Teachers who love teaching, teach children to love learning Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching: action research in an international school in Serbia Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Leicester by Svetlana Belic Malinic School of Education University of Leicester August 2019
251
Embed
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a ... - Amazon Web Services
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Teachers
who love teaching,
teach children
to love learning
Coaching and
peer-collaboration
as a means for
improving teaching:
action research
in an international school
in Serbia
Thesis submitted for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
at the University of Leicester
by Svetlana Belic Malinic
School of Education
University of Leicester
August 2019
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia i
Svetlana Belic Malinic
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
action research in an international school in Serbia
by Svetlana Belic Malinic
ABSTRACT
My research interest emerges from my observation that teachers in the international school
in Serbia, where I worked during the research, seemed to be alienated in their classrooms
and resistant to change agents. I, therefore, wanted to find out how coaching and peer-
collaboration might affect teachers’ beliefs about their classroom practice, values they
cherish about teaching, new knowledge constructed through collaboration and emerging
attitudes towards reinvented pedagogies.
Having applied a mixed method approach, I gathered two sets of comparable data:
quantitative data, collected through the Questionnaire of Teacher Interaction (QTI), and
qualitative data, generated from the coaching sessions. Once interpreted using thematic
analysis, these sets produced teachers’ profiles as well as three themes: (1) resistance to
change and reconciliation, (2) reflection about teaching, and (3) collaborative teaching through
peer-collaboration. The findings showed how coaching and peer-collaboration situate in the
context depending on the teachers’ career age, their openness to reculturing and
preparedness to adapt to international education requirements. Finally, this study illuminates
how the changes, which coaching and peer-collaboration bring about, take distinctive yet
interdependent forms: (1) changes in the self, related to the innermost processes of the
teachers, their personality traits and core values; (2) changes in the classroom, that is in the
pedagogical practice and instructional designs with the students; (3) changes in
communication within a school, not only with the students and other teachers, but also with
the parents; (4) change in professional lives, which concern teachers’ understanding of their
immediate context, collaborative culture and learning community.
This research resulted in a process of reculturing of the school as an institution (Fullan, 1999),
which allowed the teachers to voice their most pressing concerns, examine prior knowledge
in the light of new understandings and construct new knowledge through processes of
reflection, dialogue and enquiry (McCormack et al., 2006).
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia ii
Svetlana Belic Malinic
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I was teaching in a primary school when I was doing my doctoral thesis and my daughter was
in ‘my’ class. She was fully aware of my sleepless nights and tight deadlines but had always
embraced my workload readily: she studied with me and drew wonderful pictures in my study
books and notes to make learning easier.
Once, I went to the UK for a week for my Advance Post-graduate (APG) process, but she had
somehow understood that I went there to become ‘a doctor’ and proudly shared the news with
every student in the class. When I returned, I had the greatest welcoming party ever, with all
the students congratulating me on becoming ‘a doctor’. Yet, one little boy was standing on his
own, his eyes brimming with tears. I approached him and softly asked what was going on.
- You…you… you are a doctor now… You are not a teacher anymore?
- Nooo… I AM a teacher, but I will be a doctor…a doctor teacher.
- What does it mean?
Well, he caught me unprepared there. How to explain to a child what this means? Luckily, I
had a communication specialist – my daughter, who decided to explain it in her own words.
- It means that if there is something you don’t know, she can fix that! As simple as that!
So, here I am… fixing what students don’t know! And some teachers, too. As simple as that!
Studying for my doctorate was a wonderful journey because I had a true companion,
Professor Hilary Burgess, who I would like to thank for having the patience and the time to
guide me through. She has shown an amazing ability to strike the right balance between
providing supportive guidance and allowing me the necessary autonomy to pursue my own
research interests. It was a privilege to work with and learn from a mentor of such wisdom.
My special thanks also go to all my colleagues and students who ventured this study with me.
They have made an enormous impact on my professional development and helped me grow
not only as a head teacher but also as an educational researcher. I know that embracing
changes was not easy, but it was worth it for all of us!
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia iii
Svetlana Belic Malinic
Last but not least, I owe this thesis to my family: my husband, Mladen, who has unselfishly shared
and endured my learning, sweat and tears, and my daughter Teodora, who let me be a ‘studying
mum’ while she was growing. She left wonderful reminders of her support in my study notes, like
the one below. I would have never made it without their immeasurable love and understanding.
Family portrait: Mummy and Daddy and I Malinic (Author: Teodora Malinic, age 6)
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia iv
Svetlana Belic Malinic
DECLARATION
I declare that this thesis is a product of my own work, which has not, whether in the same or
a different form, been presented to this or any other university in support of an application
for any degree other than that of which I am now a candidate.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia v
Svetlana Belic Malinic
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 | Introduction 1
International education: context for exploration 4
Cambridge International Education 8
Cambridge International Schools 10
Structure of the thesis 11
Reciprocal coaching model 14
Summary 15
2 | Literature review 16
Teachers’ preparedness to teach in international settings 16
School-level factors for teachers’ professional development 26
Teachers’ attitude to change 30
Collaboration, collegiality and coaching 35
The Bell Model of Reciprocal Peer Coaching 40
Summary 47
3 | Theoretical background 49
Ontological perspective 51
Epistemological perspective 52
Constructivism in the classroom 53
Summary 57
4 | Methodological issues 59
Action research 60
4 | 1 | 1 Action research limitations and assumptions 66
4 | 1 | 2 Reflection and action research 67
Ethical issues and power relations 69
Research spoiler 73
Pilot study 75
4 | 4 | 1 Pilot Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction 76
4 | 4 | 2 Pilot coaching conferences 78
4 | 4 | 3 Pilot findings 80
Summary 81
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia vi
Svetlana Belic Malinic
5 | Research design 83
Mixed methods research 84
5 | 1 | 1 Quantitative research method: Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) 86
5 | 1 | 2 Qualitative research method: coaching conferences and lesson observations 87
5 | 1 | 3 Triangulation 88
Sample 89
Validity, reliability and generalisability 91
Summary 94
6 | Data analysis 96
Thematic Analysis 100
Coaching conference data analysis 103
QTI data analysis 109
Summary 114
7 | Research findings 115
Themes 117
7 | 1 | 1 Resistance to change and reconciliation 117
Teachers’ preparedness to teach in international settings
Although the UK Department for Education strongly advocates coaching, mentoring and
peer-collaboration mechanisms to enhance teacher professional development and
performance (DfE 2011), a private international school in Serbia, which I decided to call ‘Bell
International School’ for the purpose of this research, with a curriculum based on the
Cambridge International Qualifications, lacks support for teacher learning, translation of
teacher learning to student learning and dissemination of good practices. The staff are both
national and international, and come from different educational, professional and cultural
backgrounds, which is seen as an advantage given that the clientele is international. Such
‘transnational spaces of learning’ emerged around the world “in response very often to the
aspirations of global knowledge workers for their children” (Hayden, 2011:2012). Yet some of
the teachers in international schools have never been trained in the UK and have never
obtained a UK qualification to teach although they teach in English-mediated environments.
Bell is not an exception.
Let’s take a brief overview of the evolution of the international education and the role of
international teachers in Serbia and the world. Archives hold that the first international
“[Teachers] acquire and develop critically the knowledge, skills and emotional intelligence essential to good professional thinking, planning and practice with children, young people and colleagues throughout each phase of their teaching lives.”
Day (1999:4)
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 17
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
school for boys was Spring Grove School in Hounslow, England in 1867, by Richard Cobden,
Thomas Huxley and Charles Dickens (Walker, 2012), whose idea today feeds the international
education. Cobden, the free trade parliamentarian, recognised international schools as
places where young boys would be educated to become trade ambassadors. The biologist,
Huxley, viewed these schools as science-centred, dedicated to logical thought, while Dickens,
a creator of so many diverse and authentic characters, believed in intercultural competences
which the boys would gain (Walker, 2012). In his article, Dickens says that
“[t]he plan is to establish in the different countries of Europe a series of
international and corresponding schools for the middle and upper classes which
will enable a boy during the course of a liberal education to acquire thoroughly
several modern languages each being learned with the others, among fellows of
all nations, in the land where it is spoken. The arrangement of classes and
method of study being precisely the same in each international school… The
subjects and methods of instruction being arranged on a common basis, the
pupils will have nothing to unlearn.”
Dickens (1864), quoted in Sylvester (2002:7-8)
Soon after, two more international schools, one in Germany, in Bad Godesburg, and one in
France, in Chatou were established on the same premise (Gardner-McTaggart, 2018) with
great expectations that the knowledge of foreign languages would “enlarge connections
between commerce, literature and science” (Ellwood, 2012:5) but they did not last long. Over
the time, new international schools sprang around the world in the places which were
diplomatic, commercial and cultural hubs but it was not until late 20th century that they
started catering for the local students as a new clientele.
In his research on the history of international mindedness, Hill (2006) recounts that one of
the international schools important for the affirmation of international education is the
International School of Geneva / Ecole Internationale de Genève (often referred to as
‘Ecolint’), which was established in 1924 to support the academic life of the families who lived
in Geneva while the parent(s) worked for the International Labour Office (est. 1919) or the
League of Nations (est. 1920) (Ecole Internationale de Genéve, 2017). These organisations
employed people from all around the world and therefore sought a place where their
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 18
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
children would be well adapted to the multicultural, multireligious and multilingual social
structures. After the Second World War, the United Nations established its headquarters in
1945 in New York, which was a call for a new international school to be opened - United
Nations International School (est. 1947) (Ecole Internationale de Genéve, 2017). Similarly, The
United Nations Nursery School (est. 1951) was opened in Paris to support the parents working
in the UNESCO, while the parents working in the UN Office in Vienna educated their children
in the Vienna International School (est. 1959) (ibid.). If we set these schools in the wider
picture of globalisation in the second half of the 20th century, we have to admit they were
truly pioneering endeavours as they provided not only educational but also social platforms
for parents who were settling down in new business surroundings, new cultures and new
languages.
Figure 4: Students of the International School of Belgrade in late 1950s (Source: https://www.isb.rs/site/page/about-isb/history/18)
In 1948, in Belgrade, which was the capital of Yugoslavia at that time, the wife of the British
Ambassador, Lady Peake, opened the Foreign Colony School for the children of the foreign
diplomats, the number of which was growing in the aftermath as Yugoslavia positioned itself
politically and economically in the region. The school changed its name to the International
School of Belgrade (cf. Figure 4) in 1952 and ten years later started receiving grants from the
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 19
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
United States Government which ensured overseas teachers and professional development3.
Just like many other international schools, this one was greatly supported by the parents,
especially mothers, who often taught the students using available resources. As universities
at that time did not offer any formal courses to prepare teachers to teach in international
schools, the International School of Geneva took the initiative and organised the first
gathering for the international teachers in 1950. Enthusiastic teachers and heads from
Europe, Asia and the USA made the conclusion of their deliberations:
“[International education] should give the child an understanding of his past as
a common heritage to which all men irrespective of nation, race or creed have
contributed and which all men should share; it should give him an understanding
of his present world as a world in which peoples are interdependent and in which
cooperation is a necessity. In such an education emphasis should be laid on a
basic attitude of respect for all human beings as persons, understanding of
those things which unite us and an appreciation of the positive values of those
things which may seem to divide us, with the objective of thinking free from fear
or prejudice.”
Course for Teachers Interested in International Education (1950)
in Hill (2012:251)
Using this conclusion as a framework for their educational philosophy and the seminal work
of Marie-Thérèse Maurette, “Educational Techniques for Peace. Do They Exist?”4 (1948), a
group of enthusiastic teachers from the International School of Geneva established the
International Schools Examinations Syndicate (ISES) in 1968, which is today known as the
International Baccalaureate (IB) (Ecole Internationale de Genéve, 2017). This new educational
paradigm shifted focus from traditional concepts of teaching to “intercultural
understanding, awareness of global issues, critical thinking skills, education of the whole
person, and the provision of a university entrance qualification with world-wide currency”
3 Retrieved in February 2019 from https://www.isb.rs/site/page/about-isb/history/18
4 Retrieved in February 2019 from http://alumni.ecolint.net/authors/walker.html.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 20
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
(Hill, 2012:251), offering standardised courses and assessments for students aged 16 to 19.
Almost two decades later, in 1986, the University of Cambridge responded to this challenge
and introduced the International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE)5 for
students aged 14 to 16. Over the period of almost 40 years, Cambridge Assessment
International Education, now part of the University of Cambridge, strategically introduced
new competitive and interculturally enriched syllabuses both horizontally and vertically at
the primary, lower secondary, secondary and AS/A level, where intercultural awareness is
‘taught, not caught’. To ensure unbiased coursework, Cambridge organised a series of events
to train more than 600 international teachers around the world on coursework assessment
(Hayden et al., 2007), which was decidedly the turning point in preparing teachers to teach in
an international context.
The 1990s studies on international education (Fennes & Hapgood, 1997; Moore, 1999; Stoll &
Fink, 1996) argue that teachers are not well prepared to teach in international settings
because their university qualifications do not prepare them to teach in linguistically, culturally
and religiously diverse classrooms. At that time, post-graduate courses in international
education were offered at the University of Bath and Oxford Brookes in the UK, while the US
established similar courses at the Michigan State University and The College of New Jersey.
Needless to say, this was not enough to cater for the growing needs of international schools.
International teachers were few and they were described as ‘Global Nomads’ (Sears,
1998:36), who were flexible in their approach to teaching and learning, drawing on current
thinking about teaching classes of children with differing cultures, languages and educational
histories and who were knowledgeable about the languages and cultures of their students.
While some perceived this as a permanent difficulty, others accepted this experience as
enriching (ibid.).
On the other hand, the 1990s were crucial years for further affirmation of international
education. In response to the growing interest of international students, the US College
Board adapted the original Advanced Placement Program (AP) for the students studying
outside the USA, introducing in 1995 the Advanced Placement International Diploma (APID),
5 Retrieved in February 2019 from https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-
secondary-2/cambridge-igcse/qualification/.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 21
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
a globally recognised certificate. In 1992, the International Baccalaureate introduced Middle
Years Program (MYP) for students aged 11 to 16 with an international flair and heavy
emphasis on teacher assessment. They extended the programme to students aged 3 to 12 in
1997 by designing a Primary Years Program (PYP), rounding up the academic programme
from early years to the pre-university preparations. Although these programmes were
intended for the international students, a number of schools in the UK and USA offered it to
students who sought academic rigour and prestige or who simply wanted to explore
international-mindedness as a globalist feature (Hayden and Thompson, 2008).
At the International Conference on Education (ICE), which was organised in Geneva, in 1994,
ministers of education of member states agreed that the aim of education is to develop:
• a sense of universal values for a culture of peace,
• the ability to value freedom and the civic responsibility that goes with it,
• intercultural understanding which encourages the convergence of ideas and
solutions to strengthen peace,
• skills of non-violent conflict resolution,
• skills for making informed choices,
• respect for cultural heritage and protection of the environment, and
• feelings of solidarity and equity at the national and international levels.
UNESCO declaration (1995:9)
While the rest of the world was reaffirming the importance of education in intercultural
dialogue and non-violent conflict resolution, in Yugoslavia, the civil war disoriented
educational reforms and the only international school operated in politically, socially and
financially unstable circumstances. A lot of embassies withdrew their families from the war
zone and multinational companies closed their businesses, leaving the International School
of Belgrade without its clientele. The numbers were dwindling from 160 students in 1992 to
only 10 during the NATO bombing in 19996. Needless to say, desperate times call for
desperate measures so most of the international teachers left the International School of
Belgrade and the few who remained dedicated themselves fully to the school’s survival.
6 Retrieved in February 2019 from https://www.isb.rs/site/page/coming-far-from-many-nations/1816.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 22
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
The trend in teacher (un)preparedness continues in the 2000s (Gay, 2000; Ginsberg &
Wlodkowski, 2000; Powell, 2000). Teaching a multicultural class, Le Roux (2001) warns, is a
challenging endeavour for teachers, who usually select one of two approaches: they simply
proceed as they have done previously, or they undergo a radical and total reconsideration of
the education setting. Having recognised the need to educate international teachers, a
number of British, American and Canadian universities introduced new academic
programmes with a view to preparing teachers to teach overseas and supplying international
schools, whose number was growing rapidly in the last 2o years, with human capital.
However, as Sears (1998) observed, very often the international schools had scarce resources
and circumstantially employed local teachers with good knowledge of English or
opportunistically ‘trailing spouses’ (Sears, 1998:8), who accompanied their partners on an
expatriate assignment. According to research (Hardman, 2001 in Hayden, 2006), British or
American teachers who were applying for positions in international schools were usually
childless career professionals, mavericks (free and independent spirits) or senior ‘Penelopes’
(faithful to the country they had adopted as Penelope was faithful to Ulysses). Very often the
parents have a say when international teachers are recruited as their involvement with the
school tends to be stronger given the circumstances of their expatriate life. As they want to
replicate the homeland learning environment, they would rather choose native English
speakers, regardless of their teaching experience or pedagogy, over a local teacher with
teaching qualifications and a good level of English. In my professional career, I have been
scrutinised by the parents, like many local teachers, for having a Serbian name although I was
educated in the UK and speak English with a near-native fluency. Even when the local
teaching staff were employed, their financial arrangements would be usually different from
those made with the native speakers, who would receive generous perks such as private
health insurance, accommodation, flight tickets and tuition fees for their children.
These perks were quite appealing for young and enthusiastic teachers who dared to leave
their homelands and explore teaching in the Serbian aftermath. In the meantime, the
international community flourished in Serbia as the international organisation and companies
in Belgrade recruited more international staff, who settled with their families. The economy
was blooming with foreign investments and the local entrepreneurs established profitable
start-ups, which triggered their appetite to educate their children in elite international
schools. The International School of Belgrade survived the hard times but the 2000s brought
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 23
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
market rivals, that is new international schools, which quietly grew in the background of the
busy life in Belgrade. These schools were small in size and conveniently located in rented
villas in the Belgrade uptown, where the expats lived in luxury and isolation. One of them is
the school where I did my research – Bell International School.
The 2010s brought an expansion of international
education around the world: Cambridge
Assessment International Education7 accredited
more than 10,000 school in 160 countries, while
International Baccalaureate8 accredited more than
5,000 schools in 153 countries. The data collected
and analysed by ISC Research over the years show
a growing number of international schools in the
world which adopted various curricula (UK, US or
IBDP) as well as a bilingual model of education, where the international curriculum merges
with the national to provide the students with both socio-cultural and educational values (cf.
Chart 1). However, as Fail observes, a curriculum is not the only criterion for the
establishment of international schools. They emerge because of “their purpose and reason
for being (ideological or market driven), their student populations (multinational or
predominantly one nationality), their faculty (multinational or not), their history (national
schools overseas)” (Fail, 2011:101). Moreover, international schools provide educational
contexts on a three-dimensional spectrum with issues of equity, distinction and market place
(Gardner-McTaggart, 2018). They usually use the slogans which emphasise their
cosmopolitan population (equity), elite surroundings (distinction) and leadership in teaching
(market place), “where the very concept of leadership is commodified as an aspect of the
luxury market. Such commodification lies at the heart of the distinction implicit in the nature
of the international schools experience” (ibid.:151).
Globalisation, mobility, immigration, authentic settings or aspiration for further education at
the prestigious universities in the English-speaking countries made the parents choose
7 Data from April 2019 retrieved from https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/why-choose-us/find-a-cambridge-school/
8 Data from April 2019 retrieved from https://www.ibo.org/about-the-ib/facts-and-figures/
Chart 1: International schools by curriculum adoption (Adapted from: ISC Research, 2018)
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 24
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
international schools over local
schools for the competitive edge.
Moreover, as Hayden and Thompson
(2008:16) assert, “the growing
dominance of English as the main
‘international language’ has led
globally-mobile families of non-first
language English origin to value
English medium education for their
children”. The largest number of
international schools have sprung in
Asia and Middle East (cf. Chart 2),
where, surprisingly, almost 80 percent
of the student population are local children (ISC Research, 2018). Regardless of the
population, international education celebrates “diversity and ensures that every act, every
symbol, every exchange involving teachers, administrators, students and parents reinforces
the belief that, in the end, human diversity is an enrichment and source of strength” (Walker,
2000:202).
Cambridge and Thompson (2004:162) argue that “an international school may offer an
education that makes no claim to be international, while an international education may be
experienced by a student who has not attended a school that describes itself as
international”. Moreover, international schools have long been perceived as thriving on a
socio-cultural rather than educational factors, reconciling academic values with the pluralistic
community made of teachers, students and parents. On the other hand, Hayden et al.
(2000:113) posit that “[b]oth students and teachers appear to believe that it is possible to be
firmly rooted in one national system and culture with strong individual views and yet still be
international”. Hence, the character of the school is not created only by the accreditation
plaque, but also by the international-mindedness and the culture fostered within, which
might be quite similar or totally different from the culture in the host country.
