Working in Wonderland: Teachers’ Reactions to Innovative Learning Environments
Economic, political, social, and technological developments are putting pressure on educational systems to undertake major changes. Schools in New Zealand, Australia and abroad are being pushed to transition from traditional models of teaching and learning to Innovative Learning Environments (ILEs). For this change to occur, many classroom teachers will need to adapt how, where and what they teach, which is likely to generate a range of reactions from teachers. A qualitative three-school case study approach was employed to capture the complex connections between school leaders' understandings of ILEs, teachers' understandings of ILEs, and teachers' reactions to expectations to engage in innovative practices. The study also investigated forms of support that mitigated teachers' perceptions of risk and enabled them to work collaboratively in ILEs. The three New Zealand primary schools selected for this research had already begun to invest in a shift from traditional practices and environments to ILEs prior to agreeing to participate. The research design involved two separate data collection and analysis phases. Questionnaire data obtained from 73 teachers in the initial phase provided a description of teachers' understandings of ILEs, innovative practices they had implemented, and the forms of support they had received. The data were used for phase two sampling purposes and provided the basis for the sequential phase. Eighteen teachers and four school leaders participated in phase two. The sequential phase included semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, participant blogs, teachers' daily records, and publicly available school documentation. Data obtained from this phase provided an understanding of how teachers had developed their perceptions of ILEs and why they reacted the way they did to expectations to engage in innovative practices. The data were analysed using an inductive and deductive thematic approach and coded using NVivo. The depth of teachers' understandings was strongly influenced by the school leaders' understandings. When school leaders demonstrated a deep understanding of ILEs, teachers were more able to articulate why a shift to ILEs could benefit learners. Conversely, when school leaders lacked a deep understanding of the principles of ILEs, many teachers' understandings of ILEs were superficial and tended to focus on the physical environment and collaborative nature of endeavours. Teachers' reactions to engaging in ILEs were influenced by their understandings of ILEs, the clarity of expectations to change, and the professional learning activities in which they were expected to participate. When a rationale for change was accompanied by clear expectations which teachers perceived were achievable, they were more willing to critique traditional practices and explore innovative ways of teaching. A lack of rationale for change with or without explicit expectations resulted in less positive outcomes. Furthermore, it was evident that it was not the amount of support that teachers received but the type of support which impacted on the development of teachers' understandings of ILEs. Given the superficial understandings of teachers, and the important influence of school leaders, it may be advantageous for the guiding principles of ILEs to be disseminated more widely and clearly within and across the education system. School leaders who lead the change process in an informed manner, and who provide teachers with a theoretical or ideological rationale for ILEs, clear expectations, and targeted support to change, will place teachers in a better position to make the shift to ILEs.
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