Workplace Learning and the Practice of Agency in the First Two Years of Teaching: The Case of Arab Novices in Israel
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[1] University of Haifa
University of Haifa
Israel
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- Localización: Teacher Induction and Mentoring: Supporting Beginning Teachers / Juan José Mena Marcos (ed. lit.), Anthony Clarke (ed. lit.), 2021, ISBN 978-3-030-79833-8, págs. 27-50
- Idioma: inglés
- Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
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Resumen
Adopting a sociocultural approach on professional agency, we view teachers as active players in their learning and induction processes. This study focuses on learning at the workplace of Arab novice teachers in Israel. Inductive analysis of semi-structured interview data with 24 novices revealed influences of social and cultural aspects of the local community on their learning at the workplace. We found that novices’ experience of their status among colleagues as well as the way in which principals position their status to play a key role in their learning processes. Based on how novices perceived school learning opportunities, and on their decisions if and how to make the most of what is afforded, we identified evidence of agency enactment. Participants practiced different forms of agency in order: to avoid certain afforded learning resources and to compensate for inadequate mentoring by detecting alternative resources, also maximizing resources available in situations where collegial support was limited. Our study suggests that acknowledging context-specific influential factors on novices’ learning is important not only for understanding how these promote or hinder their learning at the workplace but also for better implementation of induction policies. The study suggests that teacher agency can develop at early stages of their career, illuminating on their capacity to influence their own learning rather than by solely being subjected to the existing school culture especially in disadvantaged settings.
