Download fulltext
HTML
https://doi.org/10.18502/gespr.v2i1.9307
statistics
- 447 Abstract Views
- 259 PDF Views
- 0 HTML Views
authors
-
Emily W. Anderson
Emily W. Anderson
Florida International University
Published Date
- Jul 1, 2021
Dominant Discourses and Teachers’ Comparative Sensemaking through Internationally Sited Professional Development Experience
Abstract
The United Arab Emirates’ education policy agenda is focused on a singular goal: to be one of the top 20 countries in PISA 2022. The focus on PISA has become so robust in the UAE that it is now a central component of teachers’ professional development. This article explores teachers’ sensemaking of dominant education policy discourses through their experience in an internationally sited professional development program in Vietnam – a country whose 2015 PISA performance inspired the education policy reform in the UAE. The findings presented in this article highlight teachers’ deficit framing of difference and their performative adoption of STREAM-focused practices to replicate Vietnam’s 2015 PISA scores. This article concludes with recommendations for future research to better understand the ways in which dominant discourses inform teachers’ professional development, and opportunities to expand teachers’ roles in the policymaking process.
References
[1] Anderson, E., Khurshid, A., Monkman, K. and Shah, P. (2020), “Using Ethnographic and Discourse Methods in Gender-Focused Comparative and International Education Research”, Wiseman, A.W. (Ed.) Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2019 (International Perspectives on Education and Society, Vol. 39), Emerald Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp. 153-168.
[2] Allan, E. J. (2008). Policy Discourses, Gender, and Education: Constructing Women’s Status (Vol. 11). Routledge.
[3] Aslam, F., Adefila, A., & Bagiya, Y. (2018). STEM outreach activities: An approach to teachers’ professional development. Journal of Education for Teaching, 44(1), 58–70.
[4] Bacchi, C. (2012). Why study problematizations? Making politics visible. Open Journal of Political Science, 2(01), 1.
[5] Bensimon, E. M., & Marshall, C. (Ed.). (1997). Policy analysis for postsecondary education: Feminist and critical perspectives. In Feminist Critical Policy Analysis II (pp. 1–22). Routledge.
[6] Berkovich, I., & Benoliel, P. (2020). Marketing teacher quality: Critical discourse analysis of OECD documents on effective teaching and TALIS. Critical Studies in Education, 61(4), 496–511.
[7] Bretag, T., & van der Veen, R. (2017). ‘Pushing the boundaries’: Participant motivation and selfreported benefits of short-term international study tours. Innovations in Education & Teaching International, 54(3), 175–183.
[8] Coburn, C. E. (2001). Collective sensemaking about reading: How teachers mediate reading policy in their professional communities. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23(2), 145–170.
[9] Corsaro, W. A., & Molinari, L. (2005). I Compagni: Understanding Children’s Transition from Preschool to Elementary School. Teacher College Press.
[10] Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches. SAGE Publications.
[11] Cunliffe, A. L., & Scaratti, G. (2017). Embedding impact in engaged research: Developing socially useful knowledge through dialogical sensemaking. British Journal of Management, 28(1), 29–44.
[12] Day, E. (2018). “Meet the nine female ministers in UAE’s current cabinet”. Emirates Woman. Retrieved from https://emirateswoman.com/meet-the-nine-female-ministers-in-the-uaes-current-cabinet
[13] Fairclough, N. (2001). Critical discourse analysis. In A. McHoul & M. Rapley (Eds.), How to Analyze Talk in Institutional Settings: A Casebook of Methods (pp. 25–38). Continuum.
DOI 10.18502/Article-2 Page 43 Gulf Education and Social Policy Review Emily W. Anderson
[14] Fox, R. K., Dodman, S., & Holincheck, N. (2019). Moving beyond reflection in a hall of mirrors: Developing critical reflective capacity in teachers and teacher educators. Reflective Practice, 20(3), 367–382.
[15] Gutierez, S. B. (2019). Teacher-practitioner research inquiry and sense making of their reflections on scaffolded collaborative lesson planning experience. Asia-Pacific Science Education, 5(1), 1–15.
[16] Harold, B., & Stephenson, L. (2010). Researcher development in UAE classrooms: Becoming teacher–leaders. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, 3(3), 231–243.