With the introduction of the Cambridge International Qualifications, the teachers at Bell
needed to learn how to make a shift from ‘traditional’ pedagogies to student-centred and
Chart 2: Top 10 countries for international schools (Adapted from: ISC Research, 2018)
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 25
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
enquiry-based approaches to teaching. The recent research into international education
favours the student-centred enquiry-based models of teaching (Twigg, 2010), yet some
teachers report reluctance in its implementation. The reasons for this are deeply rooted in
their teacher training, when they were exposed to the traditional ex-cathedra pedagogies. I
was part of such a system, and I know very well all the strengths and weaknesses of being a
‘traditional’ teacher. But I also know the enlightenment of transformative learning in which I
had to unlearn and relearn my personal theory. I remember very well the cognitive and
affective processes of self-discovery in which my frames of references re-located towards
more inclusive and less discriminating values, my pedagogical maturity challenged the
juvenile playfulness in the classroom and my emotional intelligence seasoned the reflection-
on- and in-action (Schön, 1983). The new academic programme is challenging in that it
requires the teachers to change not only the well-established classroom routines but the way
of connecting with the students, who come from culturally diverse backgrounds. For this
transformative process to happen “the learner [sic.] undergoes a conscious recognition of
the difference between their old viewpoint and the new one and makes a decision to
appropriate the newer perspective as being of more value” (Mezirow, 1978:105).
I remember when I first started teaching in a multinational and culturally-sensitive setting…
Unintended puns, mispronunciation of a name or an invaded comfort zone were everyday
challenges in the classroom. I came to understand that the parents had different
expectations and my performance was scrutinised to the point where I had to plan my
lessons inclusive of not only how the students would feel but also of how the parents would
react. Honestly, I wasn’t prepared for that. My colleagues were in the same shoes.
Deveney’s (2007) research on international teachers' preparedness to teach in a multicultural
learning environment showed that teachers who are curious, reflective, flexible, caring,
optimistic and genuinely interested in other cultures may have the potential to be effective
teachers without having undertaken training for teaching in culturally diverse classes.
Tomlinson and McTighe (2006) believe that,
“[t]eachers find it increasingly difficult to ignore the diversity of learners who
populate their classrooms. Culture, race, language, economics, gender,
experience, motivation to achieve, disability, advanced ability, personal
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 26
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
interests, learning preferences, and presence or absence of an adult support
system are just some of the factors that students bring to school with them in
almost stunning variety.”
Tomlinson & McTighe (2006:1)
Ginsberg and Wlodkowski’s (2000) study shows that teachers try to deal with diversity
independently, relying on their own intuition and spontaneous decision making, which are
necessarily limited by their own experiences and beliefs. These teachers, Deveney (2007)
explains, bring into their classrooms personal life histories and certain culturally based biases,
which they overcome by becoming more pluralistic, flexible and open-minded in their
thinking. Yet, Stoll and Fink (1996) carried out a survey in which more than 75% of the
international teachers stated that the best way to improve awareness and help to develop
shared strategies for coping in culturally diverse classrooms is to discuss their teaching
problems with peers. Searching for understanding, appreciation and empathy, teachers
create collaborative and democratic communities in which they can grow professionally.
Research literature suggests that one of the most important factors which influence student
learning is actually what teachers know and what they are able to do (Hargreaves, 2008;
Lofthouse et al., 2010a; Zwart et al., 2007). Developing professionally requires strategies that
should go beyond personal and individual reflection and include an exploration of new trends
and theories in teaching (Pickering et al. 2007).
School-level factors for teachers’ professional development
Despite the importance of continuing professional development, which is intended to be of
direct or indirect benefit to the individual, group or school (Day, 1999), the teaching staff at
Bell had somehow become resistant to the change agents, which might have helped them
review, renew and extend their commitment in order to “acquire and develop critically the
knowledge, skills and emotional intelligence essential to good professional thinking,
planning and practice” (ibid.:4). Further to this, Bell did not have a developed appraisal
system, which left teachers uninformed about their strengths, weaknesses and areas of
improvement. This lack of systematic communication between the senior management and
teaching staff, as a school-level factor, hinders teachers’ professional development. There is
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 27
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
a statistically significant relationship between the school-level factors, such as clear vision,
support for professional learning, auditing expertise and supporting networking, and
teachers’ levels of enquiry and learning (Pedder, 2006).
One of the school-level factors is the nature of the professional development plan devised at
the school. Based on her research, Feiman-Nemser (2001) identifies the importance of
sustained professional learning opportunities as driving agents towards the environment of
good teaching practice. In such a setting, teachers can challenge professional learning
through either written or verbal narrative with their peers, which allows them to voice their
most pressing concerns, examine prior knowledge in the light of new understandings and
construct new knowledge through the processes of reflection, dialogue and enquiry
(McCormack et al., 2006). Teachers indeed prefer professional development that is sustained
and intensive than shorter, isolated professional learning events, such as one-stop
workshops (Pedder & Opfer, 2013). In this trade-off between time and impact, the
programmes which provide a long-term support and effective impact on the teachers’
development are rarely offered and paid by the school given the budget constraints. It is also
a matter of prioritisation for the school leadership who should have such a privilege – those
who are well-performing as a reward for their devotion, professionalism or student success,
or those who are under-performing as an instrument to improve their weaknesses. On the
other hand, such ‘spray and pray’ models of professional development, in which a small
number of the teachers are provided with a learning opportunity hoping that they will return
the invested by disseminating the learnt, have proved to be ineffective in balancing the
differentiated demands of the teachers and the value of the learnt – a novice teacher’s
learning needs are surely different from those of an experienced teacher, as are primary and
secondary teachers’. In his research of the factors that foster and deter advanced teachers'
professional development, Sprott (2019) identified similar reasons – teachers appreciated
the value of sharing ideas, concerns, and questions with their colleagues, students and other
professionals as an essential pathway toward their development, but they observed a lack of
“travelling to different contexts” (ibid.:324) in which they would be able to evaluate their
own practice.
When I assumed my role at Bell, there was no professional development plan at the school
level and the school leaders could not think of a way to overcome the contextual barriers
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 28
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
such as the geographical distance from the training providers or the non-English menu of the
courses available in the host country. Patton et al. (2015) argue that school administrators
need to facilitate impactful teacher professional development by shifting their way of thinking
from the concept in which professional development is viewed as the acquisition of new skills
and knowledge to the one in which teachers are helped to rethink their practice and critically
plan the course of their development. Circumstantially, these could be subject matter
coordinators, district curriculum coordinators and even the superintendent of schools (ibid.),
but in the context on international schools, they are not likely to help at all. First of all, they lack
the conceptual understanding of the Cambridge programme and the learning needs of
international teachers. On the other hand, international schools, as independent schools, are
not under the district jurisdiction, which means that they are not officially entitled to support
the professional development of international teachers. It is for this reason that some large
international schools or group of schools establish their teachers training centres or institutes,
which serve to provide training courses tailored to the individual needs. For example, the
International School of Geneva has an adjunct Ecolint Institute of Learning and Teaching, both to
provide life-long opportunities for their community of teachers and to disseminate research on
educational research.
Teachers learn in various contexts by engaging in constructive narratives with their
colleagues both outside and inside the school. By doing so, they create professional learning
communities (PLCs), which thrive through the cultivation of shared values and vision, shared
and supportive leadership, norms of trust, respect, critical enquiry and collective learning
(ibid.). Their aim is to “promote improvements in students’ learning by supporting change
through teachers’ learning that is not individual and fragmented but collaborative and
embedded in their day-to-day routine work” (ibid.:541). However, this was not the case with
the academic context of this research. Hidden behind the classroom door, each teacher
developed within their own cocoon, void of any collegial support, as if talking about pressing
issues was a taboo. Rhodes and Beneicke (2002:302) warn that in schools where
“collaboration and trust between individuals is weak or not established, approaches to
professional development and performance management, which embrace these
mechanisms, have implications for management teams in those schools”. Therefore, the Bell
management needed to “facilitate teacher learning by fostering the conditions in which such
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 29
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
learning can take place along with attendant benefits for pupil learning and attainment”
(ibid.:303).
However, sometimes the school management efforts simply fail to foster such conditions.
Problems might emerge from differing ethics, possible misuse of power or excessive control
by the coach/mentor (Daloz, 1998). If coaching, mentoring and peer-collaboration are
imposed teacher support mechanisms, it is less likely that the teachers will be receptive to
professional development and more likely that they will become recluses in their own
working environment. Management needs to consider the preparedness of coach-mentors
in understanding and executing their role in supporting the learning of colleagues effectively
(ibid.). Running an accurate diagnosis of the causes of any poor performance and identifying
teacher learning needs are prerequisites for instilling a collegial drive to support the
professional growth of all teachers. Coupled with challenges in identifying causes of poor
teacher performance and challenges in effecting a trusting dialogue, the difficulties may also
stem from the prevailing learning culture within Bell. Research confirms that head teachers
who were able to improve the performance of poorly performing teachers were able to make
precise judgments about the nature of the help needed (Wragg et al., 2000).
Although it is understandable that many things can be learnt about teaching through self-
observation and critical reflection (Pachler & Field, 2001; Pickering et al., 2007), many others
cannot, such as subject-matter knowledge, pedagogical expertise, and understanding of
curriculum and materials as well as the way a school’s programme is organised and managed
(Leitch & Day, 2000). The process of reflection, as a psychological phenomenon, is necessarily
subjective, placing the responsibility to improve professional practice firmly on the individual,
who, by doing so, takes control over their own continuing professional development,
“embedding new approaches, techniques, skills, knowledge, understanding and/or insights
into personal practice” (Pachler et al., 2003:9). In effective classrooms, teachers have to
balance at least four elements: “whom they teach (students), where they teach (learning
environment), what they teach (content), and how they teach (instruction). If teachers lose
sight of any one of the elements and cease investing effort in it, the whole fabric of their
work is damaged and the quality of learning impaired” (Tomlinson & McTighe, 2006:2).
Reflection is therefore crucial for pedagogical virtuosos, as “learning happens within
teachers, not to them” (ibid., 2006:22). Yet, every teacher is unique in their classroom and
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 30
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
the very concept of an effective classroom has a unique footprint in the school as a
community.
Therefore, I wanted to ‘knock at the classroom door’ and establish a channel of
communication through which I would encourage teachers to solicit advice, exchange
experiences and construct avenues for their professional growth by collaborating with their
peers.
Teachers’ attitude to change
In schools where the professional development culture already includes strong teacher
collaboration, the adoption of coaching, mentoring and peer-collaboration should present
fewer problems for staff (Rhodes & Beneicke, 2002). Yet, this is not prevalent in Bell. In order
to plant the collaborative culture in the first place, I thought that the teachers needed to
understand the multiple benefits of coaching and peer-collaboration as an alternative to the
costly professional development courses abroad. Having in mind that the Bell teaching staff
were highly qualified and experienced, I assumed that constructing a professional space for
their interaction, support and communication might be an effective way for them to ‘put
their brains together’ and share ideas. These shared experiences are a potential source of rich
insight into the self-evaluating processes, where the ultimate goal is better student
performance (Hammerness et al., 2005). In coaching, peers are self-directed partners in
learning, who build their classroom confidence while seeking appreciation, understanding
and empathy in their community. Studies on coaching promote multiple benefits of teacher
collaboration, yet there are occasions when “self-disclosure is a risk-taking venture that can
cause uncertainty, discomfort, or embarrassment at times” (Zwart et al., 2007). Taking a
professional risk was inherently part of my research design and was heavily influenced by the
positive experiences in personal transformative learning. I learnt how to embrace a change
and was hoping that I could help others understand that cognitive and affective processes
behind ‘the change’ build self-confidence in teaching practice.
Guskey (2002:382) in his seminal work on teacher change, points to the fact that “[w]hat
attracts teachers to professional development [...] is their belief that it will expand their
knowledge and skills, contribute to their growth, and enhance their effectiveness with
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 31
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
students”. If a learning programme fails, then it did not take into account two crucial factors:
(1) what motivates teachers to engage in professional development, and (2) the process by
which change in teachers typically occurs (Guskey, 1986 in Guskey, 2002). Yet, a change might
appear imposing to teachers, especially when they are treated as ‘others’, the objects of
investigation, rather than as knowing subjects, willing and able to determine their own
course of action. It is this change in the teachers’ beliefs, attitude and eventually classrooms
practice that coaching and peer-collaboration are likely to inspire. Guskey’s (2002) theory on
teacher change warns that the assumption that the change in attitudes and beliefs comes
first is utopian.
Figure 5: A model of teacher change (Source: Guskey, 2002:383)
According to his model (cf. Figure 5), significant change in teachers’ attitudes and beliefs
occurs primarily after they have gained evidence of improvements in student learning, where
it shows not only in cognitive and achievement indices but also in students’ attitude,
motivation and behaviour. This is a crucial factor in attracting teachers to reinvent their
pedagogies through various forms of professional development as it helps them grow and
enhance their classroom skills. However, teachers rarely initiate the change and even when
they do, the changes they find acceptable are superficial and easily applied modifications of
what they already do (Edwards, 2011). Therefore, the change is best implemented when the
teachers and the school leaders share values and visions of school improvements
empowered by the teachers’ enthusiasm. However, to empower does not mean to impose
the process of change in order to transform “specific teachers’ practices in the classroom but
to generate principles of good practice that may or may not be taken up by the teaching
community” (Lawson, 2011b:321).
Fullan (2007:25) defines three aspects of change: (1) the possible use of new or revised
materials (instructional resources such as curriculum materials or technologies), (2) the
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 32
Svetlana Belic Malinic
2 | L
ite
ratu
re r
evi
ew
possible use of new teaching approaches (i.e., new teaching strategies or activities), and
(3) the possible alteration of beliefs (e.g., pedagogical assumptions and theories underlying
particular new policies or programs). “My point is the logical one”, he stresses, “that the
change has to occur in practice along the three dimensions in order for it to have a chance of
affecting the outcome” (ibid.). In other words, teachers cannot reconsider their pedagogical
practice without reconsidering the new materials and the other way around, but changing
beliefs is more difficult to observe because they are often “not explicit, discussed, or
understood, but rather are buried at the level of unstated assumptions” (ibid.:28) yet they
In pursuit of knowledge, most scientists use theory to guide their own work, to locate their
studies in larger theoretical traditions or “to map the topography of the specific concepts
they will explore in detail” (Marshall & Rossman, 1999:36). While the choice of
methodologies and methods rightly serve researchers in the investigation of their
phenomena, the justification for such choice goes beyond answering the questions in the
proposed research and relates to the underlying assumptions about the reality and
understanding of the knowledge. Therefore, researchers need to establish a strong research
design in order to support an ontological interrogation, which illuminates the
epistemological and methodological possibilities that are available.
When a relationship is established between the ontological perspective (what a researcher
thinks can be investigated), the epistemological perspective (what they believe they know
about it) and the methodological approach (how to investigate it), then the phenomenon is
best explored (Grix, 2004). Consequently, Grix (ibid.) concludes, choosing the right
ontological and epistemological position therefore guides the choice of the methodological
approach and the research outcomes. Riazi (2016:42) insists that “the methodological stage
is genuinely geared to the conceptualization of the research problem, leading ultimately to
more meaningful and rigorous inferences”. Nonaka (1994) defines two spirals of knowledge,
that is two types of movement of knowledge. The ‘ontological spiral’ represents the
“[A]ll knowledge and therefore all meaningful reality as such is contingent upon human practices, being constructed in and out of interaction between human beings and their world, and developed and transmitted within an essentially social context.”
Crotty (1998:42)
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 50
Svetlana Belic Malinic
3 | T
he
ore
tica
l bac
kgro
un
d
movement of knowledge between the individual and the organisational levels and the other
way around, while the ‘epistemological spiral’, that is transformation from tacit to explicit and
vice versa, shows a shift in four different types of knowledge, which he identifies as a SECI
framework: Socialisation, Externalisation, Combination and Internalisation (cf. Figure 14).
Figure 14: SECI Model of knowledge creation (Adapted from Nonaka, 1994)
When tacit knowledge is shared among individuals, we can observe its social attribute in
emotions and experiences transferred to the organisation. It can further be externalised in
the process of a dialogue among the members of the organisation so that it can become
more explicit, or the other way around, which is the process of internalisation, that is transfer
of knowledge from explicit to tacit. Combination, which is midway, involves the exchange of
individuals’ explicit knowledge by “reconfiguring existing information through the sorting,
adding, re-categorizing, and re-contextualizing” (Nonaka, 1994:19). Cheng (2019) used the
SECI framework to interpret the pedagogical content knowledge in individual, group and
school context while implementing a lesson study approach. Similarly, Hvorecky (2012)
explored how the SECI model intersects with the Bloom’s revised taxonomy (Anderson and
Krathwohl, 2001) and its levels of knowledge (remembering, understanding, applying,
analysing, evaluating and creating). He created a list of active learning activities, which he
cropped against the four dimensions of the SECI types of transfer of knowledge.
Interestingly, most of skills developed through the Bloom’s taxonomy belong to the tacit
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 51
Svetlana Belic Malinic
3 | T
he
ore
tica
l bac
kgro
un
d
knowledge, which cannot be forced but rather enabled (e.g. storytelling, brainstorming or
demonstrating).
In the context of this research, the SECI framework engages the individual experiences of the
teachers, whose tacit knowledge of pedagogical instruction is socialised and externalised in
the community towards becoming more explicit. But for a change to take place, the teachers
need to transform this newly constructed knowledge through the process of combination
and internalisation in order to embrace innovation in their classroom. On the other hand, the
knowledge in this research is also transformed through the ‘ontological spiral’ from the
individual to the community and vice versa. Fidalgo-Blanco et al. (2015:4) argue that the lack
of this type of spiral in the context of educational innovation produces inter alia reduced
transferability of knowledge because the “knowledge created is applied in the context in
which it was created”. As there is no interaction between the individual and the community,
it is difficult to share the personal experiences and the spiral of knowledge is interrupted. To
avoid this, Nonaka et al. (2008) emphasise that the ontological spiral is best spun when the
interaction between tacit and explicit knowledge feeds on the iterative and dynamic
transformation of knowledge from a lower ontological level to a higher level. This, they
explain, happens because
“[k]nowledge is created by people in their interactions with each other and the
environment. Hence, to understand knowledge, we must first understand the
human beings and the interactive processes from which knowledge emerges.”
Nonaka et al. (2008:7)
To better understand the dynamic interplay between the ontological and epistemological
spirals in this research, I provide a short overview of the theoretical framework which
underpins this study.
Ontological perspective
Following the inherently interpretivist paradigm, my research rests on the notion that only
through the subjective interpretation of and intervention in reality can that reality be fully
understood. Interpretivist philosophy holds that researchers cannot avoid affecting the
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 52
Svetlana Belic Malinic
3 | T
he
ore
tica
l bac
kgro
un
d
phenomena that they investigate as there may be many interpretations of reality, yet these
interpretations are in themselves a part of the scientific knowledge that they generate. Such
an ontological perspective guided me to understand the social reality as different teachers
see it and to demonstrate how their views affect the decisions which they make within that
reality. My view complies with Cohen et al.’s (2000), who advocate the use of interpretivism
arguing that situations need to be examined through the eyes of the participants, rather than
the researcher.
Epistemological perspective
The epistemological stance, which provides better understanding of how knowledge is
generated and shared in this study, stems from social constructivism. Crotty (1998:42) posits
that all knowledge is “contingent upon human practices, being constructed in and out of
interaction between human beings and their world”. Thus, knowledge is neither discovered
nor received, but constructed. Constructivism is a research paradigm that denies the
existence of an objective reality, “asserting instead that realities are social constructions of
the mind, and that there exist as many such constructions as there are individuals (although
clearly many constructions will be shared)” (Guba & Lincoln, 1989:43). Hence, our collective
efforts in the making of knowledge involve social structures, interactions and values, which
in the powerful loop of knowledge acquisition, assimilation and accommodation, render the
interpretation of our reality. According to Crotty (1998:8), “[t]ruth, or meaning, comes into
existence in and out of our engagement with the realities in our world. In this understanding
of knowledge, it is clear that different people may construct meaning in different ways, even
in relation to the same phenomenon.” Such an epistemological view is justified by the mere
nature of my study – the knowledge has been constructed and shared in a social context –
our school – which is seen in the actions teachers have taken to improve their pedagogical
instruction. The change this research has brought about is not a final conclusion but rather
an invitation to re-interpret the outcomes and construct new knowledge.
Ontology and epistemology are inextricably linked in self-study research. I believe that this
research can be seen not as abstract but as evolving in terms of my interactions with the
participating teachers. While co-constructing the knowledge about teaching, we explored
different views of reality. This had implications for the methodology of my research as I do
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 53
Svetlana Belic Malinic
3 | T
he
ore
tica
l bac
kgro
un
d
not see knowledge as a fixed body of facts but as an ongoing interpretation of actions. In
other words, approaching the enquiry with action research, I hoped to exchange these
interpretations with my colleagues who participate in the research and invite further re-
interpretation as the quest for knowledge is a vital element in this form of research.
