Section 6.2.1 seeks to understand what Irish teachers want from CPD and which CPD processes they believe to be most effective. Teachers were asked in Q.29 to
159 indicate the relative importance they would attach to: Personal Scientific
Knowledge; Teaching ideas; Investigations and Concept Development. These topics cover a combination of science subject mastery and pedagogy components.
6.2.1 CPD components considered effective
Table 6.1 indicates the hierarchy of needs expressed by teachers.
Table 6.1 Priorities of Teachers Concerning Course Content of Primary Science CPD
A total of 74% of the respondents prioritise Teaching Ideas. This, together with the 72% who want a lot of input on Investigations, reflects a desire to impact on practice in the classroom. The development of concepts ranks lower at 67%. A shallow interpretation of the data would be to say that this reflects a desire for ‘quick-fix’ teaching ideas as opposed to a commitment to developing scientific concepts or increasing personal understanding of science. However, it may be that by emphasising the practical over the theoretical, teachers may be attempting to communicate their need for CPD to be focussed on improving practice. Is this interpretation borne out elsewhere in the data arising from the NNA?
Q.30 asked the teachers to consider the importance of ten CPD factors/processes. Table 6.2 ranks these processes in order of the percentages of respondents who considered them important.
Total Respondents N=467
Aspect of CPD Considerable to a Lot of Help Required on These Course Elements. n % 446 Teaching Ideas 332 74 440 Investigations 315 72 432 Concept Development 288 67 431 Personal Scientific Knowledge 226 52
160 Aspect of CPD Total Respondents N=467 % of Respondents Who Consider This Aspect to be Important % of Respondents Who Are Unsure of the Importance of This Aspect of CPD % of Respondents Who Consider This Aspect to be Unnecessary
Realistic ideas about how to teach particular topics
n=453 98 1 1
Tutors with relevant classroom experience
n=457 97 1 2
Materials to support teaching
n=454 97 3 0
Opportunity to try out new methods and materials in own classroom between sessions
n=454 95 3 2
Opportunity to identify school needs
n=457 91 5 4 Long-term support from knowledgeable others n=453 86 11 3 A focus on individual needs n=450 84 7 9
Time for discussion and reflection
n=454 81 12 7
Opportunity to
observe other teachers
n=451 75 13 12
Recent relevant research
n=449 54 33 13
Table 6.2 Importance Attributed to Various CPD Processes
Table 6.2 illustrates that those processes most closely linked with day to day practice such as materials to support practice, realistic teaching ideas and experienced tutors are almost unanimously considered to be very important. This echoes the findings in the literature (See Chapter 2, Section 2.5.2).
Why do teachers feel the need to emphasise this aspect of CPD over all other
aspects? One would have thought this to be self-evident to CPD providers. It may be the case that teachers feel their concerns and needs have not always been the lynch-
161 pin of the CPD programmes they have encountered. Indeed the literature supports such an appraisal since, up to recently, CPD was the tool of innovators who sought to introduce new policy (Borko 2004, p.3; Hooge et al 2011, p.299). The expectation that teachers will ‘re-train’ to meet every demand made upon them is unrealistic and alienating for those who may feel that their own needs are neglected as a result (See Chapter 2, Section 2.5.2).
While teachers seem to believe that ‘teaching ideas’ and ‘materials’ are the most important aspects of professional development to improve their practice, these aspects alone may not be sufficient to sustain confidence or good practice in science teaching. How do teachers view mastery of scientific knowledge or recent relevant research as components of their CPD?
6.2.2 Subject mastery or pedagogy?
Personal Scientific Knowledge ranked lowest on respondents’ list of priorities. Does this low ranking indicate teacher confidence in their scientific knowledge or a reluctance to tackle insecure understanding of the scientific concepts being taught? Table 6.1 above illustrates that the second lowest ranking component was ‘concept development’. It is possible that this low ranking represents teachers’ fears of being over burdened with scientific theory and receiving insufficient material immediately applicable to practice. This is a valid theory as discussed by Lawlor (2006, p.70). In an effort to interpret teachers’ tendency to give priority to methodological issues over mastery of the scientific concepts, teachers’ expressed levels of need in relation to their scientific knowledge were cross-tabulated in Table 6.3 with their levels of confidence teaching science.
162
Table 6.3 Relationship Between Teachers’ Perception of Subject Mastery as a Constituent of a CPD Course and Their Confidence Levels Teaching Science
Of those who expressed low levels of confidence teaching science, 105 of a total of 268 or 39%, feel they do not need a lot of input on their personal scientific
knowledge. This indicates that it is not possible to attribute the low ranking of ‘Personal Scientific Knowledge’ to teachers’ high levels of confidence teaching science. It may possibly be attributed, however, to a lack of appreciation of the relationship between mastery in the subject and confidence teaching it. Such a superficial approach would certainly account for widespread lack of confidence and may derive from teachers’ exposure to short, sporadic in-service which, by its nature, can do no more than treat the subject in a superficial manner. There is a danger that providing only ‘teaching ideas and materials’ could reinforce this limited view of CPD. Teachers’ association of CPD with remediation for current deficits and acquisition of ‘teaching ideas’ and ‘materials’ could suggest a limited concept of professional development as short-term, sporadic in-service days or courses (Bolam and Weindling (2006, p.77). While teachers’ concerns that their needs will not be adequately met are justified, it is important that their concept of CPD is broadened beyond such a limited definition.
Total Respondents N=467 Amount of Help Required with Personal Scientific Knowledge
Confidence Teaching Science
Confident Low
Confidence
Little or No Confidence
n % N % N %
n= 209 A lot of help required 46 34 149 59 14 78
n=145 Some 58 42 85 35 2 11
n=53 Little/none 33 24 16 6 2 11
163 Evidence from Chapter 5, Section 5.4.4 and section 5.4.5 indicates that the vast majority of teachers only experienced short sessions of science CPD, lasting from one to five days.
This may account for teachers´ association of CPD with short, superficial treatment of topics and may explain the lack of association between scientific knowledge content as an element of CPD and increased confidence. Teachers’ negative attitudes towards the ‘Knowledge’ content of courses raise questions about teachers’
perceptions of CPD.