I NTRODUCTION

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The final part of the chapter looks at the lessons learnt, recommendations and implications that the research has generated. The lessons learnt reflect the abundance of ideas and insights that practitioners and schools can take from this study. Recommendations have been designed for the policymaking level, as notions and concepts seen as important for national policy that supports teacher learning and innovation in education. Finally, implications have been devised for future research opportunities that stem from the knowledge collected through this research endeavour.

7.1.1 Analytical framework

This study identifies teacher learning as a transversal phenomenon, embedded in a three-layered unit as a component of the policy level, as a notion at the school community level, and as an individual feature of a single professional. Hence, it is important to understand that teacher learning from the perspective of this research is not only looked through a single unit at a policy or individual level, but also as a composite of all three. Thus, teacher learning as a phenomenon in innovative learning environments in the context of educational reforms and developmental interventions has to be seen as a multi-layered unit of analysis that assumes causal interlinks. The Figure 15 provides a visualisation of this phenomenon.

Figure 15: Analytical framework - Teacher learning as transversal phenomenon

Source: Author

The analytical framework was devised through carefully examining the relevant literature and meticulously studying the data, making connections within both literature and analysis, as well as between them. The continuous work with data over a longer period of time, preparing

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academic articles and conference presentations as well as participating in discussions among colleagues all contributed to finetuning of this analytical model.

Additionally, the teacher learning as a transversal phenomenon in environments that are recognised as innovative and learning-intense gains dimensions of developmental and transformative. This is discussed in-depth through the sections at micro, meso and macro level.

The aspect of such level of teacher learning is observed from the intersections of tasks, interactions and cognition, as presented in Figure 16.

Figure 16: Teacher learning as developmental and transformative

Source: author

Figure 16 only adds to the complexity of how teacher learning is captured in previous Figure 15, providing additional significance to the main question of unique character and level of teacher learning in specific environments that offer innovative practices. The fact that teacher learning is both developmental (Ellström, 2006) and transformative (Jarvis, 2009; Mezirow, 2009), ultimately offers evidence for distinguishing between teacher learning in innovative learning environments and regular, traditional settings. This does not say that traditional settings cannot cause developmental and transformative learning for teachers nor does it say that all learning in non-routine innovative practice is at a higher level of learning. This scheme rather points out that from what can be concluded in this study, involvement in innovations is more likely to cause teachers to engage in developmental types of learning and more likely to experience learning as a transformative experience. As it is further explored, the interface of task, interaction, and cognition, provide the bedrock for teacher learning at such level.

This understanding of learning is placed within the analytical framework that implies three

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layers of analysis, namely the policy level, school level, and individual professional level.

Similar to the way that teacher work is embedded in a school organisation and practice, schools are anchored into a national context that bears specific characteristics which may support better options for both school innovation and better opportunities for teacher learning. When all the three factors and layers are in coherence, teacher learning is a more frequent, stable, and targeted occurrence. Furthermore, if the three levels are synchronised in achieving the same educational aims, and if these aims include a very broad vision of educational development, then innovation takes a big role in educational practices and consequently teacher learning tends to become more enhanced.

7.1.2 Reflections related to the innovative learning environments

Even though the study has not targeted directly what the innovative learning environments are, during the interviews and peer discussions this was an important conversation. Debates on the current state of innovation in education are not uncommon in many high-level scholarly works either. The premise that this research takes place in schools that act as innovative learning environments was not questioned initially, thus the school selection was aimed only at those institutions that contain non-traditional forms of teaching, learning, and internal organisation of work. This selection initially followed informed conversations with national experts.

However, in order to strengthen the argument that the schools in the study are indeed innovative learning environments, a brief reflection and analysis considering literature and collected data was executed.

Innovative learning environments can be observed from the perspective of seven core principles (OECD, 2017). Schools that act as innovative learning environments have to consider the learner as the core participant of their own learning and have to contain ways to encourage active engagement of learners, and in the context of OECD framework the focus is primarily placed on students. Data from the Hungarian and Portuguese schools show that the main concern of teachers, as well as principals, was related to the students. They reiterated the importance of student active engagement, well-being and happiness, joy of learning, and social development. All interviewees noted that the meaning and satisfaction they feel from their work is intimately connected to their students’ development. The teacher’s work and learning is, thus, intricately tied with student learning which provides the meaning for the profession.

Nevertheless, as this study focuses on teachers as learners, OECD ILE principles are borrowed to look at this dimension as well. Actually, it could be argued that when “better” student

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learning is uniquely the focus of school staff, teacher learning becomes more motivated on expanding the scopes of traditional instruction. This was evident in the school cases in both Hungary and Portugal as teachers engaged in learning about students individually, about their specific learning needs, their social background and status, and most importantly understanding what supports the students to learn better. Furthermore, learning in the observed schools was considered beyond mastering tasks and getting grades, as teachers push to break the social stigmas, and develop their students’ emotional and social intelligence. This presents a strong link between innovation and teacher learning. Hence, while it was difficult to pinpoint the exact definition of innovation that would suit any context, the study clearly shows that innovations need to be contextually fitted and, therefore, different for each school. Setting the innovation that best fits the school is a heavy, collective endeavour, but one that has great implications on both teacher learning and student learning, and this study reveals the character of these implications on teachers.