Constructivism in the classroom
Although the concept of constructivism has roots in Socrates’ dialogues with his students
(4th century BC), where he had dared them with directed questions until they realised for
themselves the weaknesses in their thinking, it is also investigated in the works of the
founders of the 20th century constructivism: Dewey, Piaget, Garcia, Ausubel, Bruner and
Vygotsky (Barrett & Long, 2012). They claim that in a constructivist classroom both teachers
and learners play an active role in making sense of the knowledge which is being constructed
while connecting this knowledge to what has been previously understood. By doing so, they
build understanding which is valued over mere acquisition of rules and procedures that may
seem unrelated to each other and to the learner (ibid.). The traditional approach to teaching,
the so called ‘transmission model’, promotes neither the interaction between prior and new
knowledge not the discourse which internalises the deep understanding. Piaget (1970) holds
that learners, who actively restructure knowledge, base their fluid intellectual configurations
on existing knowledge and formal instructional experiences. “As long as there were people
asking each other questions”, Brooks (1999) holds, “we have had constructivist classrooms.”
When constructivism started taking the place of traditional approaches to teaching, many
perceived it as “a pedagogical stance that entails a type of non-rigorous, intellectual anarchy
that lets students pursue whatever interests them” (Battista, 1999:492). Others found it to
be synonymous with Bruner’s ‘discovery learning’ and still others perceived it as a way of
teaching which focuses on using manipulatives or cooperative learning (ibid.). Vygotsky’s
(1978) work on socio-cultural theory and the roles that society plays in the development of
an individual greatly contributed to this debate more than thirty years after it had been
conceived. In the manner of an educational theorist, Vygotsky believed that there are two
levels in the learning process, where the language and culture play a crucial role in our
cognitive development. Everything we know is learnt, he explains, first through interaction
with others and then integrated into our mental structures. The adults foster children's
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 54
Svetlana Belic Malinic
3 | T
he
ore
tica
l bac
kgro
un
d
cognitive development in an intentional and systematic manner by scaffolding them in
challenging activities (Wood et al., 1976), constructing through this interaction the meanings
which the children attach to objects, events and experiences. As children develop, they
gradually internalise these processes and start using them independently. However, the
potential cognitive development is limited to the ‘zone of proximal development’ (ZPD)
(cf. Figure 15), which Vygotsky defines as an area of exploration for cognitively capable
children, who require help and social interaction to fully understand the meanings and
constructs.
Figure 15: Vygotsky's zone of proximal development (Adapted from http://www.education.vic.gov.au)
What emerges out of this cognitive conflict is the knowledge building. While in the ZPD, the
students encounter and recognise discrepancies between what they already know and what
they do not know. This tension calls for reconciliation, which is achieved through the
construction of the new blocks of knowledge, which eventually drives the learning. In the
constructivist approach, Brooks and Brooks (1999:16) explain, “we look not for what
students can repeat, but for what they can generate, demonstrate, and exhibit”. The
process, as transparent as it can get, should be democratic for both sides. The students
should be stimulated in their curiosity and rewarded for the energy they bring to the
classroom, while teachers should be receptive to their students’ questions and reactive in
their responses.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 55
Svetlana Belic Malinic
3 | T
he
ore
tica
l bac
kgro
un
d
Understandably, teachers “feel comfortable in this role only if they view uncertainty and
conflict as natural and potentially growth producing for members of the learning
community” (Prawat and Floden, 1994:40). Therefore, the role of a teacher is to create the
conditions for invention rather than provide ready-made knowledge (Papert, 1980). Brooks
and Brooks (1999) argue that the constructivist vista is far more panoramic and therefore
illusive. “Teaching and learning”, they warn, “are complicated, labyrinthine processes filled
with dead ends, false positives, contradictions, multiple truths, and a great deal of confusion”
(ibid.:x). In an attempt to define the strategies for teachers to overcome imitative behaviour
and instead look for deep understanding, they list five guiding principles of constructivism
(ibid.:ix):
• using the problems of relevance to the students in instruction;
• learning is structured around primary concepts;
• valuing students’ point of view;
• adapting curriculum to address students’ suppositions;
• assisting students in learning in the context of teaching.
Researching a social constructivist classroom, Savery and Duffy (1995) came to the
conclusion that the learning process involves many interactions between the content, the
context, the activity of the learner and the goals of the learner. To actively engage students
while respecting their personal autonomy, “the teacher's role should be to challenge the
learner's thinking – not to dictate or attempt to proceduralize that thinking” (ibid.:5).
Learning is a social, cognitive and intrinsically motivational process, which emerges from a
meaningful discourse with the other people. Social constructivism inspires a cognitive
change not only through collaboration, metacognition, reflection and scaffolding but also
through subconscious dynamics, inner discourse and deep learning. More radically, McCarty
and Schwandt (2000) claim that the construction of knowledge occurs solely in the learner’s
mind, when they notice similarities and differences among the personal experiences and
gradually build up a concept relating to that experience. With this in mind, teachers who are
more receptive to the productive elements in students’ intuitive understanding may be more
successful in constructive pedagogies. However, this is not the skill that the teachers could
learn during their training. It takes much more than that. It takes a stamina to try and fail, and
then stand up and try again.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 56
Svetlana Belic Malinic
3 | T
he
ore
tica
l bac
kgro
un
d
I, therefore, find a very good fit for social constructivism in this research, as the teachers have
an opportunity to observe their peers and create the edge they need for constructivism in
their own classroom. This is far more challenging having in mind that the teachers come from
different cultural, social and educational backgrounds, which allows for a variety of
approaches and dynamics in the teacher-teacher interaction and collaboration. Moreover, I
see it as a vehicle for critical empowerment (Vygotsky, 1978), used to reflectively engage
teachers in co-construction while exchanging classroom experiences, personal concerns and
professional goals. A constructivist teacher, who is a ‘guide on the side’ rather than a ‘sage on
the stage’ to being (Morrison, 2014), provides bridging or scaffolding in order to extend their
students’ zone of proximal development. By doing so, they encourage students to develop
metacognitive skills towards the internalisation of their own experiences. In such an
environment, where multiple perspectives are represented and where questions are valid
(Brooks & Brooks, 1999), both teachers and students find themselves in the comfort zone
where they can recognise each other’s potential. It directly addresses how students learn
and how a constructivist teacher mediates student learning by blending the ‘what’ with the
‘how’ (ibid.).
Phillips (1995) doubts the ownership of the knowledge and wages how much of it is created
and how much imposed. He considered that the constructivist approach to active
participation is the ‘good’ face as it encourages engagement. The ‘bad’ face is its tendency
towards the relativism, which epistemologically positions constructivism outside its
framework. He argues that “nature exerts considerable constraint over our knowledge-
constructing activities and allows us to detect (and eject) our errors about it” (ibid.:12).
Constructivism gets ‘ugly’ when it quasi-religiously and ideologically follows its
epistemological tenets, “a ‘powerful folktale’ about the origins of human knowledge”
(ibid.:5). Such ‘sectarianism’, as he calls it, denies other pedagogically justifiable decisions
which are, by nature, less interactive and more instructional, such as lecturing, memorisation
or passive reception.
I totally go along with Phillips here as I believe and can even find evidence in my own teaching
experience, that there are certain instances where it is impossible to construct knowledge
using constructivist methodologies. For example, when teaching a foreign language in a
mixed-ability group, where mixed-ability refers to the students’ level of language proficiency,
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 57
Svetlana Belic Malinic
3 | T
he
ore
tica
l bac
kgro
un
d
ranging from total beginners to the native speakers. In such a group, a teacher has to strike
the right balance between being ‘comprehensible’ to the beginners and ‘engaging’ to the
native speakers. If either of them tips over, the lesson skews into passive reception.
Cha and Ham (2012) explored what types of teachers, under what contextual conditions,
participate in constructive activities that involve intra-school collaboration among teachers.
Their systematic investigation showed that a constructivist endeavour enhances teachers’
collective efforts to deal with uncertainties that arise from their approach to teaching.
Conventional teaching, they allude, protects teachers from uncertainties that could emerge
from students’ unexpected reactions, which frequently occur in constructivist classrooms.
Interestingly, they reached the conclusion that teachers who are more active in incorporating
a constructivist approach into their instructional practice are more likely to engage in
collaborative interaction with their colleagues. Such teachers are likely to reach out to other
colleague teachers, not only to exchange practical suggestions but also to de-stress the
imposing notion of certainty, which can refrain them from exploring and experimenting.
Having in mind how constructivist teaching, teachers’ collaborative enquiry and school-level
cooperation have a significant potential to enhance the quality of instructional practice,
Abbott and Fouts (2003), in their research on constructivist teaching activity, found that it
ensures the accountability for student learning and strongly correlates with the students’
achievement. In the same vein, Cobb and Steffe (2011) argue that while reflecting on their
interactions with students, teachers formulate models of their students’ knowledge. These
conscious attempts to make sense of both their own and their students’ actions differentiate
a constructivist from a non-constructivist teacher.
Summary
Known for centuries, the constructivist perspectives focus not only on epistemological
theory but also on learning theory and classroom pedagogy. Today, more than ever before,
teachers put more emphasis on a student-centred approach, interaction with the students
and reciprocal recognition. They tend to give credence to the collegial collaboration towards
“information processing, sense-making, and problem solving, [so that] they can better
manage to go through given instructional situations of uncertainty” (Cha & Ham, 2012:645).
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 58
Svetlana Belic Malinic
3 | T
he
ore
tica
l bac
kgro
un
d
A student, whose learning is aided through interactive instances and whose prior ideas,
experiences and knowledge are taken into account when constructing new knowledge, has
become an active participant in the democratised classroom.
Although criticised for its ideology, constructivism remains the framework for undeniable
critical empowerment and a methodological tool for student achievement primarily because
it develops metacognitive skills upon which the students can build their new educational
experiences. Teachers who recognise that learning is a uniquely idiosyncratic endeavour
understand that “[l]earners control their learning. This simple truth lies at the heart of the
constructivist approach to education” (Brooks & Brooks, 1999:183).
This investigation sought to find an in-depth understanding of teachers’ beliefs about their
classroom practice in order to establish the apposite coaching model, and witness to what
extent it affected their teaching practice. This phased out into creating a metacognitive
instrument (cf. Chapter 8 | 7 on p. 207) in which teachers were able to voice their needs and
become aware of their strengths, weaknesses and areas of improvement when given
feedback, and empower them to seek further professional development opportunities
within the school.
Leitch and Day’s (2000) examination of change agents in classrooms showed that action
research, which is iterative and reflective in its nature, could be the best methodological tool
in a small-scale study as the one carried out here. Although there has been an ongoing debate
on the quality of teachers’ action research and the legitimacy of action research as a form of
educational enquiry, action research remains the “process of studying a real school or
classroom situation to understand and improve the quality of actions or instruction”
(Johnson, 2005:28).
Action research is more of a holistic approach to problem-solving, rather than a single
method for collecting and analysing data. Thus, it allows for several different research tools
to be used as the project is conducted, such as keeping a research journal, document
“A mixed methods way of thinking is an orientation toward social inquiry that actively invites us to participate in dialogue about multiple ways of seeing and hearing, multiple ways of making sense of the social world, and multiple standpoints on what is important and to be valued and cherished”.
Greene (2008:20)
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 84
Svetlana Belic Malinic
5 | R
ese
arch
de
sig
n
collection and analysis, participant observation recordings, questionnaire surveys, structured
and unstructured interviews, and case studies. Johnson (2005:24) has remarked that “in an
action research project you are not trying to prove anything. […] The goal is simply to
understand.”
Mixed methods research
Social research should embrace the ‘best of both worlds’, where naturalist and interpretivist
approaches should be combined because they are usually seen as different ways of studying
the same phenomenon and able to answer the same research questions (Bryman, 1988).
Mixed methods invite researchers “to participate in dialogue about multiple ways of seeing
and hearing, multiple ways of making sense of the social world, and multiple standpoints on
what is important and to be valued and cherished” (Greene, 2008:20). Webb et al. (1966:3)
first defined this kind of approach as triangulation, suggesting that if “a proposition has been
confirmed by two or more independent instruments, the uncertainty of its interpretation is
greatly reduced”. Denzin (1970:310) elaborates on this idea and adds that triangulation is an
approach in which “multiple observers, theoretical perspectives, sources of data, and
methodologies” are combined. One of the contexts in which the marriage of approaches
frequently occurs is where the researcher is investigating one or more “fairly discrete social
collectivity” (Bryman, 1988:149). Mapping out the richness and complexity of human actions
in such a collectivity gives a more detailed picture of the context in which the research occurs.
By doing so, social scientists are likely to display greater confidence in conducting their
research and gain the understanding which “goes beyond the laws or formulae which
exhaust its present formulation” (Taylor, 1980:29).
Mixed methods research is a research design with philosophical assumptions as well as
methods of enquiry (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007). The theory guides the direction of the
data collection while the method facilitates the data analysis in a single study or series of
studies. The central premise of the mixed methods approach is that the use of quantitative
and qualitative approaches, in combination, provides a better understanding of research
problems than either approach alone (ibid.). Being inclusive and pluralistic, a mixed methods
approach allows for more creativity in designing, without imposing a single-approach
constraint on the researcher. Yet, writers in mixed methods are also careful to distinguish
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 85
Svetlana Belic Malinic
5 | R
ese
arch
de
sig
n
‘multi-method studies’ in which multiple types of qualitative or quantitative data are collected
(ibid.) from ‘mixed methods studies’ that incorporate collecting both qualitative and
quantitative data.
Caracelli and Greene (1997) identify three typical uses of a mixed methods study: (1) testing
the agreement of findings obtained from different measuring instruments, (2) clarifying and
building on the results of one method with another method, and (3) demonstrating how the
results from one method can impact subsequent methods or inferences drawn from the
results. Collins et al. (2006) shed a different light and list four rationales for conducting mixed
methods research: participant enrichment, instrument fidelity, treatment integrity, and
significance enhancement. They hold that approaching a study in two ways helps assess the
appropriateness and/or utility of existing instruments, facilitating thickness and richness of
data, and augmenting interpretation and usefulness of findings.
One of the key principles of mixed methods design is to identify the reason(s) for mixing
quantitative and qualitative methods within the study. Bryman (2006) provides a detailed list
of reasons based on researchers’ practices, including triangulation, completeness,
explanation, instrument development, context and diversity of views, to name just a few,
which I find useful in designing my research.
I share Weber’s (1949) understanding that combining approaches would greatly enhance the
validity of this study but I was also aware that it might not yield complementary data. My
concern was that The Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), which I wanted to use to
measure teacher self-evaluation, might fail to control the variables which were relevant to
the qualitative interpretation. On the other hand, given the insider nature of the research, I
thought I might fail to interpret the meaning of the interview and observation values which
relate to the ‘brute data’. In my study, I wanted to compare if what teachers ‘preach’ is what
they do in the classroom. From there, in search for fidelity and integrity, I hoped to either
clarify and build on, or see how it impacts on the coaching sessions.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 86
Svetlana Belic Malinic
5 | R
ese
arch
de
sig
n
5 | 1 | 1 Quantitative research method: Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI)
While mixing methods, I believed that the QTI, which I used in this research for both self-
evaluation and students’ evaluation of teacher’s interaction, would be a rather reliable tool
in assessing how coaching and peer-collaboration might affect teachers’ attitudes, values,
knowledge and beliefs as well as to see how these perceptions change over time. Teachers’
responses to this survey, before and after the implementation of the coaching model,
reflected the change in their attitudes, values, knowledge and beliefs more systematically
and unidimensionally than tools used in qualitative approach. Although I was re-thinking the
use of the QTI in the actual study because the pilot results did not show much difference in
the elements on the scales, I evaluated that the other teachers in the sample had diverse
teaching experience and cultural background which, I assumed, could yield data with more
impact on the research. We will see later in the thesis that this assumption proved to be
correct and the QTI analysis confirmed striking differences ‘before and after’ the research.
This model has been used in the Netherlands to gather students’ perceptions of their
interactions with their teacher (Wubbels & Levy, 1993; Wubbels & Brekelmans, 2005) but
some more recent studies, according to den Brok et al. (2006b), employed various forms of
the QTI in over 120 studies worldwide. These studies have included associations between
classroom environment and outcomes, evaluation of educational innovations, differences
between students’ and teachers’ perceptions of classrooms, comparisons of actual and
preferred environments, etc. For example, Waldrip et al. (2008) used the QTI, both on
students and teachers, to help teachers change their teaching strategies. The classroom
teachers were then interviewed about what changes they had sought to promote in their
classrooms, and what they felt had been achieved in their classrooms. The study found that
students were able to articulate what changes the teacher had implemented, what their
reaction was to these changes and their perception of the classroom environment as a result
of these implemented strategies.
There were two designated subgroups of interest (DSI) (Hambleton & Rodgers, 2012) in my
survey: students and teachers. Given the fact that the QTI has been used widely with high
reliabilities shows that it had been carefully designed and pre-tested before being
administered in the classrooms. Having in mind our students’ cognitive and social maturity, I
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 87
Svetlana Belic Malinic
5 | R
ese
arch
de
sig
n
used in this study a questionnaire linguistically adapted for elementary school students by
Goh and Fraser (1997) (Appendix 2 on p. 214), while the teachers were given the standard QTI
format (Appendix 1 on p. 213). Although students did not participate in this study as a sample,
they were an auxiliary tool, high in validity and reliability, to test the legitimacy of the
teachers’ self-assessed QTI. The teachers’ perceptions might differ from students’,
prompting them to reflect on their interpersonal behaviour in the classroom. Let’s not forget
– students are indeed very just in defining what is ‘good’ and what is ‘bad’ about a teacher.
Moreover, the teacher’s self-perception might be biased by their contorted image of
themselves in the classroom as they might create an eminence of what is their ‘teacher ideal’,
responding to the QTI in this respect. The students’ responses then serve as a reality bounce
back, which more truly represents the ‘real teacher’.
5 | 1 | 2 Qualitative research method: coaching conferences and lesson observations
Coaching and lesson observations locate the teachers in the visible world of teaching, where
they are able to make sense out of it by interpreting the meanings which the participants
bring to it. In other words, they allow the researcher to transform practices into data in order
to understand the phenomenon. The goal of qualitative interviewing is to provide
understanding of things that cannot directly be observed, such as feelings, thoughts,
opinions, attitudes or behaviours of teachers. Since it is based on the assumption that the
perspectives of others’ are meaningful and knowable, entering into their perspective
becomes a major objective for the qualitative researcher.
The semi-structured interview method informed this research by gathering data which “rely
as much as possible on the participants’ view of the situation” (Creswell, 2012:20). The
teachers, who interviewed each other before and after the lesson observation took place,
are collaborators guided by the same principle. While collaborating, teachers collected their
responses by answering the questions in the schedule, forming a bank of data with
“verisimilitude, statements that produce for the readers the feeling that they have
experienced, or could experience, the events being described in a study” (Creswell & Miller,
2000:129). Triangulated with the lesson observations data, these ‘thick descriptions’, as
Geertz (1987) expounds, help the researchers understand the significance of an experience,
or the sequence of events, for the person or persons in question. In thick descriptions, “the
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 88
Svetlana Belic Malinic
5 | R
ese
arch
de
sig
n
voices, feelings, actions, and meanings of interacting individuals are heard” (Denzin, 1989:83)
as they occur “in a cultural network saturated with meanings” (Eisner, 1985:112). Thin
descriptions, by contrast, lack detail, and simply report facts (Denzin, 1989:83).
The interview process in general is one that raises many questions from an epistemological
point of view. One criticism is that it is used by researchers who “prefer to ‘manufacture’ their
data rather than to ‘find’ it in the ‘field’” (Silverman, 2007:37). This critique is based on the
premise that no data gathered in an interview can be representative of the social reality in
which interactions naturally occur. Thus, by bringing subjects together and putting questions
to them in the hope of gaining an insight into their social reality, Silverman argues that the
researcher is creating an artificial situation because subjects cannot be trusted to accurately
conceptualise their own social realities (ibid.).
The differential that exists between the interviewer/teacher, who is also the observer, and
the interviewee/teacher, who is the observed, is another area of concern. The researcher
who is observing a teacher’s pedagogical instruction in the classroom is also observing their
interaction with the students, who inadvertently become objects of research. This has
implications for the level of trust that can be established between the researcher and the
participants. Such a dual role might create problems in terms of building rapport because any
context in which a teacher researcher attempts to investigate the other teacher might
immediately become researcher-centred.
5 | 1 | 3 Triangulation
Although the logic of triangulation is based on the premise that “no single method ever
adequately solves the problem of rival explanations” (Patton, 1999:1192), researchers are
divided in their views. While some argue that triangulation is just for increasing the wider and
deep understanding of the study phenomenon, others claim that it is actually used to
increase the study accuracy (Hope & Waterman, 2003). Denzin (1970:310) sees triangulation
as an approach in which “multiple observers, theoretical perspectives sources of data and
methodologies” are combined, while Creswell and Miller (2000:126) define triangulation as
“a validity procedure where researchers look for convergence among multiple and different
sources of information to form themes or categories in a study”. When triangulating,
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 89
Svetlana Belic Malinic
5 | R
ese
arch
de
sig
n
researchers provide scientific evidence through a systematic process of sorting through the
data to find common strands by eliminating overlapping areas (ibid.). In this way, instead of
one single incident, the researchers are able to validate their data collecting multiple forms
of evidence.
