiliste teadmiste rakendumist praktilises õpetamistöös. Tulemused näitavad, et õpetajad küll eristavad üldpedagoogiliste teadmiste erinevaid dimensioone, kuid nende dimensioonide vahel on mitmeid kattuvaid tunnuseid. Õpetajate kirjeldatud teadmised keskendusid kõige enam õpilastega suhete loomisele ning nende toetamisele. Kirjeldatud tulemuste alusel antakse doktoritöös soovitusi üldpedagoogiliste teadmiste arendamiseks ja hindamiseks õpetajakoolituses ning suuniseid edasiseks uurimistööks üldpedagoogiliste teadmiste valdkonnas.
Teacher researchers distinguish three main categories of teachers’ knowledge: content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and general pedagogical knowledge (GPK). While the first two are more extensively studied, GPK has gained less attention. The definition of GPK has been updated over the years, moving forward from mainly being about classroom management and organization. In addition to being subject transcendent, GPK is now defined as teachers’ specialized knowledge that helps to create and maintain effective environment for teaching and learning. The OECD developed Teacher Knowledge Survey (TKS) which aims to assess teachers’ GPK with test instrument. The aim of the current doctoral thesis was to investigate the TKS instrument and gain more insight into GPK that is used in practice. Data was collected from Estonian pre-service teachers, in-service teachers and teacher educators with mixed method approach. The results showed that GPK is unidimensional. The results also showed that the knowledge level of pre-service and in-service teachers is rather similar. In addition to that, the more advanced the pre-service teachers are in their teacher education, the better GPK they possess. However, the results from all three sample groups showed that those having more practical experiences get lower results in the test. This implies that TKS test is assesses rather theoretical knowledge and less the knowledge that is gained during pedagogical practice. Teachers do use the same GPK dimensions in their practical work as suggested by TKS framework, however, the content of their GPK is more focused on relationships and supporting students, while test instrument relies mainly on specific scientific knowledge. Based on the results, several suggestions are proposed in order to further study the assessment of teachers’ GPK as well as improve pre-service teachers’ GPK.
Teacher researchers distinguish three main categories of teachers’ knowledge: content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and general pedagogical knowledge (GPK). While the first two are more extensively studied, GPK has gained less attention. The definition of GPK has been updated over the years, moving forward from mainly being about classroom management and organization. In addition to being subject transcendent, GPK is now defined as teachers’ specialized knowledge that helps to create and maintain effective environment for teaching and learning. The OECD developed Teacher Knowledge Survey (TKS) which aims to assess teachers’ GPK with test instrument. The aim of the current doctoral thesis was to investigate the TKS instrument and gain more insight into GPK that is used in practice. Data was collected from Estonian pre-service teachers, in-service teachers and teacher educators with mixed method approach. The results showed that GPK is unidimensional. The results also showed that the knowledge level of pre-service and in-service teachers is rather similar. In addition to that, the more advanced the pre-service teachers are in their teacher education, the better GPK they possess. However, the results from all three sample groups showed that those having more practical experiences get lower results in the test. This implies that TKS test is assesses rather theoretical knowledge and less the knowledge that is gained during pedagogical practice. Teachers do use the same GPK dimensions in their practical work as suggested by TKS framework, however, the content of their GPK is more focused on relationships and supporting students, while test instrument relies mainly on specific scientific knowledge. Based on the results, several suggestions are proposed in order to further study the assessment of teachers’ GPK as well as improve pre-service teachers’ GPK.
Description
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Keywords
teachers, teaching, teacher training, professional development, professionalism