Ryder, J orcid.org/0000-0002-2741-0152, Lidar, M, Lundqvist, E et al. (1 more author) (2018) Expressions of agency within complex policy structures: science teachers’ experiences of education policy reforms in Sweden. International Journal of Science Education, 40 (5). pp. 538-563. ISSN 0950-0693
Abstract
We explore the experiences of school science teachers as they enact three linked national curriculum and assessment policy reforms in Sweden. Our goal is to understand teachers’ differing responses to these reforms. A sample of 13 teachers engaged in 2 interviews over a 6–9-month period. Interviews included exploration of professional background and school context, perceptions of the aims of the policy reforms and experiences of working with these reforms in the classroom. Analysis was guided by an individual-oriented sociocultural perspective on professional agency. Here teaching is conceptualised as an ongoing interplay between teachers’ knowledge, skills and personal goals, and the characteristics of the social, institutional and policy settings in which they work. Our analysis shows that navigating the ensuing continuities and contradictions results in many different expressions of teacher agency, e.g. loss of autonomy and trust, pushing back, subversion, transfer of authority, and creative tensions. Typically, an individual teacher’s enactment of these reforms involved several of these expressions of agency. We demonstrate that the sociocultural perspective provides insights into teachers’ responses to education policy reform likely to be missed by studies that focus largely on individual teacher knowledge/beliefs about reform or skills in ‘implementing’ reform practices.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Science Education on 12 Feb 2018, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/09500693.2018.1435921. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | education policy; curriculum reform; teacher agency |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Education, Social Sciences and Law (Leeds) > School of Education (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ESRC RES-179-25-0004 Swedish Research Council Dnr 2012-5769 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 14 Feb 2018 13:21 |
Last Modified: | 12 Aug 2019 00:39 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis |
Identification Number: | 10.1080/09500693.2018.1435921 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:127436 |