Patton (1999) reminds us that it is a common misunderstanding to believe that different data
sources or enquiry approaches yield essentially the same result. Moreover, he continues, an
understanding of inconsistencies in findings across different kinds of data can be illuminative:
“Finding such inconsistencies ought not be viewed as weakening the credibility
of results, but rather as offering opportunities for deeper insight into the
relationship between inquiry approach and the phenomenon under study.”
Patton (1999:1193)
In this research, I worked across data sources and triangulated the information gathered in
the QTI survey with the data recorded during coaching conferences and lesson observations.
The choice I made on what sort of data to triangulate is directly related to the non-probability
convenience sample. When I planned this research, my objective was to empower teachers
in the first place to critically assess their potential and accept designs for improvement. I was
hoping that the QTI before and after the coaching sessions would help them embrace the
change with minimal stress and discomfort (cf. Figure 7 on p. 34). On the other hand, I
thought that the coaching interviews would provide an opportunity for collaboration and
dialogue, where I might find the evidence of the reforming process (Guskey, 2000).
Sample
For the purpose of this research, I used a non-probability convenience sample – a type of
sampling in which ‘‘particular settings, persons, or events are deliberately selected for the
important information they can provide that cannot be gotten as well from other choices’’
(Maxwell, 1997:235). Bryman (2004:197) explains that “the convenience sample is one that is
simply available to the researcher by the virtue of its accessibility”.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 90
Svetlana Belic Malinic
5 | R
ese
arch
de
sig
n
I understand that a rather small sample is one of the limitations of this study, yet the purpose
here is not only to seek for generalisation (Creswell 1998), but rather to reach conclusions
which would offer a platform for further development of human capital at the school level.
Moreover, I believe that such a small sample squares well with the action research approach,
having in mind that a great amount of qualitative data would be collected through lesson
observations and coaching conferences over a period of one academic year. Patton
(1999:1197) justifies this choice explaining that “explicitly and thoughtfully picking cases that
are congruent with the study purpose and that will yield data on major study questions”
enhances the scientific rigour. Johnson (2007) and Cowie (2010) had similar samples in their
researches on coaching. However, a key issue in using convenience sample is reproducibility
– that is, whether under similar conditions, the findings repeat (Lincoln & Guba, 1985).
The convenience sample for this research affected the choice of approach, given that it was
guided by theoretical rather than probabilistic considerations (Punch, 2009). The qualitative
approach is more sensitive to context and its methods are less formalised. This does not
assume that the qualitative methods are less valid or reliable. It simply means that they are
more flexible and can be used in a wider range of situations and for a wider range of purposes
and research questions (ibid.). Further to this, it would be very difficult to replicate this
research, having in mind the intrinsic characteristics of the sampling and setting. Bell
International School employed 23 qualified teachers who spoke English well and were able to
deliver Cambridge International Curriculum at primary and secondary levels to students aged
6 to 18. The Cambridge Department of the School had Primary (Years 1 to 6) and Secondary
divisions (Years 7 to 13), with only one class in each Year.
A convenience sample is in a centre of debate on homogeneity problematic, where
researchers agree on one thing: if used, it must be diverse in order to maximise external
validity as a matter of methodological generalisability (Murray et al., 2013). However, in this
action research, the sample was recruited from all six teachers in Primary School, who agreed
to take part in the study with a view to improving their own practice.
The caveat of using a convenience sample lies in the fact that it does not intend to achieve
generalisable findings, which can be applied to other groups, cultures or times. The
selectivity which is employed in this sampling strategy targets a particular group in the full
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 91
Svetlana Belic Malinic
5 | R
ese
arch
de
sig
n
knowledge that it does not represent the wider population – it simply represents itself
(Cohen et al., 2000). However, the assumption is that there are other international schools
all over the world that face the same hindering issues in their staff’s professional
development, which might be seen as a possibility of transferability of this research.
Validity, reliability and generalisability
The dominant discourse of validity hinges upon the combination of two key quests: the quest
for generalisation and the quest for causality (McTaggart, 1998:212), but neither of these are
the key commitments in educational action research. Social researchers claim that the quality
of the action in action research is the sine qua non when assessing the impact, it has on the
social structures. Traditional ‘pure’ researchers locate it in the discourse that challenges its
claims of validity because of its action-oriented and ethical principles (Hope & Waterman,
2003). Greenwood and Levin (1998:81) try to convince the conventional research community
that credibility is not only created “through generalizing and universalizing propositions of
the universal hypothetical, universal disjunctive and generic types, whereas [action research]
believes that only knowledge generated and tested in practice is credible”.
Although a mixed methods approach is seen as a valuable methodological choice in action
research given that it provides an opportunity for a greater assortment of divergent and/or
complementary views (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007; Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009), the major
concern is with validity (Bryman, 2004). Onwuegbuzie and Johnson (2006) emphasise that
the validity issue is not about singular truths, and it certainly is not limited to quantitative
measurement. As this design is qualitative dominant, it has greater chances to fail to provide
credible conclusions and establish whether or not the evidence which the research offers can
bear the weight of the interpretation that is put on it. Internal validity is the basic minimum
without which any research would be uninterpretable while external validity tackles the issue
of generalisability (Campbell & Stanley, 1963). Campbell and Stanley (ibid.) argue that the
internal validity is sine qua non and that the question of external validity is never completely
answerable, which is why the selection of designs strong in both types of validity is what the
researcher should strive to achieve.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 92
Svetlana Belic Malinic
5 | R
ese
arch
de
sig
n
Messick (1995:741) posits that validity assumes a very comprehensive role in the social
structures, integrating “considerations of content, criteria, and consequences into a
construct framework for empirically testing rational hypotheses”. The six distinguishable
aspects of construct validity that he argues for (content, substantive, structural,
generalizability, external, and consequential aspects) address validity as a unified concept,
an evolving property of any research, which “combines scientific inquiry with rational
argument to justify (or nullify) score interpretation and use” (ibid.:742). On the other hand,
some researchers have suggested that the notion of validation, such as reliability and validity,
should not even be considered a criterion for evaluating qualitative research (Guba & Lincoln,
2005). Others have given them different names to validate the soundness of qualitative
evidence. Lincoln and Guba (2000) label them as credibility (internal validity of quantitative
research), transferability (external validity of quantitative research) and confirmability
(statistical conclusion validity in quantitative research). These, they believe, are more
contextual and prevent unfair judgement because “[a]ny kind of research can be dismissed,
trashed, and trivialized if inappropriate criteria are imposed on it” (Sparkes, 2002:199).
Although Onwuegbuzie and Leech (2007:234) posit that validity and qualitative research is
an oxymoron, they explain that the “[i]nternal credibility can be defined as the truth value,
applicability, consistency, neutrality, dependability, and/or credibility of interpretations and
conclusions within the underlying setting or group”. One of the ways to improve credibility
is to avoid researcher bias, which might occur when the “researcher has personal biases or a
priori assumptions that he/she is unable to bracket” (ibid.:236). Such an attitude might be
transferred to the participants and affect their system of beliefs, or even contaminate data
collection techniques. To enhance the credibility, Onwuegbuzie and Leech advocate the use
of triangulation, which involves the use of “multiple and different methods, investigators,
sources, and theories to obtain corroborating evidence” in order to “reduces the possibility
of chance associations […] thereby allowing greater confidence in any interpretations made
(ibid.:239).
Bradbury and Reason (2001:449) address questions of quality and validity of action research,
suggesting five key issues in quality:
(1) ensuring the quality of participation and relationship in action research;
(2) reflecting on the value of the practical outcomes of work;
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 93
Svetlana Belic Malinic
5 | R
ese
arch
de
sig
n
(3) drawing on and integrating diverse ways of knowing and using different
methodologies appropriately and creatively in the context of our action research;
(4) evaluating the value of our work against its purpose of creating a better life and
world for us and others; and
(5) achieving systematic, systemic change over time, this means the enduring
consequence of our work, by integrating “the three manifestations of work: for
oneself (‘first-person research practice’), work for partners (‘second-person research
practice’) and work for people in the wider context (‘third-person research
practice’)”.
Having in mind that the scientific rigour is one of the main concerns regarding qualitative
research, a researcher, who is instrumental in qualitative data collection, must be tested for
credibility as well. Patton (1999:1201) urges that a skilled researcher “is able to improve the
accuracy, validity, and reliability […] through intensive training and rigorous preparation”.
This might be one of the limitations in this study given that the teachers were interviewing
each other during pre- and post-conferences without any prior experience which would
guide them to “provide clarification, to probe and prompt” for thicker descriptions (Brown
& Dowling, 1998:74).
Even more concerning for this research is the presence of a peer teacher in the classroom.
Since they cannot pass as unseen may create “a halo effect so that staff perform in an
exemplary fashion and participants are motivated to “show off”” (Patton, 1999:1202).
Equally threatening for the validity of this research is a contrary situation, in which the
presence of a peer teacher creates tension and anxiety causing the observed teacher to
underperform (ibid.), which might greatly affect the transferability of the data collected
during lesson observations but might well serve as reflective instances, which bring about a
change.
The quantitative aspect of this study seems to cause less concern. Ever since it was
introduced, QTI was validated in the USA, Europe, Australia and Asia as a tool which provides
useful information for the teacher about their learning environment. Cronbach alpha
reliabilities ranged from 0.62 to 0.88 when the individual student was used as the unit of
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 94
Svetlana Belic Malinic
5 | R
ese
arch
de
sig
n
analysis, and from 0.60 to 0.96 when the class was used as the unit of analysis (Waldrip et al.,
2008). It can be administered both as a self-evaluation instrument and as a tool which
measures students’ perception of the teacher’s interaction. In my research, I used it with the
students and teachers alike because I assume that the QTI results might drive the teachers
into accepting the fact that the change should take place.
Summary
Johnson et al. (2007) have introduced mixed methods research as the third methodological
paradigm, which synthesises intellectual and practical perspectives of qualitative and
quantitative research in order to collect, analyse and interpret data. The nature of its enquiry
includes the use of induction (or discovery of patterns), deduction (testing of theories and
hypotheses) and abduction (uncovering and relying on the best of a set of explanations for
understanding one’s results) (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004), while combining quantitative
and qualitative methods, approaches and concepts that have complementary strengths and
non-overlapping weaknesses. Bridging qualitative and quantitative paradigms, mixed
methods research in this study found the right fit between the Questionnaire on Teacher
Interaction and the semi-structured interviews and lesson observations used to explore to
which extent the teachers can assess their needs and how flexible they would be to bend in
order to perform better.
Collins et al. (2006) identified four rationales for conducting mixed research: (1) participant
enrichment (e.g. mixing quantitative and qualitative research to optimise the sample using
techniques that include recruiting participants, engaging in activities such as institutional
review board debriefings, ensuring that each participant selected is appropriate for
inclusion), (2) instrument fidelity (e.g. assessing the appropriateness and/or utility of existing
instruments, creating new instruments, monitoring performance of human instruments),
(3) treatment integrity (i.e. assessing fidelity of intervention), and (4) significance
enhancement (e.g. facilitating thickness and richness of data, augmenting interpretation and
usefulness of findings). I believe that the rationale for this study falls under instrument
fidelity, looking for the apposite tool to measure the change in the teachers’ performance in
the classroom.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 95
Svetlana Belic Malinic
5 | R
ese
arch
de
sig
n
Although the convenience sample is rather small and selected by the virtue of its accessibility
(Bryman, 2004), it engages all six Primary teachers in the school, not in search for
generalisability but in search for self-discovery. Onwuegbuzie and Leech (2007:117) contend
that sampling in qualitative research involves “making decisions not only about which
individuals to study, but also about several study parameters, including settings, contexts,
locations, times, events, incidents, activities, experiences, and/or social processes”.
While the importance of validity in quantitative research has been long accepted, the same
issue in quantitative research has raised a lot of stir. Denzin and Lincoln (2005:19) argue that
a primary focus is for researchers to capture authentically the lived experiences of people,
which are created “in the social text written by the researcher, [who] but does so within a
framework that makes the direct link between experience and text problematic”. This study
did not search to generalise the findings but to improve the Bell’s capacities and make it a
Searching for a good path to attain excellence in teaching, I engaged all the primary teachers
in a reflexive journey, which was meant to empower them both individually and collectively to
reconsider their classroom approaches and, through the process of self-discovery and self-
actualisation, explore ways to re-invent themselves as creative and cooperative educators.
Having applied a mixed method methodology in my research, I gathered two sets of
comparable data: qualitative data, generated from the coaching sessions, and quantitative
data, collected through the Questionnaires of Teacher Interaction. These two sets were cross
tabulated in order to triangulate insights and confirm the data by two independent instruments
(Webb et al., 1966). Approaching a study in two ways helps assess the appropriateness and/or
utility of existing instruments, facilitating thickness and richness of data, and augmenting
interpretation and usefulness of findings (Collins et al., 2006). In the qualitative paradigm, the
research process permeates the problematic, theories, methods and methodologies, while
interpreting their dialectic through a data analysis. Moreover,
“[t]he research process, then, is not a clear cut sequence of procedures
following a neat pattern, but a messy interaction between the conceptual and
empirical world, deduction and induction occurring at the same time.”
Bechhofer (1974:73)
“[A]nalysis transforms data into findings. No formula exists for that transformation. Guidance, yes. But no recipe. Direction can and will be offered, but the final destination remains unique for each inquirer, known only when – and if – arrived at.”
Patton (2002:432)
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 97
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
The plurality of perspectives in qualitative social research allows for collection of a rich, brute
rather than monolithic, set of narrative data, which calls for due interpretation in order to
identify meaningful patterns to help us understand the social phenomenon. The process of
data analysis begins during the data collection, “by skilfully facilitating the discussion and
generating data” (Rabiee, 2004:657). Krueger (2014:127) believes that the purpose should
drive the analysis and that the “analysis begins by going back to the intention of the study
and survival requires a clear fix on the purpose of the study”. Following this concept is
extremely helpful in managing the data, eliminating irrelevant information and “travelling
safely through the maze of large and complicated paths of information” (Rabiee, 2004:657).
Data analysis consists of a number of stages. It starts with examining, goes through
categorising and tabulating to reaching the final wrap-up in order to address the initial goal
of a study. In the same vein, Sarantakos (1998) identifies three general stages in qualitative
data analysis, which describe what is going on during induction, deduction and verification.
In the first stage, which Sarantakos terms ‘data reduction’, the data are coded, summarised
and categorised in order to identify important aspects of the issue under investigation and
main themes emerging from the research. It also gives guidelines to what further data to
collect and what methods of analysis to use to arrive at conclusions. Bloom (1993:94)
instructs that the data reduction should be balanced in that it should preserve the possibility
of different analyses and interpretations. He describes this goal as ‘lean transcriptions’ that
allow for ‘rich interpretations’. In some forms of qualitative research, data collection, data
reduction and data analysis are almost indistinguishable (ibid.). At this early stage, it does not
matter if the codes are ‘right’ or not (Strauss & Corbin, 1998:126), as further enquiry would
soon establish which categories are more or less useful in describing what is happening in
the data. The important function of open coding is to help the researcher move quickly to an
analytic level by ‘fracturing the data’ (ibid.:127). The second stage of qualitative data analysis,
‘data organisation’, involves a process of assembling the information around certain themes.
The third phase, ‘interpretation’, employs careful reading and re-reading of the data in an
attempt to identify patterns which lead to conclusions. Krueger (2014) provides seven
established criteria as a framework for interpreting coded data: words, context, internal
consistency, frequency and extensiveness of comments, specificity of comments, intensity
of comments and big ideas.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 98
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
Very often researchers’ preferences or mere convenience guides the choice of interpretation
procedures but, regardless of the approach, what the qualitative researchers avidly reject is
any kind of standardisation, which is found typical of quantitative tradition. The nature of
qualitative data is such that it invites researchers to analyse their narratives and identify
important categories which arise from the emic, each unique, as Patton highlighted below:
“Qualitative analysis transforms data into findings. No formula exists for that
transformation. Guidance, yes. But no recipe. Direction can and will be offered,
but the final destination remains unique for each inquirer, known only when –
and if – arrived at.”
Patton (2002:432)
When I was designing this research, I was looking for an analytic approach which would be a
clear match to the type of data which would be collected in the process. Guest et al.
(2011:36-40) briefly outlined three broad approaches to the analysis within qualitative
research: (1) exploratory analysis – a content-driven, inductive approach intended to inform
the design of a formal evaluation and relate to what emerges from the interaction between
researcher and respondent, which drives the development of codes and the identification of
themes; (2) explanatory analysis – a combination of deductive and inductive approaches; and
(3) confirmatory analysis – a deductive approach where the conceptual categories are
determined prior to reviewing the text, and codes are generated from hypotheses.
I was not quite sure when I started the analysis how it would evolve in terms of its relation
between emic and etic. I liked to think that the content would drive the analysis as I had
thought I would read and re-read the data and relate it to the QTI results. On the other hand,
as the QTI results had been generated first, before the coaching conferences took place, I
realised I had a hidden agenda – to confirm the hypothesis, which the QTI results
inadvertently imposed on my subjectivity. Deciding between inductively exploring the data
and deductively confirming the hypothesis, I was again questioning the choice of approach
to the analysis. I was neither exploring nor confirming, but rather looking for the ways to
explain the phenomenon. However, as the analysis progressed and fitted well in the
generated themes and codes, I came to realise that the QTI results should not drive my
research experience – they should be there as a means to triangulate the data and see if the
action research would bring about a change.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 99
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
Figure 19: Qualitative and quantitative data analyses (Adapted from Guest et al., 2011:6)
“[G]ood qualitative research”, Davis (2007:574) holds, “has equalled, if not exceeded,
quantitative research in status, relevance, and methodological rigor”. However, when I was
first thinking of how to design this study, I thought that I could nicely fit both qualitative and
quantitative traditions in a social context of a school but I also thought that it might challenge
me to “look for convergence among multiple and different sources of information to form
themes or categories in a study” (Creswell & Miller, 2000:126). Weaving these two sets of
data made them more valid because words added meanings to the numbers and numbers
gave precision to the words (Johnson & Onwuegbuzie, 2004). While it is generally thought
that quantitative research is difficult to reconcile with an interpretive approach, the data
gathered deemed reconciled indeed. Moreover, finding a distinction between the type of
data and the type of procedure (cf. Figure 19) brings in an additional category of analytical
procedures, which other conceptual frameworks exclude (Guest, 2005).
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 100
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
Given the multiplicity of analytic approaches, which are “incredibly diverse, complex and
nuanced” (Holloway & Todres, 2003:347), finding “a clear match between the data collection
and the analytic approach” (Guest et al., 2011:36) seems to be one of the challenges for
researchers. As this study was carried out in the framework of social constructivism, where
knowledge is constructed through social interaction, and where those engaged in the
interaction offer multiple meanings to the phenomenon, the analysis of the data relies
heavily on the comparison and triangulation of these meanings. What is important to
understand is that the qualitative analysis is not merely “breaking the whole into separate
parts” (Schutt, 2011:322), but rather an iterative and reflexive process which estimates that
the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts. I interpreted this whole using thematic
analysis.
Thematic Analysis
In the early stage of this study I came to realise that a great amount of data which I was going
to collect, if judged by the pilot study workload, needed a method of analysis which would
cope well with the emerging codes and new themes, and help me inductively create
conceptual categories from the coaching sessions data. Thematic analysis seemed to be this
‘clear match’ not only because it has been frequently used in qualitative studies, but because
it identifies the themes in the data that capture the patterns and meanings (Braun & Clarke,
2006), which are relevant to the problematic of this action research. Thematic analysis is
more than mere word counting – it delves into the essence of the data and plays with both
explicit and implicit meanings, providing “a rich and detailed, yet complex, account of data”
(ibid.:78), where language is viewed as a resource.
Thematic analysis works with a wide range of research questions, “from those about
people’s experiences or understandings to those about the representation and construction
of particular phenomena in particular contexts” (Braun & Clarke, 2013:121). On the other
hand, it can also be used to analyse different types of data, from secondary sources such as
media to transcripts of focus groups or interviews. Its flexibility works well with both large
and small datasets but, most importantly, it can be applied to produce either data-driven or
theory-driven analyses, as I mentioned before.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 101
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
However, the fact that thematic analysis lacks clear and concise guidelines means that this
analytic approach in the research arena is rarely acknowledged, frequently criticised and
mistaken for discourse or content analysis (ibid.:77-80). Given the flexibility in data
generation, it has also been heavily criticised for lacking rigour (Braun & Clarke, 2006). In
Tuckett’s (2005) view, thematic analysis is informed by grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin,
1998), particularly in terms of procedural elements such as concurrent data collection and
analysis, constant theory development and purposeful (theoretical) sampling. On the other
hand, Tuckett is also mindful of Charmaz’s (2000) social constructivism, which, he believes,
informs thematic analysis in that it is set within a social context through which it accepts
multiple constructions of meaning. He further explains that there is a direct connection
between social constructivism and the researcher’s operational techniques.
