ERIC Number: EJ869694
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1747-938X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Organizational Learning and Program Renewal in Teacher Education: A Sociocultural Theory of Learning, Innovation and Change
Peck, Charles A.; Gallucci, Chrysan; Sloan, Tine; Lippincott, Ann
Educational Research Review, v4 n1 p16-25 2009
Pressures for change in the field of teacher education are escalating significantly as part of systemic education reform initiatives in a broad spectrum of economically developed and developing nations. Considering these pressures, it is surprising that relatively little theoretical or empirical analysis of learning and change processes within teacher education programs has been undertaken. In this paper, we illustrate some ways in which contemporary socio-cultural learning theory may be used as a lens for addressing these issues. Using a theoretical framework developed by Harre [Harre, R. (1984). "Personal being: A theory for individual psychology". Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press], we show how processes of individual and collective learning led to changes in a teacher education program observed over an eighteen month period of time. Important innovations in program practice were generally found to have their sources in the creative work of individual faculty. However program level changes required negotiation of new ideas and practices within small groups of faculty, and with the larger collective of the program. We conclude that the Harre model, and the socio-cultural learning theories from which it is derived, may offer a useful theoretical framework for interpreting complex social processes underlying organizational renewal, innovation, and change. (Contains 1 figure.)
Descriptors: Teacher Education, Teacher Education Programs, Educational Change, Innovation, Sociocultural Patterns, Learning Theories, Cognitive Structures, Organizational Development, Individual Psychology
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A