Continuing Professional Development through a learning community in a full-time Brazilian school

Luiza Goncalves

University of Sao Paulo

- PhD Student at School of Physical Education and Sport, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.- Lecture at Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

Carla Luguetti

University of Sao Paulo

My overarching research and teaching focus on topics of sport pedagogy and social justice. Over the past six years I have focused in understanding activist approaches within sporting contexts. Specifically, my line of research aims at co-creating a prototype pedagogical model for working with youth from socially vulnerable backgrounds in sport context. The intent is to use sport as a vehicle for assisting youth to become critically aware of their communities’ social issues. Although I am an early career researcher, I have a significant publication track record in collaboration with researchers from all over the globe (US, UK, Australia, and South America). I have been teaching in higher education for eleven years. In addition to coordinating and teaching units relevant to Sport Pedagogy, I have actively contributed to the creation of new curriculum in the undergraduate courses I have worked during the last 11 years.

Melissa Parker

University of Limerick

Senior LecturerCourse Director, Professional Master of Education, Physical EducationPhysical Education and Sport SciencesUniversity of LimerickLimerick, Ireland

Abstract

Background and purpose: There is a growing body of literature highlighting the benefits of learning communities (LC) as a means to achieve an effective continuing professional development (CPD) (Parker & Patton, 2017). From a... [ view full abstract ]

Background and purpose: There is a growing body of literature highlighting the benefits of learning communities (LC) as a means to achieve an effective continuing professional development (CPD) (Parker & Patton, 2017). From a situated learning perspective (Lave & Wenger, 1991), in communities teachers learn to be teachers in a social context, together with their colleagues, by reflecting on their practice. While this type of professional learning has become common in many parts of the world, it is not in Brazil. The aim of this study is to explore the CPD of physical education teachers in a full-time Brazilian school.

Methods: Participants included 10 physical education teachers from one full-time school in Brazil. This study is a two-phased project. During Phase 1, through non-participant observation, the aim was to understand how the CPD of participants occurred. During the second participatory action research phase the aim was to explore the implementation of a learning community as CPD strategy. Data collection included: (a) weekly observations, (b) weekly collaborative teacher meetings, (c) teacher interviews. Data analysis was inductive using constant comparison methods.

Results: In phase 1, only a few core features of effective CPD described by Patton et al. (2015) were observed; namely, CPD was ongoing, sustained, and focused on improving learning outcomes for students. During this time, the teachers worked full-time and had weekly meetings aimed at planning their classes and discussing possible challenges. We also observed that one teacher had the role of mediating the meetings and negotiating the teachers’ needs with the school administrators.

Conclusion and applications: We concluded that while a few core features of effective CPD existed, these features did not guarantee the creation of a LC. Future studies should encourage the development of LCs in Brazilian schools to further enhance teacher professional learning and development.

Authors

Luiza Goncalves (University of Sao Paulo)
Carla Luguetti (University of Sao Paulo)
Michele Carbinatto (University of Sao Paulo)
Melissa Parker (University of Limerick)

Topic Area

• Empowering practitioners and supporting professional learning

Session

PS5-I » Oral - School-based teacher learning (11:00 - Friday, 27th July, Holyrood, JMCC)

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