“Since social constructionism concerns itself with the construction of
knowledge and therefore meaning through the social involvement of agents
within a social context, and accepts multiple constructions of meaning are
possible based on different constructions from those engaged in the social
interaction […], analysis relied upon member checking, constant comparison,
atypical (negative) cases, and investigator triangulation as part of its
operational techniques.”
Tuckett (2005:76)
According to Charmaz (2017), constructivist grounded theory, which is ontologically relativist
and epistemologically subjectivist, differs from Glaser and Strauss’ (1967) theoretical
framework because it assumes a relativist epistemology, acknowledges the multiple
standpoints, roles and realities, adopts a reflexive process in exploring the relationships
between the researcher and the research participants, and situates the research in the
historical, social, and situational conditions of its production. The data collected in this study
are jointly constructed between me, as a researcher, and my colleagues, as the researched,
which creates a unique social context in which the teachers might bring in not only their
professional voices but also their personal concerns and beliefs. In such a “dynamic interplay
between the form and the content of the data […] language and culture precede data, and
informs what and how we define them as well as the meanings we ascribe to them”
(Charmaz & Belgrave, 2018:7). In other words, understanding the meaning of data and their
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 102
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
categorisation are affected by the way the participants co-construct them layer by layer while
attending to the researcher and research participants’ meanings, language, and actions
(Charmaz, 2017). By doing so, we engage in a reflexive exploration seeking for the multiple
interpretations of the problematic in order to create a collective account of our reality. The
close distance between me and my colleagues can indeed feed this process but also enable
me to position the data while I position myself in relation to them (Charmaz & Belgrave,
2018). Being immersed in the data helps me, as a researcher, use the coding language which
captures the faithful experiences of the participants which are being co-constructed. This is
very challenging for a researcher who needs to think about the “thorny question of how to
resolve the tension that exists between developing a conceptual analysis of participants’
stories and still creating a sense of their presence in the final text” (Mills et al., 2006:7).
As a data-driven inductive approach, expounded by Boyatzis (1998), it represents a coding
process which involves recognising an important moment and encoding it prior to a process
of interpretation. Boyatzis explains that the explicit codes come in many shapes and sizes:
“This may be specific themes; a complex model with themes, indicators and
qualifications that are casually related, or something in between these two forms.”
Boyatzis (1998:vi)
A ‘good code’ was the one that captured the qualitative richness of the phenomenon (ibid.:1).
While refining codes, the researcher must remember that the codes should fit the data and
not the other way around. A theme is, according to Boyatzis, “a pattern in the information
that at minimum describes and organises the possible observations and at maximum
interprets aspects of the phenomenon” (ibid.:vi). He explains that a theme may be identified
at the manifest level, which is directly observable, or at the latent level, which is underlying.
According to Huberman and Miles (1994) the identification of categories, codes and themes
are based on the frequency with which a phenomenon occurs. They contend that there are
three reasons for counting themes: (1) to identify patterns more easily; (2) to verify a
hypothesis; and (3) to maintain analytic integrity.
Following Boyatzis’ inductive thematic analysis (cf. Chart 6), the coding process starts with
developing codes and the testing them in terms of their reliability. Having done that, the data
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 103
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
are summarised into initial themes. As the analysis progresses, the emerging codes are
bundled into new themes. Finally, all new coded themes are corroborated and legitimised.
Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase coding process
starts with a researcher’s immersion in the data,
through which they are able to identify codes. As Braun
and Clarke stress out, “coding is not simply a method of
data reduction, it is also an analytic process, so codes
capture both a semantic and conceptual reading of the
data” (ibid.:87). Once the codes are collated, a
researcher can start searching for themes, which is, as
they hold, an active process because it relies heavily on
a researcher’s ability to construct themes rather than to
discover them. In the next phase, a researcher reviews
the themes, reflecting on “whether the themes tell a
convincing and compelling story about the data” (ibid.),
which is followed by “identifying the ‘essence’ […] and
constructing a concise, punchy and informative name
for each theme” (ibid.). Finally, writing-up weaves
together the analytic narrative and data extracts into a
coherent and persuasive story about the study.
What I wanted to do with the two sets of data was to map qualitative data and compare
them with the quantitative data, or more precisely, analyse the coaching sessions and relate
the themes to the eight categories of the QTI (cf. Figure 13 on p. 45).
Coaching conference data analysis
Over the period of almost nine months (from September 2014 until May 2015, including term
breaks), the teachers paired off every week to exchange ideas, experiences and impressions
of the changes they brought into their classrooms (cf. Appendix 5 on p. 224). Their meetings,
that is, coaching conferences, illuminated their pedagogical practice and inspired them to
experiment more while adapting to these changes. The pairs swapped to allow for a fresh
Chart 6: Coding process Adapted from Boyatzis (1998)
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 104
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
view and new perspective, but each teacher pair had twelve coaching conferences and six
lesson observations. In total, there were ninety lesson observations that were discussed
during the conferences, which were recorded and transcribed later, they followed the
interview schedule (cf. Table 2 and Table 3 on pp. 43-44) which helped them touch upon the
same comprehensive items every time they met.
The organisation of the coaching data started with the sorting of the transcription files,
which is Stage 1 of Boyatzis’ (1998) pattern. Each file was named after the coaching session,
1 to 6, and the aliases of the participating teachers, Teacher 1 to Teacher 6 (e.g. CS3T2T4
means Coaching Session 3, Teacher 2 and Teacher 4). Such taxonomy helped the researcher
chronologically organise the files and conveniently cross-tabulate in order to find a specific
piece of information (cf. Appendix 5 on p. 224). To facilitate the coding, all transcripts were
merged into a single Microsoft Word and imported into NVivo 10 for Windows, where they
were sorted according to the coloured nodes, which denoted the primary codes of the code
manual (cf. Appendix 6 on p. 225). Each code was written with reference to Boyatzis (1998)
and identified by:
• code label or name,
• definition of what the theme concerns, and
• description of how to know when the theme occurs.
The codes emerging from coaching conferences were theoretically driven in the beginning
of the analysis (cf. Table 6 on p. 106) and predefined using the pilot study as a reference and
sorted out into the three themes: (1) reflection about teaching, (2) lesson planning and lesson
observation, and (3) students’ reaction to the changed pedagogy. In order to confirm the eight
types of behaviour measured through the QTI (cf. Figure 13 on p. 45), I added them to the
code manual.
To test the reliability of the codes, which is Stage 2 of Boyatzis’ (1998) pattern, I used two
samples of the coaching conference interviews and shared them with a colleague who used
the same code manual to analyse the data. He suggested that some be modified in terms of
wording so that the meaning was more transparent but otherwise most of the codes
complied with my analysis.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 105
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
Stage 3 was the most exhausting part of the analysis as it involved careful reading and
summarising of the raw data. The important function of open coding is to help the researcher
move quickly to an analytic level by ‘fracturing the data’ or breaking it apart (Strauss & Corbin,
1998:127). I was struggling with the volume of data, juggling between conference transcripts
on the one hand and the conference schedules on the other. Transcripts were a researcher’s
nightmare because they were carried out in both Serbian and English, and even, more
interestingly, in a kind of lingo, where Serbian words were ‘anglicised’ and the English words
‘serbianised’. For example, the teachers used the English word ‘syllabus’ whenever they
spoke in Serbian although there is a corresponding Serbian word for it. As the Serbian
language recognises grammatical gender, the teachers used a derivative word for a female
teacher in Serbian – ‘teacherka’, which sounds very English when pronounced although it has
no meaning and is not semantically correct.
The teachers had also used puns and class anecdotes which were culturally sensitive and
linguistically difficult to translate. The second issue which hindered the data fracturing was
the fact that the teachers did not consistently use the pre- and post-conference schedule
(cf. Table 2 and Table 3 on pp. 43-44), but gradually transited from formal to informal
conversations. Although a hindrance for sorting and fracturing the data, such communication
yielded rich data for interpretation.
Having become more familiar with the raw data and having spent more time on
understanding their meaning, I proceeded to Stage 4, where I used NVivo to crop the text so
that it relates to the coloured nodes i.e. codes, where some of them were modified or
disregarded as data were checked for verification. As central to this research, most of the
codes drew on participant’s beliefs and perceptions. Although these codes emerged quite
early in the analysis, I realised that the more I organised, the more codes I generated, finding
myself in a colour-coded mosaic of tens of codes attached to teachers’ reflections, beliefs,
perceptions, and attitudes.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 106
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
Table 6: Primary codes and themes
Primary codes and themes
Reflection about teaching
1. T + teaching satisfied (teaching improved interactivity)
2. T – teaching dissatisfied (teaching did not improve interactivity)
3. CH + positive change (perception that the changed approach positively affected the students’ learning)
4. CH – negative change (perception that the changed approach negatively affected the students’ learning)
5. TSE teacher’s self-evaluation (teacher’s perception about their performance)
Lesson planning and lesson observation
6. LP + positive orientation towards lesson planning (perception that lesson planning positively affects performance in class)
7. LP – negative orientation towards lesson planning (perception that lesson planning negatively affects performance in class)
8. LO + positive evaluation of the lesson observation (perception that lesson planning worked well in class)
9. LO – negative evaluation of the lesson observation (perception that lesson planning did not work well in class)
Students’ reaction to the changed pedagogy
10. SR + positive student reaction to the changed pedagogy (perception that students reacted positively to the new approaches)
11. SR – negative student reaction to the changed pedagogy (perception that students reacted negatively to the new approaches)
Eight scales of the QTI
12. Lea Leadership behaviour
13. HFr Helping/Friendship behaviour
14. Und Understanding behaviour
15. SRF Student responsibility/freedom
16. Unc Uncertain behaviour
17. Dis Dissatisfied behaviour
18. Adm Admonishing behaviour
19. Str Strict behaviour
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 107
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
Table 7: Devised codes and themes
Devised codes and themes
Reflection about teaching
1. T + teaching satisfied (teaching improved interactivity)
2. T – teaching dissatisfied (teaching did not improve interactivity)
3. TSE teacher’s self-evaluation (teacher’s perception about their performance)
4. TL teacher learning (teacher’s perception about their learning and bridging the divide between the new and old approaches)
Resistance to change and reconciliation
5. CH + positive change (perception that the changed approach positively affected the students’ learning)
6. CH – negative change (perception that the changed approach negatively affected the students’ learning)
7. RC reconciliation (developed understanding that the change has taken place)
Collaborative teaching through peer coaching
8. LP + positive orientation towards lesson planning (perception that lesson planning positively affects performance in class)
9. LP – negative orientation towards lesson planning (perception that lesson planning negatively affects performance in class)
10. LO + positive evaluation of the lesson observation (perception that lesson planning worked well in class)
11. LO – negative evaluation of the lesson observation (perception that lesson planning did not work well in class)
Eight scales of the QTI
12. Lea Leadership behaviour
13. HFr Helping/Friendship behaviour
14. Und Understanding behaviour
15. SRF Student responsibility/freedom
16. Unc Uncertain behaviour
17. Dis Dissatisfied behaviour
18. Adm Admonishing behaviour
19. Str Strict behaviour
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 108
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
At one point, I had to let it all go and start all over again with a new perspective, which gave
me the momentum I needed to organise the data so that I could start interpreting. Although
a technological delight for qualitative researchers, NVivo is visually confined to the
dimensions of the screen, which often made the correlations and relationships difficult to
capture. I therefore did the ‘the old way’ – printed the transcripts, used highlighters in various
colours to code and spread the sheets all over my study room to visually relate to the data.
Needless to say, as the transcript lines were coded and coloured, the sheets turned into a
very complicated ‘treasure map’.
Stage 5 involved a process of assembling the information around certain themes and
employed careful reading and re-reading of the data in an attempt to identify patterns which
could lead to conclusions. Krueger (2014) provides seven established criteria as a framework
for interpreting coded data: words, context, internal consistency, frequency and
extensiveness of comments, specificity of comments, intensity of comments and big ideas. I
first looked at how the words fitted into contexts, if the contexts had consistency, how often
the code comments occurred, what was their impact and how they merged into the three
themes.
From an analytic point of view, distinctive for the analysis of coaching conferences were the
situations where participants repeatedly mentioned a particular theme. This repetition lead
to the need for ‘conference-to-conference’ validation so that any result that is considered to
be important should be a major element of the discussion in most of the conferences.
Boyatzis viewed this stage of the analysis – Stage 6 – as an opportunity to corroborate and
legitimate coded themes. The themes which were selected as major and represented in the
analysis of all six participating teachers underlined their key concerns: resistance to change,
reconciliation, reflection, and the impediments in bridging the divide between the ‘new’ and
the ‘old’ approaches to teaching, which I like to dub ‘teacher learning’ (cf. Table 7 on p. 107).
Other themes, which were eliminated as underrepresented, remained quite attributed to
certain teachers. For example, Teachers 1, 2 and 3 talked extensively about disciplinary issues
and how they could solve the classroom management problem with new approaches to their
pedagogical practise. However, this became a major theme on lesson planning and
observation. Similarly, as I realised from the analysis of the pilot data that the research design
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 109
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
should be inclusive of the eight QTI scales in their qualitative counterpart, I was sometimes
quite undecided which code to attach to the comment – leadership or strict behaviour? I
finally made my choice by listening to the recording and capturing the intonation of the
comment. If it were said in a calm and inviting manner, I labelled it as leadership, if it were
said in threatening manner and raised voice, it went under strict behaviour.
In the interplay of codes and themes, in the process which transforms data into findings, I
agree with Patton (2002) that there is ‘no recipe’. My first decision was to follow Boyatzis’
inductive thematic analysis guides (cf. Chart 6 on p. 103), but I found myself in the loop:
applying the template of codes, connecting the codes and identifying themes. However, this
continuous return to the source of information inspired me to approach each teacher with a
more in-depth analysis, while learning along the way about their idiosyncrasies and
particularities. Each teacher, as we will see later, changed differently, either in their own self-
perception or in the perception of their students. What a wonderful uncoiling.
QTI data analysis
In two designated subgroups of interest (DSI) (Hambleton & Rodgers, 2012), one
represented by the teachers and the other by the students, there were 6 classes, with a total
of 59 students, and 6 teachers, assessed on two occasions, one before the coaching
conferences and the other one almost nine months later, in the finale of this study. Having
learnt from the pilot study that the QTI should not be administered by the surveyed teacher,
I made a schedule according to which the six teachers were assigned a non-tutored class for
the QTI distribution. Such an approach accounted for more reliable data as the students were
not under emotional pressure to answer in favour of their class teacher or afraid that the
class teacher might retaliate if they did not like the feedback they did not like. Before the QTI
distribution, the teachers were briefed what to say to the students, so that there was a
uniformity in the presentation, which reinforced the reliability and validity of the instrument.
The students were instructed that the questionnaire was completely anonymous, but they
were also invited to express their true opinion so that the questionnaire could reflect the true
image of the surveyed teacher.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 110
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
What is important to understand is that the QTI was implemented in this study as a tool which
would measure students’ perceptions about their teacher at the beginning and at the end of
the research, i.e. before and after the coaching conferences, seeking confirmation of the
perceived change in their attitudes, values, knowledge and beliefs. As a diagnostic tool, the
QTI also served the teacher to self-assess their interaction with the students before
participating in the research and after having adopted a change. What I noticed along the
way was that the QTI was a trigger for reflective practice, which invited the teachers to start
re-thinking their pedagogical praxis once they had received the QTI charts and individual
analysis. This was evident in the coaching sessions as the teachers developed a rather
personal approach to the professional dialogues, bringing in their humour and anecdotes
along with the concerns and uncertainties (cf. Chapter 7 | 1 | 2 on p. 133).
The eight different facets of teacher behaviour were assessed through 48 statements
adapted for primary students (Goh & Fraser, 1997, cf. Appendix 2 on p. 214), whereas teachers
used the standard format (cf. Appendix 1 on p. 213). Some differences in the wording of the
items is shown in Table 8. Although the differences were subtle, they helped the primary
students understand the statements better so that their responses could be unbiased. As the
pilot study had shown that most of the 6- and 7-year-old students misunderstood some of
the statements, the teachers prepared them by introducing the phrases during the lessons
beforehand. For example, the statement ‘This teacher looks down on us’ had been interpreted
as the teacher physically looking down on students, which is indeed a typical teacher-student
situation in a classroom, especially when the students are seated, and the teacher is standing
or projecting above them. This is the reason why Teacher 1 and Teacher 2 had been instructed
to introduce this phrasal verb before the survey took place.
The data were fed into the SPSS in order to yield statistical results and then triangulated
against the themes, which emerged in the coaching conferences, for a more detailed
understanding of the research impact. The items were checked for reliability, which proved
to be high at .740, yet lower than the scores reported in the other studies conducted in
various geographical and social contexts (Wubbels & Brekelmans, 2005; den Brok et al., 2004;
Fraser, 2002).
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 111
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
Table 8: Student and Teacher versions of QTI items
Scale Example of items
Teacher version Student version
Leadership This teacher holds our attention. This teacher gets our attention.
Helpful/friendly This teacher can take a joke. This teacher likes to laugh.
Understanding This teacher realizes when we do not understand.
This teacher is willing to explain things again if we don't understand.
Student responsibility / freedom
We can decide some things in this teacher’s class.
This teacher allows us to choose what we want to work on.
Uncertain This teacher is not sure what to do when we fool around.
This teacher is not sure what to do when we fool around.
Dissatisfied This teacher thinks that we do not know anything.
This teacher thinks that we can't do things well.
Admonishing This teacher is sarcastic. This teacher looks down on us.
Strict We are afraid of this teacher. We are afraid of this teacher.
Following the SPSS analysis, the data were fed into an Excel sheet to yield the visual
representation, that is the eight-scale charts for every teacher individually (cf. Appendix 4 on
pp. 216-222). The data were interpreted in four sets: (1) teacher’s responses before the
coaching sessions, (2) students’ responses before the coaching sessions, (3) teacher’s
responses after the coaching sessions, and (4) students’ responses after the coaching
sessions. Each teacher received two sets of charts – one at the very beginning of the study
and the other one at the very end. By doing so, the teachers were able not only to perceive
the changes in their teaching approach, but also to visualise them. They could then compare
their charts with the chart of the ‘Teacher Ideal’ (cf. Chart 7 ), a concept which has evolved
over the years of testing teachers and students on what makes a good teacher (Wubbels &
Levy, 1993; Wubbels et al., 1997).
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 112
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
Chart 7: QTI results for Teacher Ideal (Adapted from Wubbels & Levy, 1993)
The QTI helped the teachers situate themselves in the classroom while displaying
interpersonal skills used to convey dominance, submission, cooperation and opposition. In
the many studies carried out in the world, students estimate that “the best teachers are
strong classroom leaders who are friendlier and more understanding and less certain,
dissatisfied, and critical than most teachers. Their best teachers also allow them more
freedom than the norm. [...] In general, then, good teachers are both highly dominant and
highly cooperative” (Wubbels, Levy & Brekelmans, 1997:83).
Although the image of the Teacher Ideal has been legitimised through valid and reliable data,
it is important to take into account that a role of male and female teachers is culturally
sensitive in some societies, which frames the QTI differently. For example, in some Muslim
countries where the schools are segregated into schools for boys and schools for girls, or in
some cultures where the female teachers usually teach kindergarten or primary students
because of the nature of childcare. The golden ratio of the eight QTI scores would also be a
geographical variable, as the role model of a teacher and their status in society has different
representations in different countries. On the other hand, the ratings could also be affected
by the gender or age of the students. Den Brok et al. (2003) even mention ethnicity and
acculturation as factors which might affect students’ perceptions of teachers’ interpersonal
behaviour. For example, Hispanic teachers were perceived as more dominant and
cooperative than their colleagues from other ethical groups such as Asian and Asian-
American (den Brok et al., 2002; Levy et al., 1997). In some cultures, a large class size might
Lea Leadership
HFr Helping/Friendly
Und Understanding
SRF Student responsibility freedom
Unc Uncertain
Dis Dissatisfied
Adm Admonishing
Str Strict
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 113
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
influence the intensity of interpersonal behaviour because a teacher is not able to
communicate directly with each child, whereas each child makes a direct observation of the
teacher’s actions and reactions.
Although most of the studies focus on the role of the teacher in assessing the eight scales of
the QTI, the role of the students in the equation is a variable which affects the score as well.