[17] Hill, I. (2012). An international model of world-class education: The International Baccalaureate. Prospects, 42(3), 341–359.
[18] Johnstone, P. R. (2006). Linking study tours of India and China to the primary classroom in multicultural Australia. International Journal of Learning, 13(5), 93–97.
[19] Marshall, C. (2000). Policy discourse analysis: Negotiating gender equity. Journal of Education Policy, 15(2), 125–156.
[20] McDonnell, L. M., & Elmore, R. F. (1987). Getting the job done: Alternative policy instruments. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 9(2), 133–152.
[21] Ministry of Education introduces new world-class curriculum to enhance UAE’s education system. (2016, October 6). PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ministry-of-education-introduces-new-world-class-curriculum-to-enhance-uaes-education-system-300340499.html
[22] GALE. (n.d.). Gale in Context: Biography. Retrieved from https://www.gale.com/c/in-context-biography
[23] Morgan, C. (2018). The spectacle of global tests in the Arabian Gulf: A comparison of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Comparative Education, 54(3), 285–308.
[24] Monkman, K. (2011). Framing gender, education and empowerment. Research in Comparative and International Education, 6(1), 1–13.
[25] Monkman, K., & Hoffman, L. (2013). Girls’ education: The power of policy discourse. Theory and Research in Education, 11(1), 63–84.
[26] Muñiz, R. (2020). Muddy sensemaking: Making sense of socio-emotional skills amidst a vague policy context. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 28(114).
[27] Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2014). PISA 2012 Results in Focus: What 15-Year-olds Know and What They Can Do with What They Know. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results-overview.pdf
[28] OECD. (2018). PISA 2015 Results in Focus. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015-results-in-focus.pdf
[29] Patrick, S. K., & Joshi, E. (2019). “Set in Stone” or “Willing to Grow”? Teacher sensemaking during a growth mindset initiative. Teaching and Teacher Education, 83, 156–167.
[30] Prabjandee, D. (2019). Unwelcome truths of the professional learning community policy in Thailand: Teacher’s sensemaking. Issues in Educational Research, 29(1), 223–242.
[31] Pennings, M. W., Cushing, D. F., Gomez, R., & Dyson, C. (2020). Making the intangible, tangible: Assessment design that fosters curiosity, confidence and collaboration during international short-term study tours for Australian students. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 60(1), 113–137.
[32] Preves, S., & Stephenson, D. (2009). The classroom as stage: Impression management in collaborative teaching. Teaching Sociology, 37(3), 245–256.
[33] Roffee, J. A., & Burns, K. (2020). International student mobility & study tours as a tool for social justice. Teaching in Higher Education, 1–16.
[34] Rosen, L. (2009). Rhetoric and symbolic action in the policy process. In G. Sykes, B. Schneider, D. N. Plank, & T. G. Ford (Eds.), Handbook of Education Policy Research (pp. 267–285). Routledge.
[35] Saito, E., & Atencio, M. (2013). A conceptual discussion of lesson study from a micro-political perspective: Implications for teacher development and pupil learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 31, 87–95.
[36] Saldaña, J. (2013). The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. London: SAGE.
[37] Schoepp, K. W. (2011). The path to development: Expatriate faculty retention in the UAE. International Education, 40(2), 58–75.
[38] Siltaoja, M., Juusola, K., & Kivijarvi, M. (2019). World-class fantasies: A neocolonial analysis of international branch campuses. Organization, 26(1), 75–97.
[39] Sharif, T., Upadhyay, D., & Ahmed, E. (2016). Motivational factors influencing teaching (FIT) as a career: An empirical study of the expatriate teachers in the Emirates. The Journal of Developing Areas, 50(6), 209–225.
[40] Shields, R. (2013). Globalization and International Education. London: Continuum.
[41] Siczek, M. M., & Engel, L. C. (2019). Teachers’ cognitive interpretation of U.S. global education initiatives. Educational Policy, 33(3), 486–515.
