ERIC Number: EJ815990
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Jun
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0962-0214
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Habitual Practice vs. the Struggle for Change: Can Informal Teacher Learning Promote Ongoing Change to Professional Practice?
Attard, Karl
International Studies in Sociology of Education, v17 n1-2 p147-162 Jun 2007
In this article the relationship between teacher change and teacher learning is analysed. Data presented here were gathered through self-study research over a 30-month period, during which the author, as a teacher-researcher in Malta, systematically recorded observations and reflections into a reflective journal. This article addresses issues such as: (a) how habitual routines that are technical in nature are formed, and how these tend to distance the practitioner from consciously developing and learning, and subsequently changing and improving professional practice; (b) how uncertainty regarding an innovation in the educational field might induce the need for both change and development; (c) how continuous learning and critically questioning beliefs and assumptions is important for change to occur; (d) how important determination on the practitioner's part is in the fight against the status quo; and (e) how reflective practice can be seen as a corrective to experiential over-learning.
Descriptors: Lifelong Learning, Foreign Countries, Professional Development, Journal Writing, Reflection, Teacher Researchers, Habit Formation, Behavior Development, Transformative Learning, Transfer of Training, Phenomenology, Resistance (Psychology), Educational Change, Educational Sociology
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Adult Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Malta
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Author Affiliations: N/A