What stands out in this research is the nature of the student body, which is multi-cultural,
multi-national and multi-religious. Moreover, most of these students are usually ‘transitory’,
as they have temporary residence in Serbia and attend an international school in English
because they do not have any command of Serbian. Whether this be fortunate circumstances
or linguistic necessity, the international students, just like the international teachers, undergo
not only a process of cultural immersion but also that of academic adaptability, in which they
have to ‘unlearn and relearn’ the ways of communicating and interacting both with the
teacher and the other students in a given educational context (Cochran-Smith, 2003; Klein,
2008). Such diversity of student profiles brings an exceptional contribution to the culture of
globalisation in the international school, yet the pluralistic understanding of what kind of
teacher’s behaviour is acceptable in the interaction with the students is critical. For example,
a South Korean student would find eye contact with the teacher culturally sensitive, while
the Portuguese student would appreciate the teacher’s hugs as a typical way of expressing
encouragement. Similarly, while some students might evaluate participatory pedagogy in the
classroom as a spice to the learning process, others might find it inappropriate, being used
to passive teaching methods, where there is little interaction between a teacher and their
students. Additionally, the level of proficiency in English and subject comprehension
decidedly affect the student’s perception of the classroom interaction. In an international
setting, where linguistic competence is a success factor, students with impediments in
communication might have a skewed sense of belonging and therefore a biased perception
of teacher interaction.
Irrespective of these considerations, my colleagues at school were interested in comparing
results not only with the Teacher Ideal but also with other teachers who participated in the
survey, which was decidedly a very good start of peer-collaboration and a promising step
towards creating a more connected community of teachers. It is then no wonder why the
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 114
Svetlana Belic Malinic
6 |
Dat
a an
alys
is
teachers anxiously waited to do the repeated survey and see how their coaching sessions
affected their interpersonal behaviour over the period of almost nine months.
Summary
While looking for the ways to skilfully transform data into findings, thematic analysis seemed
to be an opportune tool in understanding the complexity of the data collected qualitatively
and quantitatively through coaching and questionnaire respectively. Having combined
deductive and inductive approaches towards building an explanatory case, I tried to reconcile
the two paradigms in order to provide an in-depth study of an authentic research setting, in
which the teachers resisted the change in the very beginning but learnt how to
collaboratively grow through peer coaching, mutual support and reflective instances.
Six teachers were paired off and observed over a period of almost nine months, during which
they changed their systems of beliefs, values and personal theories in order to improve their
pedagogies and classroom practice. The change, as Guskey (2002:382) observed, rests on the
notion that “[w]hat attracts teachers to professional development [...] is their belief that it
will expand their knowledge and skills, contribute to their growth, and enhance their
effectiveness with students”.
Although criticised for lacking rigour, thematic analysis facilitated concurrent data collection
and analysis in this research and provided the researcher with an agenda in which the data
were scrutinised into codes and themes. Following Boyatzis’ flow of work, the seamlessly
incoherent pile of words crystallised into a three-themed qualitative analysis: (1) resistance to
change and reconciliation, (2) reflection about teaching, and (3) collaborative teaching through
peer-collaboration. These were triangulated with the eight-scales of the QTI quantitative
analysis in search for the Teacher Ideal standards.
Guided by the intrinsic motivation to create an environment of mutual support and trust, in
which the teachers would help each other construct new knowledge and reinvent their
pedagogies, I sought to find a model of collaboration which would bring together their
uncertainties and turn them into new teaching potential. Using the Bell Model of Reciprocal
Peer Coaching, I wanted to answer the research question in this study:
What are the changes that coaching and peer-collaboration might bring about in
teachers’ skills and classroom practice?
- How does it affect teachers’ attitudes, values, knowledge and beliefs?
- How have their perceptions of teaching changed?
Observing how the teachers changed their perceptions about pedagogical practice and how
they applied the new constructs in the classroom was a step towards creating a place where
“learning from teaching was part of the job of teaching” (Feiman-Nemser & Buchmann,
1985:64). Moreover, I was seeking a paradigm which would help me create and sustain
teachers’ long-term professional learning (Cochran-Smith, 2005; Cochran-Smith, & Lytle,
1993; Darling-Hammond et al., 2017) in order to make a lasting impact on the school culture,
teacher performance and student academic success. To this exploration, I brought my long
experience in international education, educational leadership honed in several schools,
“Teaching and learning are complicated, labyrinthine processes filled with dead ends, false positives, contradictions, multiple truths, and a great deal of confusion.”
Brooks and Brooks (1999:x)
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 180
Svetlana Belic Malinic
8 |
Co
ncl
usi
on
inquisitive mind and enormous enthusiasm for school improvements, which I wanted to plant
and grow in Bell. I was aware of the inadequacy of one-time-one-size-fits-all transmission
models of professional learning (Darling-Hammond & Bransford, 2007) and was looking for
a sustainable solution which would change the habits of mind instead of merely changing
routines. I knew that meaningful professional learning takes time and brings uncertainties
for its contextual application, but Bell needed an intervention and I saw it as an opportunity
to innovate in order to inspire my colleagues to collaborate, knowing that “for systematic
and meaningful change to become integral and sustainable within the profession, the
approach to change must not be contrived, but must emerge from within a learning context
where meanings are identified and negotiated” (Brandenburg, 2008:3).
However, this research has encountered unforeseen impediments along the way, which was
a challenge for myself as a ‘fledgling’ researcher (Smith, 2007). Some of these impediments
emerged from subjective or ethical perceptions which threatened to bias the study
(cf. Chapter 4 | 3 on p. 73), while others developed through “complicated, labyrinthine
processes filled with dead ends, false positives, contradictions, multiple truths, and a great
deal of confusion” (Brooks & Brooks, 1999:x). On the other hand, the transformational
learning, which evolved from change resistance to reconciliation, affected teachers’
attitudes, values, knowledge and beliefs. To assess the forms and degrees of the changes, I
used both qualitative and quantitative instruments, that is coaching conferences, which
recorded critical instances to demonstrate how the teachers gradually changed their
perceptions over a period of time, and the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (cf.
Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 on pp. 213-214), a diagnostic tool which marked the very beginning
and end of the study, as two sign posts. It assessed the changes in the two dimensions of
teachers’ behaviour in the classroom (Influence: Dominance-Submission and Proximity:
Opposition-Cooperation, cf. Figure 13 on p. 45), where both students’ perceptions and
teachers’ self-perceptions created a two-dimensional composite analysis of classroom
interaction.
The changes and the changed
The setting in which the research took place was deprived of interconnectedness among the
teachers. As I was one of them, I hoped not only to reconnect but also to ensure a more
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 181
Svetlana Belic Malinic
8 |
Co
ncl
usi
on
accurate and relevant understanding of a situation, with a view to producing an effective,
relevant action which would facilitate the occurrence of a more desired and effective
outcome (Bright, 1996). Given the restraints in the professional development of the teachers
in international education and their unpreparedness to teach in an international setting
(cf. Chapter 2 | 1 on p. 16), the benefits of this study lie in using these disadvantages as a
vehicle to set changes into motion and inspire quest for improvement in learning and
teaching. Changes take distinctive yet interdependent forms: (1) changes in the self, related
to the innermost processes of the teachers, their personality traits and core values; (2)
changes in the classroom, that is in the pedagogical practice and instructional designs with
the students; (3) changes in communication within the school, not only with the students and
other teachers, but also with the parents; (4) changes in professional lives, which concern
teachers’ understanding of their immediate context, collaborative culture and learning
community (cf. Figure 22).
Figure 22: Levels of teacher change
Changes in the self were the most difficult to emerge in this research as they stem from the
core values about classroom practice, which are set very early in teachers’ careers if not even
before their careers have started, leaning on their own reminiscences of schooling
Directions: This questionnaire is not a test. We want to know your opinion about how your teacher works with you. We want you to answer honestly. Read each sentence carefully. Show your opinion about your teacher by circling one of the following:
0 if you think that your teacher NEVER behaves this way
1 if you think that your teacher behaves this way SELDOMLY
2 if you think that your teacher behaves this way SOMETIMES
3 if you think that your teacher behaves this way MOST OF THE TIME
4 if you think that your teacher ALWAYS behaves this way
Please answer all questions. If you want to change an answer, just cross it out and circle another answer.
Never
Seld
om
ly
So
meti
mes
Mo
st
of
the
tim
e
Alw
ays
Fo
r te
ach
er’
s u
se o
nly
Sentences
1. We all listen to this teacher. 0 1 2 3 4 Lea
2. This teacher is friendly. 0 1 2 3 4 HFr
3. This teacher trusts us. 0 1 2 3 4 Und
4. This teacher allows us to work on things that we like. 0 1 2 3 4 SRe
5. This teacher doesn't seem sure. 0 1 2 3 4 Unc
6. This teacher is unhappy. 0 1 2 3 4 Dis
7. This teacher gets angry quickly. 0 1 2 3 4 Adm
8. This teacher makes us work hard. 0 1 2 3 4 Str
9. We learn a lot from this teacher. 0 1 2 3 4 Lea
10. This teacher likes to laugh. 0 1 2 3 4 HFr
11. This teacher knows when we do not understand. 0 1 2 3 4 Und
12. We can decide some things in this teacher's class. 0 1 2 3 4 SRe
13. This teacher is not sure of himself/herself. 0 1 2 3 4 Unc
14. This teacher is bad-tempered. 0 1 2 3 4 Dis
15. This teacher looks down on us. 0 1 2 3 4 Adm
16. We have to be quiet in this teacher's class. 0 1 2 3 4 Str
18. This teacher's class is pleasant. 0 1 2 3 4 HFr
19. This teacher is willing to explain things again if we don't understand. 0 1 2 3 4 Und
20. This teacher gives us a lot of free time in class. 0 1 2 3 4 SRe
21. This teacher is shy. 0 1 2 3 4 Unc
22. This teacher thinks that we can't do things well. 0 1 2 3 4 Dis
23. This teacher makes fun of us. 0 1 2 3 4 Adm
24. This teacher's tests are hard. 0 1 2 3 4 Str
25. This teacher knows everything that goes on in this classroom. 0 1 2 3 4 Lea
26. We like this teacher. 0 1 2 3 4 HFr
27. This teacher takes notice of what we say. 0 1 2 3 4 Und
28. This teacher allows us to choose who we work with. 0 1 2 3 4 SRe
29. This teacher is not sure what to do when we fool around. 0 1 2 3 4 Unc
30. This teacher thinks we cheat. 0 1 2 3 4 Dis
31. This teacher shouts at us. 0 1 2 3 4 Adm
32. This teacher is strict when marking our work. 0 1 2 3 4 Str
33. This teacher explains things clearly. 0 1 2 3 4 Lea
34. This teacher helps us with our work. 0 1 2 3 4 HFr
35. This teacher knows how we feel. 0 1 2 3 4 Und
36. This teacher allows us to fool around in class. 0 1 2 3 4 SRe
37. This teacher allows us to tell him/her what to do. 0 1 2 3 4 Unc
38. This teacher thinks that we know nothing. 0 1 2 3 4 Dis
39. It is easy to make this teacher angry. 0 1 2 3 4 Adm
40. We are afraid of this teacher. 0 1 2 3 4 Str
41. This teacher is sure about what he/she wants to take place in the classroom. 0 1 2 3 4 Lea
42. This teacher cares about us. 0 1 2 3 4 HFr
43. This teacher listens to us. 0 1 2 3 4 Und
44. This teacher allows us to choose what we want to work on. 0 1 2 3 4 SRe
45. This teacher acts as if he/she does not know what to do. 0 1 2 3 4 Unc
46. This teacher says that he/she will punish us. 0 1 2 3 4 Dis
47. This teacher has a bad temper. 0 1 2 3 4 Adm
48. This teacher is strict. 0 1 2 3 4 Str
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 215
Svetlana Belic Malinic
9 |
Ap
pe
nd
ice
s
Appendix 3: The model for Interpersonal Teacher Behaviour (Source: Wubbels &
Brekelmans, 2005:9)
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 216
Svetlana Belic Malinic
9 |
Ap
pe
nd
ice
s
Appendix 4: QTI results before and after the coaching sessions
Table 13: Comparing Teachers’ QTI responses with their students’ QTI responses
before and after the coaching sessions
Teacher 1
before Teacher 1
after Students 1
before Students 1
after Sdev
Lea 2.7 2.3 3.4 3.4 0.5
HFr 3.5 3.7 3.1 3.1 0.2
Und 3.3 3.2 2.4 3.1 0.2
SRF 1.7 1.5 2.3 2.5 0.4
Unc 0.3 0.2 0.6 0.8 0.3
Dis 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.9 0.3
Adm 0.0 0.2 0.5 0.9 0.3
Str 3.2 3.3 1.9 2.1 0.6
Teacher 2
before Teacher 2
after Students 2
before Students 2
after Sdev
Lea 2.2 2.3 2.1 2.6 0.1
HFr 2.8 2.8 2.3 2.8 0.2
Und 2.3 3.2 2.4 3.1 0.4
SRF 1.7 1.8 1.4 1.9 0.3
Unc 0.5 0.8 0.9 1.0 0.2
Dis 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.9 0.2
Adm 0.3 0.3 0.9 1.2 0.3
Str 2.7 3.2 2.0 3.0 0.4
Teacher 3
before Teacher 3
after Students 3
before Students 3
after Sdev
Lea 2.7 2.2 2.4 1.8 0.3
HFr 3.0 3.5 2.8 3.1 0.2
Und 3.3 3.3 2.7 3.2 0.3
SRF 2.5 2.2 2.0 2.2 0.2
Unc 1.0 0.5 0.7 0.9 0.2
Dis 0.7 0.2 0.7 1.0 0.3
Adm 0.3 0.5 0.8 0.5 0.1
Str 3.3 3.3 1.4 1.9 0.8
Teacher 4
before Teacher 4
after Students 4
before Students 4
after Sdev
Lea 3.2 3.2 3.0 2.7 0.3
HFr 2.7 2.8 2.8 2.8 0.2
Und 2.8 3.5 3.2 3.2 0.3
SRF 2.7 2.3 2.7 2.1 0.2
Unc 0.5 0.3 0.7 0.5 0.2
Dis 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.3
Adm 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.1
Str 2.2 1.8 1.9 2.1 0.8
Teacher 5
before Teacher 5
after Students 5
before Students 5
after Sdev
Lea 3.5 3.5 3.4 3.0 0.2
HFr 2.8 3.3 3.0 3.0 0.2
Und 3.3 3.5 3.3 3.3 0.1
SRF 3.0 2.3 2.9 2.1 0.4
Unc 0.3 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.1
Dis 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.1
Adm 0.5 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.1
Str 1.8 1.8 2.0 2.7 0.4
Teacher 6
before Teacher 6
after Students 6
before Students 6
after Sdev
Lea 2.3 2.7 2.3 2.3 0.1
HFr 2.5 3.5 3.0 3.0 0.4
Und 2.0 3.7 2.4 2.6 0.6
SRF 2.0 1.7 2.0 2.4 0.2
Unc 1.2 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.2
Dis 0.8 0.5 0.9 0.8 0.2
Adm 0.3 1.2 0.7 0.6 0.3
Str 3.7 3.5 2.8 2.5 0.5
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 217
Svetlana Belic Malinic
9 |
Ap
pe
nd
ice
s
Comparing Teacher 1’s responses with her students’ responses before and after the coaching sessions
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 218
Svetlana Belic Malinic
9 |
Ap
pe
nd
ice
s
Comparing Teacher 2’s responses with her students’ responses before and after the coaching sessions
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 219
Svetlana Belic Malinic
9 |
Ap
pe
nd
ice
s
Comparing Teacher 3’s responses with her students’ responses before and after the coaching sessions
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 220
Svetlana Belic Malinic
9 |
Ap
pe
nd
ice
s
Comparing Teacher 4’s responses with her students’ responses before and after the coaching sessions
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 221
Svetlana Belic Malinic
9 |
Ap
pe
nd
ice
s
Comparing Teacher 5’s responses with her students’ responses before and after the coaching sessions
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 222
Svetlana Belic Malinic
9 |
Ap
pe
nd
ice
s
Comparing Teacher 6’s responses with her students’ responses before and after the coaching sessions
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 223
Svetlana Belic Malinic
9 |
Ap
pe
nd
ice
s
QTI results for Teacher Ideal (Adapted from Wubbels & Levy, 1993)
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 224
Svetlana Belic Malinic
9 |
Ap
pe
nd
ice
s
Appendix 5: Coaching sessions and coaching pairs
Week Coaching session
Coaching Teachers
1 CS1 T1T2 T3T4 T5T6
2 CS1 T2T5 T1T3 T4T6
3 CS1 T2T6 T3T5 T1T4
4 CS1 T1T5 T3T6 T2T4
5 CS1 T2T3 T1T6 T4T5
6 CS2 T1T2 T3T4 T5T6
7 CS2 T2T5 T1T3 T4T6
8 CS2 T2T6 T3T5 T1T4
9 CS2 T1T5 T3T6 T2T4
10 CS2 T2T3 T1T6 T4T5
11 CS3 T1T2 T3T4 T5T6
12 CS3 T2T5 T1T3 T4T6
13 CS3 T2T6 T3T5 T1T4
14 CS3 T1T5 T3T6 T2T4
15 CS3 T2T3 T1T6 T4T5
16 CS4 T1T2 T3T4 T5T6
17 CS4 T2T5 T1T3 T4T6
18 CS4 T2T6 T3T5 T1T4
19 CS4 T1T5 T3T6 T2T4
20 CS4 T2T3 T1T6 T4T5
21 CS5 T1T2 T3T4 T5T6
22 CS5 T2T5 T1T3 T4T6
23 CS5 T2T6 T3T5 T1T4
24 CS5 T1T5 T3T6 T2T4
25 CS5 T2T3 T1T6 T4T5
26 CS6 T1T2 T3T4 T5T6
27 CS6 T2T5 T1T3 T4T6
28 CS6 T2T6 T3T5 T1T4
29 CS6 T1T5 T3T6 T2T4
30 CS6 T2T3 T1T6 T4T5
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 225
Svetlana Belic Malinic
9 |
Ap
pe
nd
ice
s
Appendix 6: An example of coding
CS2T4T5 Primary codes
Devised codes
Teacher 5: What do you want to do with this?
Teacher 4: Aagh, I wanted to… hmm, well, let me think… [smiles nervously] Teach
them estimation, I guess.
Teacher 5: But estimation is not estimation if it was obvious.
Teacher 4: True. So this is not estimation…[discouraged]
Teacher 5: It is too transparent, see…What can you do to make it less transparent?
Teacher 4: Add one more element like distance or… a new town? [hesitant] Aaaah
(enthusiastically), I see now. I’ll do it right away.
Teacher 5: When you teach maths, remember that numbers are more than figures
or words. They are very explicit but the thinking behind it is not.
Teacher 4: I am not sure I follow you…[confused]
Teacher 5: You see, when you teach various strategies, you do it so that they can
see numbers and relations from different perspectives. This is where
you develop critical thinking. See?
Teacher 4: Mmmm…
Teacher 5: Tell me how you teach fractions?
Teacher 4: Oh, I explain that it is part of a whole and then write it on the board,
say two thirds, then I tell that two is a numerator and thirds is a
denominator.
Teacher 5: Do they understand what you are talking about?
Teacher 4: Well, not all of them immediately, of course.
Teacher 5: So how did you support those who did not understand?
Teacher 4: Ughhh, I tried again. I used my fingers and then I drew a pie.
Teacher 5: So, when the students can not understand, what do you ask yourself?
Teacher 4: Why did they fail to understand?
Teacher 5: It is not about understanding… it is about your patience.
Teacher 4: What do you mean? I wasn’t patient enough? But I really…
Teacher 5: [Butts in] You were not. Look, teaching fractions is actually developing
their creative thinking. You have to make them create ideas, not have
them ready-made.
Teacher 4: But I really tried to set things right. See, I have made them use these
pies and cards [resources].
Teacher 5: But you did not use them well. If you had reversed your lesson plan and
used it as an ice-breaker instead, you would have engaged them more
and had them think about it when doing on paper [worksheets].
Teacher 4: Oooookey, will do it next time [unwillingly]. But I really thought I did it
well.
TSE
LO –
CH +
LP +
LP +
LP +
LP +
TSE
TL
TL
TL
LP +
TSE
T +
TL
TL
LP +
TL
LP +
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 226
Svetlana Belic Malinic
9 |
Ap
pe
nd
ice
s
Appendix 7: Global Teacher of the Year announcements
NOMINATION
From: [email protected] Date: Tue, Sep 2, 2014 at 8:41 AM Subject: 21CL - Teacher of the Year Award To: <[email protected]> Dear Svetlana, We are writing to let you know that your entry for the Teacher of the Year Award, sponsored globally by Pearson, has been selected to progress to Phase 2 of the award process. Can you please now prepare and submit the following items on or before 3 October 2014:
• Supporting Video (Maximum of 2 minutes) – Supporting video should demonstrate how teacher applicant meets the award criteria.
• Student created artifacts/exemplars and associated lesson plan/curriculum (should be from past two years
• The application must be accompanied by a supporting letter from the Principal or Head of School which also confirms that in the event the entrant wins the competition, that he or she will be permitted to travel to Hong Kong to attend the conference. This visit will be fully funded by 21st Century Learning and the Sponsoring company.