[42] Smith, C. S. (2003). Modes of Discourse: The local Structure of Texts (Vol. 103). Cambridge University Press. DOI 10.18502/Article-2 Page 44 Gulf Education and Social Policy Review Emily W. Anderson
[43] Spillane, J. P., Reiser, B. J., & Reimer, T. (2002). Policy implementation and cognition: Reframing and refocusing implementation research. Review of Educational Research, 72(3), 387–431.
[44] Stephenson, L., Dada, R., & Harold, B. (2012). Challenging the traditional idea of leadership in UAE schools. On the Horizon, 20(1), 54–63.
[45] Stewart, V. (2012). A World-class Education: Learning from International Models of Excellence and Innovation. ASCD.
[46] Takayama, K. (2008). The politics of international league tables: PISA in Japan’s achievement crisis debate. Comparative Education, 44(4), 387–407.
[47] Tan, C. (2019). Sensemaking and sensegiving in schooling reform: South Korea and China. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 17(4), 536–547.
[48] Twyford, K., Le Fevre, D., & Timperley, H. (2017). The influence of risk and uncertainty on teachers’ responses to professional learning and development. Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 2(2), 86–100.
[49] United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. (2016). The UAE Ranks First among Arab Countries in the PISA 2015 Assessment. Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.ae/En/MediaCenter/News/Pages/PISA2015.aspx
[50] United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. (2018). Ministry of Education Strategic Plan 2017–2021. Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.ae/En/AboutTheMinistry/Pages/MinistryStrategy.aspx
[51] United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. (2019). Quality Education: Education as a National Priority. Retrieved from https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/leaving-no-one-behind/4qualityeducation
[52] United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. (n.d.). PISA Brochure. Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.ae/En/ImportantLinks/InternationalAssessments/Documents/PISA/Brochure.pdf
[53] United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. (2020). About the Ministry. Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.ae/En/AboutTheMinistry/Pages/OrgChart.aspx
[54] Van Dijk, T. A. (1997). What is political discourse analysis. Belgian Journal of Linguistics, 11(1), 11–52.
[55] Vavrus, F., & Bartlett, L. (2012). Comparative pedagogies and epistemological diversity: Social and materials contexts of teaching in Tanzania. Comparative Education Review, 56(4), 634–658.
[56] Xiaomin, L., & Auld, E. (2020). A historical perspective on the OECD’s ‘humanitarian turn’: PISA for Development and the Learning Framework 2030. Comparative Education, 56(4), 503–521.
[57] Wiseman, A. W., & Anderson, E. (2012). ICT-integrated education and national innovation systems in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Computers & Education, 59(2), 607-618.
[58] Wiseman, A. W., & Anderson, E. (2015). A cross-national comparison of ICT resources and science teachers’ professional development in and use of ICT in the gulf cooperation council countries. In Science education in the arab gulf states (pp. 137-152). Brill Sense.
[2] Allan, E. J. (2008). Policy Discourses, Gender, and Education: Constructing Women’s Status (Vol. 11). Routledge.
[3] Aslam, F., Adefila, A., & Bagiya, Y. (2018). STEM outreach activities: An approach to teachers’ professional development. Journal of Education for Teaching, 44(1), 58–70.
[4] Bacchi, C. (2012). Why study problematizations? Making politics visible. Open Journal of Political Science, 2(01), 1.
[5] Bensimon, E. M., & Marshall, C. (Ed.). (1997). Policy analysis for postsecondary education: Feminist and critical perspectives. In Feminist Critical Policy Analysis II (pp. 1–22). Routledge.
[6] Berkovich, I., & Benoliel, P. (2020). Marketing teacher quality: Critical discourse analysis of OECD documents on effective teaching and TALIS. Critical Studies in Education, 61(4), 496–511.
[7] Bretag, T., & van der Veen, R. (2017). ‘Pushing the boundaries’: Participant motivation and selfreported benefits of short-term international study tours. Innovations in Education & Teaching International, 54(3), 175–183.
[8] Coburn, C. E. (2001). Collective sensemaking about reading: How teachers mediate reading policy in their professional communities. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23(2), 145–170.
[9] Corsaro, W. A., & Molinari, L. (2005). I Compagni: Understanding Children’s Transition from Preschool to Elementary School. Teacher College Press.
[10] Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2016). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing among Five Approaches. SAGE Publications.