You should submit the materials when you are ready by simply replying to this email and adding them as attachments. You should also include a link to your supporting video.
Congratulations on being selected to progress to the final group of candidates for the award. We look forward to hearing from you soon. If you should have any questions then please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. Regards, --
www.21c-learning.com
[Disclosed name of the Marketing & Events Manager] Marketing & Events Manager +852 9755 0294 7th Annual Hong Kong Conference 11-13 December 2014
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 227
Svetlana Belic Malinic
9 |
Ap
pe
nd
ice
s
SELECTION FOR THE FINALIST
From: [email protected] Date: Tue, Oct 21, 2014 at 11:08 AM Subject: Entry for Teacher of the Year Award To: S BM <[email protected]> Dear Svetlana, I am delighted to inform you have been selected as a finalist for the Teacher of the Year Award, sponsored globally by Pearson. Please accept my heartiest congratulations for this great achievement. The winner will be announced on 07 November 2014.We would appreciate it if you can keep this exciting news confidential until this date so that we can coordinate publicity and media coverage with Pearson, the award sponsors. As a finalist we will be inviting you to attend the conference with conference fees, travel, and hotel paid for by 21st Century Learning International Limited. So please make sure you block the dates in your diary and we look forward to welcoming you to the conference in December. If you are based in Hong Kong and do not require travel then we will be offering you the opportunity to bring one of your colleagues to the conference free of charge. Please use this link to register yourself and your colleague for the conference. Congratulations once again on being selected to progress to the final group of candidates for the award. If you should have any questions, then please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. Regards, --
www.21c-learning.com
[Disclosed name of the Marketing & Events Manager] Marketing & Events Manager +852 9755 0294 7th Annual Hong Kong Conference 11-13 December 2014
Abbott, M. L., & Fouts, J. T. (2003) Constructivist teaching and student achievement: The results of a school-level classroom observation study in Washington. Lynnwood, WA: Washington School Research Center, Seattle Pacific University. Retrieved June, 8, 2007.
Allison, S., & Harbour, M. (2009) The Coaching Toolkit: A Practical Guide for Your School. Sage Publications Limited.
Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. (Eds.) (2001) A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching and Assessing: a Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Longman, New York.
Argyris, C. (1976) Single-loop and double-loop models in research on decision making. Administrative science quarterly, 363-375.
Argyris, C. (2003) A life full of learning. Organization Studies, 24(7), 1178-1192.
Argyris, C., & Schon, D. (1978) Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
Bandura, A. (1997) Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. Macmillan.
Barrett, H., & Richter, J. (2010) Reflection4Learning. Retrieved on 3 November 2013 from www.sites.google.com/site/reflection4learning/double-loop-learning
Barrett, L. K., & Long, B. V. (2012) The Moore method and the Constructivist theory of learning: Was RL Moore a Constructivist?. PRIMUS, 22(1), 75-84.
Battista, M. T. (1999) The Mathematical Miseducation of America’s Youth: Ignoring Research and Scientific Study in Education, Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 80, No. 6, February 1999, pp. 425-433.
Bauman, Z. (2000) Liquid modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Bechhofer, F. (1974) Current approaches to empirical research: some central ideas. Approaches to Sociology, Rex, J.(Ed). Routledge: London.
Bellows, B. (2013) Assessment OF Learning vs Assessment FOR Learning. Retrieved on 20 January 2013 from http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nLD5jKO5OrI/UPXUx2r20ZI/AAAAAAAAAGo/7CZcdINMzUg/s1600/assessment+cartoon.jpg
Ben-Chaim, D., & Zoller, U. (2001) Self-perception versus students’ perceptions of teachers’ personal style in college science and mathematics courses. Research in Science Education, 31, 437–454.
Bloom, L. (1993) Transcription and coding for child language research: The parts are more than the whole. Talking data: Transcription and coding in discourse research, 149-66.
Borko, H. (2004) Professional development and teacher learning: Mapping the terrain. Educational researcher, 33(8), 3-15.
Boud, D., & Walker, D. (1992) In the midst of experience: Developing a model to aid learners and facilitators. Empowerment through experiential learning, 163-169.
Boyatzis, R. (1998) Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Boysen, G. A., & Vogel, D. L. (2009) Bias in the classroom: Types, frequencies, and responses. Teaching of Psychology, 36(1), 12-17.
Bradbury, H., & Reason, P. (2001) Conclusion: broadening the bandwidth of validity: issues and choice-points for improving the quality of action research, in Reason, P., Bradbury, H. (Eds), Handbook of Action Research: Participatory Inquiry and Practice, Sage Publications, London, pp.447-55.
Brandenburg, R. T. (2008) Powerful pedagogy: Self-study of a teacher educator’s practice (Vol. 6). Springer Science & Business Media.
Brandenburg, R. T., & Davidson, C. (2011) Transcribing the unsaid: Finding silence in a self-study. Reflective Practice, 12(6), 703-715.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3 (2). pp. 77-101. ISSN 1478-0887
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2013) Successful qualitative research: A practical guide for beginners. sage.
Bray, J., Lee, J., Smith, L., & Yorks, L. (2000) Collaborative Inquiry in Practice. London: Sage Publications.
Brekelmans, M., Levy, J., & Rodriguez, R. (1993) A typology of teacher communication style.
Brekelmans, M., Wubbels, T., & van Tartwijk, J. (2005) Teacher-student relationships across the teaching career. International Journal of Educational Research, 43, 55–71.
Bright, B. (1996) Reflecting on “Reflective Practice”. Studies in the Education of Adults, 28(2), 162-84.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 229
Svetlana Belic Malinic
10 |
Re
fere
nce
s
Brockbank, A., & McGill, I. (2006) Facilitating reflective learning through mentoring and coaching. London and Philadelphia: Kogan Page.
Brookhart, S. M. (2010) How to assess higher-order thinking skills in your classroom. ASCD.
Brooks, J. G. (1999) Concept to Classroom Interview. Retrieved from http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index_sub4.html on 21 July 2014.
Brooks, J. G., & Brooks, M. G. (1999) In search of understanding: The case for constructivist classrooms. ASCD.
Brown, A., & Dowling, P. (1998) Doing research / reading research: A mode of interrogation for education. London: Falmer Press.
Bryman, A. (1988) Quantity and Quality in Social Research, London, Routledge.
Bryman, A. (2004) Social Research Methods, Revised edition. Oxford University Press.
Bryman, A. (2006) Integrating quantitative and qualitative research: how is it done?. Qualitative research, 6(1), 97-113.
Bunnell, T. (2014) The Changing Landscape of International Schooling. London: Routledge.
Bunnell, T. (2016) Teachers in international schools: a global educational ‘precariat’?, Globalisation, Societies and Education, 14:4, 543-559
Calhoun, E. F. (1994) How To Use Action Research in the Self-Renewing School. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1250 N. Pitt Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-1453.
Cambridge Assessment International Education (2019) Brochure. Retrieved on 23 February 2019 from https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/Images/417448-overview-brochure.pdf
Cambridge, J., & Thompson, J. (2004) Internationalism and globalization as contexts for international education. Compare, 34(2)
Campbell, D., & Stanley, J. (1963) Experimental and quasi-experimental evaluations in social research. Chicago, Rand Mc-Nally.
Caracelli, V. J., & Greene, J. C. (1997) Crafting mixed-method evaluation designs. In Greene, J., & Caracelli, V. (Eds.), Advances in mixed-method evaluation: The challenges and benefits of integrating diverse paradigms. New directions for evaluation (No. 74, pp. 19–32). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Carr, W. (1994) Whatever happened to action research? Educational Action Research, 2, 427–436.
Carr, W. (2006) Philosophy, methodology and action research. Journal of philosophy of education, 40(4), 421-435.
Carr, W., & Kemmis, S. (1986) Becoming Critical: Education, knowledge and action research. London: FalmerCheck, J., & Schutt, R. K., 2011. Research methods in education. SAGE.
Carr, W., & Kemmis, S. (2005) Staying critical. Educational Action Research, 13, 347–358.
Cha, Y. K., & Ham, S. H. (2012) Constructivist teaching and intra-school collaboration among teachers in South Korea: an uncertainty management perspective. Asia Pacific Education Review, 13(4), 635-647.
Charmaz, K. (2000) Grounded theory: Objectivist and constructivist methods. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 509-535).
Charmaz, K. (2017) Constructivist grounded theory, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 12:3, 299-300.
Charmaz, K., & Belgrave, L. L. (2018) Thinking about data with grounded theory. Qualitative Inquiry, 1077800418809455.
Cheng, E. C. (2019) Applying SECI Model for Creating Pedagogical Knowledge. In Successful Transposition of Lesson Study (pp. 29-44). Springer, Singapore.
Clarke, D. J., & Hollingsworth, H. (2002) Elaborating a model of teacher professional growth, Teacher and Teacher Education, 18, 947–967.
Cobb, P., & Steffe, L. P. (2011) The constructivist researcher as teacher and model builder. In A Journey in Mathematics Education Research (pp. 19-30). Springer Netherlands.
Cochran-Smith, M. (2003) Learning and Unlearning: The Education of Teacher Educators. Teaching and Teacher Education International Journal of Scholarship and Studies. 19: 5-28
Cochran-Smith, M. (2005) The New Teacher Education: For Better or For Worse? Educational Researcher, 34(7): 3-17.
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (Eds.). (1993) Inside/outside: Teacher research and knowledge. Teachers College Press.
Cochran-Smith, M., &Lytle, S. L. (1999) The teacher research movement: A decade later, Educational Researcher, 28(7), 15–25.
Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2000) Research Methods in Education [5 th edn] London: Routledge Falmer. Teaching in Higher Education, 41, 21.
Collins, K. M., Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Sutton, I. L. (2006) A model incorporating the rationale and purpose for conducting mixed methods research in special education and beyond. Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal, 4(1), 67-100.
Corbin Dwyer, S., & Buckle, J. (2009) The space between: On being an insider/outsider in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 8: 54-63.
Costa, A., & Garmston, R. (1994) Cognitive coaching: Approaching renaissance schools. MA: Christopher Gordon Publishing.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 230
Svetlana Belic Malinic
10 |
Re
fere
nce
s
Coulson, D., & Harvey, M. (2013) Scaffolding student reflection for experience-based learning: a framework, Teaching in Higher Education, 18:4, 401-413
Cowie, D. (2010) Coaching for improving teacher practice within a professional development initiative. MA thesis, Unitec Institute of Technology New Zealand
Creswell, J. (1998) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design; Choosing Among Five Traditions. London, New Delhi, Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications
Creswell, J. W. (2012) Educational research: planning. Conducting, and Evaluating.
Creswell, J. W., & Miller, D. L. (2000) Determining validity in qualitative inquiry. Theory into practice, 39(3), 124-130.
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2007) Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research, Sage, Thousand Oaks, California.
Creswell, J. W., Plano Clark, V. L., Gutmann, M. L., & Hanson, W. E. (2003) Advanced mixed methods research designs. Handbook of mixed methods in social and behavioural research. Edited by: Tashakkori A, Teddlie C.
Crotty, M. (1998) The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. Sage.
CUREE (2005) Mentoring and Coaching for Learning: Summary report of the mentoring and coaching CPD capacity building project 2004 – 2005. Retrieved on 13 January 2012 from www.curee-paccts.com
Daloz, L. (1998) Mentor: Guiding the journey of adult learners (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Darling-Hammond, L. (1995) Changing conceptions of teaching and teacher development. Teacher Education Quarterly, 9-26.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2003) Keeping good teachers: Why it matters, what leaders can do. Educational leadership, 60(8), 6-13.
Darling-Hammond, L., & Baratz-Snowden, J. (2007) A good teacher in every classroom: Preparing the highly qualified teachers our children deserve. Educational Horizons, 85(2), 111-132.
Darling-Hammond, L., & Bransford, J. (Eds.). (2007) Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do. John Wiley & Sons.
Darling-Hammond, L., Burns, D., Campbell, C., Goodwin, A. L., Hammerness, K., Low, E. L., ... , & Zeichner, K. (2017) Empowered educators: How high-performing systems shape teaching quality around the world. John Wiley & Sons.
Davis, H. A., & Lease, A. M. (2007) Perceived organizational structure for teacher liking: The role of peers’ perceptions of teacher liking in teacher–student relationship quality, motivation, and achievement. Social Psychology of Education, 10(4), 403-427.
Davis, S. H. (2007) Bridging the gap between research and practice: What’s good, what’s bad, and how can one be sure? Phi Delta Kappan, 88(8), 569–578.
Day, C. (1999) Developing Teachers: The Challenges of Lifelong Learning. London: Falmer Press.
Day, C. (2002) School reform and transitions in teacher professionalism and identity. International journal of educational research, 37(8), 677-692.
Day, C., Elliot, B., & Kington, A. (2005) Reform, standards and teacher identity: Challenges of sustaining commitment. Teaching and teacher Education, 21(5), 563-577.
Del Buono, S. (2013) Educational Management, Blog. Assessed on 10 October 2013 at educationalmanagement.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/ar_spiral_new.jpg?w=100&h=150
den Brok, P. J. (2001) Teaching and student outcomes: A study on teachers' thoughts and actions from an interpersonal and a learning activities perspective. WCC.
den Brok, P. J., Levy, J., Rodriguez, R., & Wubbels, T. (2002) Perceptions of Asian-American and Hispanic-American teachers and their students on teacher interpersonal communication style. Teaching and Teacher Education, 18(4), 447-467.
den Brok, P., Bergen, T., Stahl, R. J., & Brekelmans, M. (2004) Students’ perceptions of teacher control behaviours. Learning and Instruction, 14(4), 425-443.
den Brok, P., Brekelmans, M., & Wubbels, T. (2006a) Multilevel issues in research using students’ perceptions of learning environments: The case of the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction. Learning Environments Research, 9(3), 199-213.
den Brok, P., Fisher, D. L., Wubbels, T., Brekelmans, M., & Rickards, T. (2006b) Secondary teachers' interpersonal behaviour in Singapore, Brunei and Australia: A cross national comparison. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 26, 79-95.
den Brok, P., Levy, J., Brekelmans, M., & Wubbels, T. (2005) The effect of teacher interpersonal behaviour on students' subject-specific motivation. The Journal of Classroom Interaction, 20-33.
den Brok, P., Levy, J., Wubbels, T., & Rodriguez, M. (2003) Cultural influences on students’ perceptions of videotaped lessons. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 27(3), 355-374.
den Brok, P., Wubbels, T., & Van Tartwijk, J. (2017) Exploring beginning teachers’ attrition in the Netherlands. Teachers and teaching, 23(8), 881-895.
Dennis, B. (2009) What does it mean when an ethnographer intervenes? Ethnography and Education, 4(2), 131-146.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 231
Svetlana Belic Malinic
10 |
Re
fere
nce
s
Denzin, N. K. (1970) The research act: A theoretical introduction to sociological methods. Transaction publishers. Chicago.
Denzin, N. K. (1989) Interpretive biography (Vol. 17). Sage.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005) The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 1-32). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Desimone, L. (2009) Improving impact studies of Teachers' professional development: toward better conceptualizations and measures. Educational researcher, 38 (3), 181–199.
Deveney, B. (2007) How well-prepared do international school teachers believe themselves to be for teaching in culturally diverse classrooms?. Journal of Research in International Education, 6(3), 309-332.
Dewey, J. (1933) Philosophy and civilization.
DfE (2011) Making the links between teachers' professional standards, induction, performance management and continuing professional development (DFE-RR075)
Dickens, C. (1864) International education. All The Year Round: A Weekly Journal, 12(281), 281-308.
Dieker, L. A., & Murawski, W. W. (2003) Co-teaching at the secondary level: Unique issues, current trends, and suggestions for success. The High School Journal, 86(4), 1-13.
Dillon, A., & Ali, T. (2019) Global nomads, cultural chameleons, strange ones or immigrants? An exploration of Third Culture Kid terminology with reference to the United Arab Emirates. Journal of Research in International Education, 18(1), 77-89.
Downer, J. T., Pianta, R. C., Fan, X., Hamre, B. K., Mashburn, A., & Justice, L. (2011) Effects of web-mediated teacher professional development on the language and literacy skills of children enrolled in prekindergarten programs. NHSA dialog, 14(4), 189-212.
Drake, P. (2010) Grasping at methodological understanding: a cautionary tale from insider research. International Journal of Research & Method in Education,33(1), 85-99.
Ecole Internationale de Genéve (2017) Overview. Retrieved on February 19, 2019 from https://www.ecolint.ch/overview/our-history
Edwards, C. H. (2011) Educational change: From traditional education to learning communities. R&L Education.
Eikeland, O. (2006) Condescending ethics and action research Extended review article. Action Research, 4(1), 37-47.
Eisner, E. (1985) The Art of Educational Evaluation: A Personal View, London, Falmer Press.
Elliott, J. (1988). Educational research and outsider‐insider relations. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 1(2), 155-166.
Elliott, J. (1991) Action research for educational change. McGraw-Hill International.
Ellwood, C. (2012) Charles Dickens International School. International School Magazine, 31(2), 5.
Evans, L. (2009) S/he who pays the piper calls the tune? Professionalism, developmentalism and the paucity of in-service education within the research profession. Professional Development in Education, 35 (2), 289-312.
Fail, H. (2011) Teaching and learning in international schools; a consideration of the stakeholders and their expectations. In Bates, R. (ed) Schooling Internationally: Globalisation, Internationalisation and the Future for International Schools, London: Routledge.
Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001) From preparation to practice: Designing a continuum to strengthen and sustain teaching. Teachers College Record, Columbia University, 103(6), 1013–1055.
Feiman-Nemser, S. (2012) Teachers as Learners. Harvard Education Press.
Feiman-Nemser, S., & Buchmann, M. (1985) Pitfalls of experience in teacher preparation. The Teachers College Record, 87(1), 53-65.
Fennes, H., & Hapgood, K. (1997) Intercultural Learning in the Classroom: Crossing Borders. London: Cassell.
Fidalgo-Blanco, Á., Sein-Echaluce, M. L., & García-Peñalvo, F. (2015) Epistemological and ontological spirals: From individual experience in educational innovation to the organisational knowledge in the university sector. Program, 49(3), 266-288.
Fisher, J. M. (2005) A time for change?. Human Resource Development International, 8(2): 257–263.
Flavell, J. H. (1979) Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive developmental inquiry. American Psychologist, 34, 906-911.
Floyd, A., & Arthur, L. (2012) Researching from within: external and internal ethical engagement, International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 35:2, 171-180
Foucault, M. (1982) The subject and power. Critical inquiry, 8(4), 777-795.
Fraser, B. J. (2002) Learning environments research: Yesterday, today and tomorrow. In Studies in educational learning environments: An international perspective (pp. 1-25).
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 232
Svetlana Belic Malinic
10 |
Re
fere
nce
s
Friedman, I. A. (2000) Burnout in teachers: Shattered dreams of impeccable professional performance. Journal of clinical psychology, 56(5), 595-606.
Fullan, M. (1995) ‘‘The School as a Learning Organization: Distant Dreams.’’ Theory into Practice 34 (4): 230_235.
Fullan, M. (1999) Change forces: The Sequel, Falmer Press, London.
Fullan, M. (2007) The new meaning of educational change (4th ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press, Columbia University.
Fullan, M. (2014) Leading in a culture of change personal action guide and workbook. John Wiley & Sons.
Gardner-McTaggart, A. (2018) International schools: leadership reviewed. Journal of Research in International Education, 17(2), 148-163.
Gay, G. (2000) Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research and Practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Geertz, C. (1987) [1974] ‘From the Native’s Point of View’: On the Nature of Anthropological Understanding. In Interpreting Politics, edited by Michael T. Gibbons. London: Blackwell.
Ginsberg, M., & Wlodkowski , R. (2000) Creating Highly Motivating Classrooms for All Students: A Schoolwide Approach to Powerful Teaching with Diverse Learners. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1967) Grounded theory: The discovery of grounded theory. Sociology the journal of the British sociological association, 12(1), 27-49.
Goh, S. C., & Fraser, B. J. (1997) Adaptation of the questionnaire on teacher interaction for elementary grades.
Greene, J. C. (2008) Mixed methods in social inquiry. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Greenwood, D. J., & Levin, M. (1998) Introduction to Action Research: Social research for social change. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Greenwood, J. (1998) The role of reflection in single and double loop learning. Journal of advanced nursing, 27(5), 1048-1053.
Grix, J. (2004) The Foundations of Research. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1989). Fourth generation evaluation. Sage.
Guba, E., & Lincoln, Y. (2005) Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions and emerging confluences. In N. Denzin, & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed.). (pp. 191–216) London: Sage
Guest, G. (2005) The range of qualitative research. Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health Care, 31 (2), 165.
Guest, G., MacQueen, K. M., & Namey, E. E. (2011) Applied thematic analysis. Sage.
Guskey, T. (2000) Evaluating professional development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Guskey, T. R. (1986). Staff development and the process of teacher change. Educational Researcher,15(5), 5–12.