[11] Cunliffe, A. L., & Scaratti, G. (2017). Embedding impact in engaged research: Developing socially useful knowledge through dialogical sensemaking. British Journal of Management, 28(1), 29–44.
[12] Day, E. (2018). “Meet the nine female ministers in UAE’s current cabinet”. Emirates Woman. Retrieved from https://emirateswoman.com/meet-the-nine-female-ministers-in-the-uaes-current-cabinet
[13] Fairclough, N. (2001). Critical discourse analysis. In A. McHoul & M. Rapley (Eds.), How to Analyze Talk in Institutional Settings: A Casebook of Methods (pp. 25–38). Continuum.
DOI 10.18502/Article-2 Page 43 Gulf Education and Social Policy Review Emily W. Anderson
[14] Fox, R. K., Dodman, S., & Holincheck, N. (2019). Moving beyond reflection in a hall of mirrors: Developing critical reflective capacity in teachers and teacher educators. Reflective Practice, 20(3), 367–382.
[15] Gutierez, S. B. (2019). Teacher-practitioner research inquiry and sense making of their reflections on scaffolded collaborative lesson planning experience. Asia-Pacific Science Education, 5(1), 1–15.
[16] Harold, B., & Stephenson, L. (2010). Researcher development in UAE classrooms: Becoming teacher–leaders. Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, 3(3), 231–243.
[17] Hill, I. (2012). An international model of world-class education: The International Baccalaureate. Prospects, 42(3), 341–359.
[18] Johnstone, P. R. (2006). Linking study tours of India and China to the primary classroom in multicultural Australia. International Journal of Learning, 13(5), 93–97.
[19] Marshall, C. (2000). Policy discourse analysis: Negotiating gender equity. Journal of Education Policy, 15(2), 125–156.
[20] McDonnell, L. M., & Elmore, R. F. (1987). Getting the job done: Alternative policy instruments. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 9(2), 133–152.
[21] Ministry of Education introduces new world-class curriculum to enhance UAE’s education system. (2016, October 6). PR Newswire. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ministry-of-education-introduces-new-world-class-curriculum-to-enhance-uaes-education-system-300340499.html
[22] GALE. (n.d.). Gale in Context: Biography. Retrieved from https://www.gale.com/c/in-context-biography
[23] Morgan, C. (2018). The spectacle of global tests in the Arabian Gulf: A comparison of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Comparative Education, 54(3), 285–308.
[24] Monkman, K. (2011). Framing gender, education and empowerment. Research in Comparative and International Education, 6(1), 1–13.
[25] Monkman, K., & Hoffman, L. (2013). Girls’ education: The power of policy discourse. Theory and Research in Education, 11(1), 63–84.
[26] Muñiz, R. (2020). Muddy sensemaking: Making sense of socio-emotional skills amidst a vague policy context. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 28(114).
[27] Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. (2014). PISA 2012 Results in Focus: What 15-Year-olds Know and What They Can Do with What They Know. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results-overview.pdf
[28] OECD. (2018). PISA 2015 Results in Focus. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa-2015-results-in-focus.pdf
[29] Patrick, S. K., & Joshi, E. (2019). “Set in Stone” or “Willing to Grow”? Teacher sensemaking during a growth mindset initiative. Teaching and Teacher Education, 83, 156–167.
[30] Prabjandee, D. (2019). Unwelcome truths of the professional learning community policy in Thailand: Teacher’s sensemaking. Issues in Educational Research, 29(1), 223–242.
[31] Pennings, M. W., Cushing, D. F., Gomez, R., & Dyson, C. (2020). Making the intangible, tangible: Assessment design that fosters curiosity, confidence and collaboration during international short-term study tours for Australian students. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 60(1), 113–137.
[32] Preves, S., & Stephenson, D. (2009). The classroom as stage: Impression management in collaborative teaching. Teaching Sociology, 37(3), 245–256.
[33] Roffee, J. A., & Burns, K. (2020). International student mobility & study tours as a tool for social justice. Teaching in Higher Education, 1–16.
[34] Rosen, L. (2009). Rhetoric and symbolic action in the policy process. In G. Sykes, B. Schneider, D. N. Plank, & T. G. Ford (Eds.), Handbook of Education Policy Research (pp. 267–285). Routledge.
[35] Saito, E., & Atencio, M. (2013). A conceptual discussion of lesson study from a micro-political perspective: Implications for teacher development and pupil learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 31, 87–95.
[36] Saldaña, J. (2013). The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers. London: SAGE.
[37] Schoepp, K. W. (2011). The path to development: Expatriate faculty retention in the UAE. International Education, 40(2), 58–75.
[38] Siltaoja, M., Juusola, K., & Kivijarvi, M. (2019). World-class fantasies: A neocolonial analysis of international branch campuses. Organization, 26(1), 75–97.
[39] Sharif, T., Upadhyay, D., & Ahmed, E. (2016). Motivational factors influencing teaching (FIT) as a career: An empirical study of the expatriate teachers in the Emirates. The Journal of Developing Areas, 50(6), 209–225.
[40] Shields, R. (2013). Globalization and International Education. London: Continuum.
[41] Siczek, M. M., & Engel, L. C. (2019). Teachers’ cognitive interpretation of U.S. global education initiatives. Educational Policy, 33(3), 486–515.
[42] Smith, C. S. (2003). Modes of Discourse: The local Structure of Texts (Vol. 103). Cambridge University Press. DOI 10.18502/Article-2 Page 44 Gulf Education and Social Policy Review Emily W. Anderson
[43] Spillane, J. P., Reiser, B. J., & Reimer, T. (2002). Policy implementation and cognition: Reframing and refocusing implementation research. Review of Educational Research, 72(3), 387–431.
[44] Stephenson, L., Dada, R., & Harold, B. (2012). Challenging the traditional idea of leadership in UAE schools. On the Horizon, 20(1), 54–63.
[45] Stewart, V. (2012). A World-class Education: Learning from International Models of Excellence and Innovation. ASCD.
[46] Takayama, K. (2008). The politics of international league tables: PISA in Japan’s achievement crisis debate. Comparative Education, 44(4), 387–407.
[47] Tan, C. (2019). Sensemaking and sensegiving in schooling reform: South Korea and China. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 17(4), 536–547.
[48] Twyford, K., Le Fevre, D., & Timperley, H. (2017). The influence of risk and uncertainty on teachers’ responses to professional learning and development. Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 2(2), 86–100.
[49] United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. (2016). The UAE Ranks First among Arab Countries in the PISA 2015 Assessment. Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.ae/En/MediaCenter/News/Pages/PISA2015.aspx
[50] United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. (2018). Ministry of Education Strategic Plan 2017–2021. Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.ae/En/AboutTheMinistry/Pages/MinistryStrategy.aspx
[51] United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. (2019). Quality Education: Education as a National Priority. Retrieved from https://u.ae/en/about-the-uae/leaving-no-one-behind/4qualityeducation
[52] United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. (n.d.). PISA Brochure. Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.ae/En/ImportantLinks/InternationalAssessments/Documents/PISA/Brochure.pdf
[53] United Arab Emirates Ministry of Education. (2020). About the Ministry. Retrieved from https://www.moe.gov.ae/En/AboutTheMinistry/Pages/OrgChart.aspx
[54] Van Dijk, T. A. (1997). What is political discourse analysis. Belgian Journal of Linguistics, 11(1), 11–52.
[55] Vavrus, F., & Bartlett, L. (2012). Comparative pedagogies and epistemological diversity: Social and materials contexts of teaching in Tanzania. Comparative Education Review, 56(4), 634–658.
[56] Xiaomin, L., & Auld, E. (2020). A historical perspective on the OECD’s ‘humanitarian turn’: PISA for Development and the Learning Framework 2030. Comparative Education, 56(4), 503–521.
[57] Wiseman, A. W., & Anderson, E. (2012). ICT-integrated education and national innovation systems in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Computers & Education, 59(2), 607-618.
[58] Wiseman, A. W., & Anderson, E. (2015). A cross-national comparison of ICT resources and science teachers’ professional development in and use of ICT in the gulf cooperation council countries. In Science education in the arab gulf states (pp. 137-152). Brill Sense.