Guskey, T. R. (2002) Professional development and teacher change. Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 8(3), 381-391.
Hairon, S. (2006) Action research in Singapore education: constraints and sustainability, Educational Action Research, 14(4), 513–523.
Hambleton, R. K., & Rodgers, H. J. (2012) Developing an Item Bias Review Form. Retrieved on November 20 November 2013 from http://ericae.net/ft/tamu/biaspub2.htm
Hammerness, K., Darling-Hammond, L., Bransford, J., Berliner, D., Cochran-Smith, M., McDonald, M., & Zeichner, K. (2005) How teachers learn and develop. Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do, 358-389.
Hannabus, S. (2000) Being there: ethnographic research and autobiography, Library Management, 21 (2), 99-106.
Hardman, J . (2001) ‘Improving recruitment and retention of quality overseas teachers’, in S. Blandford and M. Shaw (eds) Managing International Schools, pp. 123–35. London: Routledge Falmer.
Hargreaves, A. (1998) The emotional practice of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 8(14), 835-854.
Hargreaves, A. (Ed.). (2005) Extending educational change (pp. 278-295). Dordrecht and New York: Springer.
Hargreaves, A., & Dawe, R. (1990) Paths of Professional Development: contrived collegiality, collaborative culture, and the case of peer coaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 6, pp. 227-241
Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2012) Professional capital: Transforming teaching in every school, New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Hargreaves, E. (2008) Using Mentoring and Coaching to Support Work Based Learning: an Evaluation. London: Institute of Education, University of London.
Hart, E. (1996) Action research as a professionalizing strategy: issues and dilemmas. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 23, 454–461.
Hart, E., & Bond, M. (1995) Action Research for Health and Social Care. Open University Press, Milton Keynes.
Hastings, W., & Squires, D. (2002) Restructuring and reculturing: Practicum supervision as professional development for teachers. Asia-Pacific Journal of teacher education, 30(1), 79-91.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 233
Svetlana Belic Malinic
10 |
Re
fere
nce
s
Hayden, M. (2011) Transnational Spaces of Education: The Growth of The International School Sector. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 9 (2): 211–224.
Hayden, M. C., Rancic, B. A., & Thompson, J. J. (2000) Being international: Student and teacher perceptions from international schools. Oxford review of education, 26(1), 107-123.
Hayden, M., & Thompson, J. (2013a) International schools: antecedents, current issues and metaphors for the future, in Pearce, R. (Ed.), International Education and Schools: Moving Beyond the First 40 Years, Bloomsbury Academic, London, pp. 3-24.
Hayden, M., Thompson, J., & Levy, J. (Eds.). (2007) The Sage handbook of research in international education. Sage.
Hayden, M. C. (2006) Introduction to international education: International schools and their communities, London: Sage.
Hayden, M. C., & Thompson, J. J. (2008) International schools: Growth and influence, Paris: UNESCO, International Institute for Educational Planning.
Heyward, M. (2002) From international to intercultural: Redefining the international school for a globalized world. Journal of research in international education, 1(1), 9-32.
Hill, I. (2006) Internationally minded schools. International Schools Journal, 20(1), 24–37.
Hill, I. (2012) Evolution of education for international mindedness. Journal of Research in International Education, 11(3), 245-261.
Hollins, E. R., McIntyre, L. R., DeBose, C., Hollins, K. S., & Towner, A. (2004) Promoting a self-sustaining learning community: Investigating an internal model for teacher development. International journal of qualitative studies in education, 17(2), 247-264.
Holloway, I., & Todres, L. (2003) The status of method: flexibility, consistency and coherence. Qualitative Research 3, 345/57.
Hope, K. W., & Waterman, H. A. (2003) Praiseworthy pragmatism? Validity and action research. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 44(2), 120-127.
Huberman, A. M., & Miles, M. B. (1994) Data management and analysis methods.
Huffman, J. B., & Hipp, K. K. (2003). Reculturing schools as professional learning communities. R&L Education.
Huston, T., & Weaver, C. L. (2008) Peer coaching: Professional development for experienced faculty. Innovative Higher Education, 33(1), 5-20.
Hvorecky, J. O. Z. E. F. (2012) Applying the SECI Model and Bloom’s Taxonomy to the preparation of Knowledge Management Specialists. In Proc. The Knowledge management and Enterprise Solutions Conference.
International School of Belgrade (2019) History of the International School of Belgrade. Retrieved on 15 February 2019 from https://www.isb.rs/site/page/about-isb/history/18
ISC Research (2018) Data and Intelligence. Retrieved on 19 February 2019 from https://www.iscresearch.com/data
Israel, M., Carnahan, C. R., Snyder, K. K., & Williamson, P. (2012) Supporting New Teachers of Students with Significant Disabilities through Virtual Coaching: A Proposed Model. Remedial and Special Education.
J. Levy (Eds.), Do you know what you look like? (pp. 46–55). London: The Falmer Press.
Jiang, Y., Ma, L., & Gao, L. (2016) Assessing teachers' metacognition in teaching: The Teacher Metacognition Inventory. Teaching and Teacher Education, 59, 403-413.
Johnson, A. P. (2005) A Short Guide to Action Research (2nd ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Johnson, N. W. (2007) Peer Coaching: A Collegial Support for Bridging the Research to Practice Gap. PhD thesis, Faculty of the Graduate School, University of Missouri-Columbia
Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004) Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educational researcher, 33(7), 14-26.
Johnson, R. B., Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Turner, L. A. (2007) Toward a definition of mixed methods research. Journal of mixed methods research, 1(2), 112-133.
Jokikokko, K. (2009) The role of significant others in the intercultural learning of teachers. Journal of research in international education, 8(2), 142-163.
Jones, D. (2007) Speaking, listening, planning and assessing: the teacher’s role in developing metacognitive awareness. Early Child Development and Care, 177(6-7), 569-579.
Jones, I., Lake, V. E., & Dagli, U. (2005) Integration of science and mathematics methods and preservice teachers’ understanding of constructivism. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 25(2), 165-172.
Jones, M., & Straker, K. (2006) What informs mentors' practice when working with trainees and newly qualified teachers? An investigation into mentors' professional knowledge base. Journal of Education for Teaching, 32(2), 165-184.
Joyce, B., & Showers, B. (2002) Student achievement through staff development (Alexandria, ASCD).
Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. (2009) Immunity to Change: How to Overcome it and Unlock Potential in Yourself and in Your Organization, Harvard Business Press, Boston, MA.
Kemmis, S. (2010) What is to be done? The place of action research. Educational action research, 18(4), 417-427.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 234
Svetlana Belic Malinic
10 |
Re
fere
nce
s
Kennedy, A. (2014) Understanding continuing professional development: the need for theory to impact on policy and practice. Professional development in education, 40 (5), 688–697.
Klein, E. J. (2008) Learning, unlearning, and relearning: lessons from one school's approach to creating and sustaining learning communities. Teacher Education Quarterly, 35(1), 79-97.
Korthagen, F. A. (1993) Two modes of reflection. Teaching and Teacher Education, 9(3), 317-326.
Korthagen, F. A. (2004) In search of the essence of a good teacher: Towards a more holistic approach in teacher education. Teaching and teacher education, 20(1), 77-97.
Korthagen, F. A. (2009) Professional Learning from Within, Studying Teacher Education, 5:2, 195-199
Korthagen, F. A. J., Kessels, J., Koster, B., Lagerwerf, B., & Wubbels, T. (2001) Linking practice and theory: the pedagogy of realistic teacher education (Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates).
Korthagen, F., & Vasalos, A. (2005) Levels in reflection: Core reflection as a means to enhance professional growth. Teachers and Teaching, 11(1), 47-71.
Koshy, V. (2005) Action research for improving practice: A practical guide. Sage.
Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A. (2010) Organizational behavior (Ninth edition). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin
Kretlow, A. G., & Bartholomew, C. C. (2010) Using coaching to improve the fidelity of evidence-based practices: A review of studies. Teacher Education and Special Education, 33(4), 279-299.
Krueger, R. A. (2014) Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research. Sage publications.
Lapointe, J. M., Legault, F., & Batiste, S. J. (2005) Teacher interpersonal behavior and adolescents’ motivation in mathematics: A comparison of learning disabled, average, and talented students. International Journal of Educational Research, 43(1-2), 39-54.
Larkin, S. (2006) Collaborative group work and individual development of metacognition in the early years. Research in Science Education, 36, 7–27.
Lawson, T. (2011a) Empowerment in Education: liberation, governance or a distraction? A Review. Power and Education, 3(2), 89-103.
Lawson, T. (2011b) Sustained classroom observation: What does it reveal about changing teaching practices?. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 35(3), 317-337.
Le Roux, J. (2001) Effective teacher training for multicultural teaching. Multicultural Teaching, 19(2): 18–22.
Leary, T. (1957) Interpersonal diagnosis of personality. New York: Ronald Press
Leitch, R., & Day, C. (2000) Action research and reflective practice: towards a holistic view, Educational Action Research, 8:1, 179-193
Levy, J., Wubbels, T., Brekelmans, M., & Morganfield, B. (1997) Language and cultural factors in students' perceptions of teacher communication style. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 21(1), 29-56.
Lewin, K. (1946) Action Research and Minority Problems, Journal of Social Issues, 2: 34-46
Lewin, K. (1947) Frontiers in group dynamics: concept, method and reality in social science; social equilibria and social change. Human relations.
Licklider, B. L. (1995) The effects of peer coaching cycles on teacher use of complex teaching skill and teacher’s sense of efficacy, Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education, 9, 55–68
Lin, X., Schwartz, D. L., & Hatano, G. (2005) Toward teachers' adaptive metacognition. Educational psychologist, 40(4), 245-255.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985) Naturalistic Inquiry. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (2000) The only generalization is: There is no generalization. Case study method, 27-44.
Lofthouse, R., & Leat, D. (2013) An activity theory perspective on peer coaching. International journal of mentoring and coaching in education, 2(1), 8-20.
Lord, P., Atkinson, M., & Mitchell, H. (2008) Mentoring and Coaching for Professionals: A Study of the Research Evidence, NFER Northern Office.
Loughran, J. J. (1996) Developing Reflective Practice: learning about teaching and learning through modelling. London: Falmer Press.
Luft, J. A. (2001) Changing inquiry practices and beliefs: The impact of an inquiry-based professional development programme on beginning and experienced secondary science teachers. International Journal of Science Education, 23, 517–534.
Luttenberg, J., & Bergen, T. (2008) Teacher reflection: the development of a typology. Teachers and teaching, 14(5-6), 543-566.
Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (1999) Designing qualitative research. Chicago.
Maxwell, J. (1997) Designing a qualitative study. In L. Bickman & D. J. Rog (Eds.) Handbook of applied social research methods (pp. 69-100). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 235
Svetlana Belic Malinic
10 |
Re
fere
nce
s
McCarty, L. P., & Schwandt, T. A. (2000) Seductive illusions: Von Glasersfeld and Gergen on epistemology and education. In D. C. Phillips (Ed.), Constructivism in education: Opinions and second opinions on controversial issues (pp. 41–85). Chicago: National Society for the Study of Education.
McCormack, A., Gore, J. G., & Thomas, K. (2006) Early career teacher professional learning. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 34(1), 95-113.
McDonald, J. P. (1992) Teaching: Making sense of an uncertain craft. Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027.
McNiff, J., & Whitehead, J. (2009) You and your action research project. Routledge.
McTaggart, R. (1998) Is validity really an issue for participatory action research?, Studies in Cultures, Organizations and Societies, 4:2, 211-236
Mead, G. H. (1934) The Self and the Organism, in Morris, C. W. (Ed.), Mind Self and Society from the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist by Chicago: University of Chicago, pp. 135-144.
Meiring, D., Van de Vijver, A. J. R., Rothmann, S., & Barrick, M. R. (2005) Construct, item and method bias of cognitive and personality tests in South Africa. SA Journal of Industrial Psychology, 31(1), 1-8.
Meng, J., & Tajaroensuk, S. (2013) The Workshop in the Multilayered Peer Coaching Model for Tertiary EFL Teachers' In-Service Professional Development. English Language Teaching, 6(8).
Mercer, J. (2007) The challenges of insider research in educational institutions: Wielding a double‐edged sword and resolving delicate dilemmas. Oxford Review of Education, 33(1), 1-17.
Mertler, C. A., & Charles, C. M. (2011) Introduction to educational research (7th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Messick, S. (1995) ‘Validity of psychological assessment: validation of inferences from persons’ responses and performances as scientific inquiry into score meaning’, American Psychologist, 50 (9): 741–749.
Mezirow, J. (1978) Perspective transformation, Adult Education, vol.28, pp.100-110.
Miller, L. (2005) Redefining Teachers, Reculturing Schools: Connections, Commitments and Challenges. In: Hargreaves A. (eds) Extending Educational Change. Springer, Dordrecht
Mills, J., Bonner, A., & Francis, K. (2006) The development of constructivist grounded theory. International journal of qualitative methods, 5(1), 25-35.
Moor, H., Halsey, K., Jones, M., Martin, K., Stott, A., Brown, C., & Harland, J. (2005) Professional Development for Teachers Early in Their Careers: An Evaluation of the Early Professional Development Pilot Scheme. Research Report RR613. National Foundation for Educational Research.
Moore, A. (1999) Teaching Multicultured Students: Culturism and Anti-Culturism in School Classrooms. London: Falmer Press.
Morrison, C. D. (2014) From ‘sage on the stage’to ‘guide on the side’: A good start. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 8(1), 4.
Mulford, B. (2005) Organizational learning and educational change. In Extending educational change (pp. 336-361). Springer, Dordrecht.
Murray, G. R., Rugeley, C. R., Mitchell, D. G., & Mondak, J. J. (2013) Convenient yet not a convenience sample: Jury pools as experimental subject pools. Social science research, 42(1), 246-253.
Myers, M. (2000) Qualitative research and the generalizability question: Standing firm with Proteus. The qualitative report, 4(3), 9.
Nolen, A. L., & Putten, J. (2007) Action research in education: Addressing gaps in ethical principles and practices. Educational Researcher,36(7), 401-407.
Nonaka, I. (1994) A dynamic theory of organizational knowledge creation. Organization science, 5(1), 14-37.
Nonaka, I., Toyama, R., Hirata, T., Bigelow, S. J., Hirose, A., & Kohlbacher, F. (2008) The Characteristics of Knowledge. In Managing Flow (pp. 6-17). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
NSW Department of Education and Training (2009) A Guide to Action Research Digital Education Revolution. NSW. Available at: https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/proflearn/der/docs/actres_ict.pdf
Odland, G., & Ruzicka, M. (2009) An investigation into teacher turnover in international schools. Journal of Research in International Education, 8(1), 5-29.
Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Johnson, R. B. (2006) The validity issue in mixed research. Research in the Schools, 13(1), 48-63.
Onwuegbuzie, A. J., & Leech, N. L. (2007) Validity and qualitative research: An oxymoron?. Quality & Quantity, 41(2), 233-249.
Opfer, V. D., & Pedder, D. (2010) Access to Continuous Professional Development by teachers in England, Curriculum Journal, 21: 4, 453-471
Opfer, V. D., & Pedder, D. (2011) Conceptualizing Teacher Professional Learning. Review of Educational Research, September 2011 vol. 81, no. 3, pp.376-407
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 236
Svetlana Belic Malinic
10 |
Re
fere
nce
s
Pachler, N., & Field, K. (2001) From mentor to co-tutor: reconceptualising secondary modern foreign languages initial teacher education. Language Learning Journal,23:1,15 — 25
Pachler, N., Daly, C., & Lambert, D. (2003) Teacher learning: reconceptualising the relationship between theory and practical teaching in masters level course development, Proceedings: Forum for Quality Assurance in Distance-Learning, University of London: Institute of Education.
Papert, S. (1980) Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. New York: Basic Books.
Parkin, P. (2009) Managing change in healthcare: Using action research. Sage Publications Limited.
Patton, K., Parker, M., & Tannehill, D. (2015) Helping teachers help themselves: Professional development that makes a difference. NASSP Bulletin, 99(1), 26-42.
Patton, M. Q. (1999) Enhancing the quality and credibility of qualitative analysis. Health services research, 34(5 Pt 2), 1189.
Patton, M. Q. (2002) Qualitative research and evaluation methods . Thousand Oakes.
Pedder, D. (2006) Organisational conditions that foster successful classroom promotion of learning how to learn. Research Papers in Education, 21, no. 2: 171–200.
Pedder, D., & Opfer, V. D. (2013) Professional learning orientations: patterns of dissonance and alignment between teachers' values and practices. Research Papers in Education, 28(5), 539-570
Pedder, D., Storey, A., & Opfer, V. D. (2008) Schools and continuing professional development (CPD) in England–State of the Nation research project. Cambridge University, Open University and TDA.
Peterson, D. S., Taylor, B.M., Burnham, B., & Schock, R. (2009) Reflective coaching conversations: A missing piece. The Reading Teacher, 62(6), 500-509
Phillips, D. C. (1995) The good, the bad, and the ugly: The many faces of constructivism. Educational researcher, 24(7), 5-12.
Piaget, J. (1970) Piaget’s theory. In P.H. Mussen, Ed., Carmichael’s Manual of Child Psychology, 3rd edition, vol. 1, G. Cellerier, and J. Langer, with assistance of B. Inhelder, and H. Sinclair (trans.). New York: John Wiley.
Pickering, J., Daly, C., & Pachler, N. (2007) New designs for teachers' professional learning. In Cambridge Journal of Education, 37(1), 1-15
Pollock, D. C., & Van Reken, R. E. (2009) Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up among Worlds. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing
Powell, D. R., Diamond, K. E., Burchinal, M. R., & Koehler, M. J. (2010) Effects of an early literacy professional development intervention on head start teachers and children. Journal of educational psychology, 102(2), 299.
Powell, W. (2000) ‘Professional development and reflective practice’, in M. Hayden and J. Thompson (eds) International Schools and International Education: Improving Teaching, Management and Quality. London: Kogan Page.
Prawat, R. S., & Floden, R. E. (1994) Philosophical perspectives on constructivist views of learning. Educational Psychology, 29(1), 37–48.
Punch, K. (2009) Introduction to research methods in education. London: Sage.
Rabiee, F. (2004) Focus-group interview and data analysis, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society (2004), No. 63, p. 655–660.
Raney, P., & Robbins, P. (1989) Professional growth and support through peer coaching. Educational Leadership, 35, 35-38.
Ravitch, S. M., & Wirth, K. (2007) Developing a pedagogy of opportunity for students and their teachers Navigations and negotiations in insider action research. Action Research, 5(1), 75-91.
Rhodes, C., & Beneicke, S. (2002) Coaching, mentoring and peer-networking: challenges for the management of teacher professional development in schools, Journal of In-Service Education, 28:2, 297-310
Riazi, A. M. (2016) Innovative mixed-methods research: Moving beyond design technicalities to epistemological and methodological realizations. Applied Linguistics, 37(1), 33-49.
Rickards, T., den Brok, P., & Fisher, D. (2005) The Australian science teacher: A typology of teacher-student interpersonal behaviour in Australian science classes. Learning Environments Research, 8, 267–287.
Robbins, P. (1995) Peer Coaching: quality through collaborative work, in J. Block, S. F. Everson and T. R. Guskey (Eds.) School Improvement Programs: a handbook for educational leaders. New York: Scholastic.
Rock, M. L., Zigmond, N. P., Gregg, M., & Gable, R. A. (2011) The Power of Virtual Coaching. Educational Leadership, 69(2), 42-48.
Ruby, J. (1980) Exposing yourself: reflexivity, anthropology, and film, Semiotica, 30 (1/2):153-179.
Sandi‐Urena, S., Cooper, M. M., & Stevens, R. H. (2011) Enhancement of metacognition use and awareness by means of a collaborative intervention. International journal of science education, 33(3), 323-340.
Sarantakos, S. (1998) Social Research, 2nd ed. Macmillan, London.
Savery, J. R., & Duffy, T. M. (1995) Problem based learning: An instructional model and its constructivist framework. Educational Technology, 35(5), 31–38.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 237
Svetlana Belic Malinic
10 |
Re
fere
nce
s
Schön, D. A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner. New York: Basic Books.
Schutt, R. K. (2011) Investigating the social world: The process and practice of research. Sage Publications.
Scott, S. (2007) College hats or lecture trousers? Stage fright and performance anxiety in university teachers, Ethnography and Education, 2:2, 191-207.
Sears, C. (1998) Second Language Students in Mainstream Classrooms: A Handbook for Teachers in International Schools. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters
Showers, B., & Joyce, B. (1996) The evolution of peer coaching, Educational Leadership, 53(6), 12–16.
Shulman, L. (1987) Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard educational review, 57(1), 1-23.
Silverman, D. (2007) A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about qualitative research. Sage.
Simmons, M. (2007) Insider ethnography: tinker, tailor, researcher or spy?. Nurse researcher, 14(4), 7-17.
Sinkinson, C. (2011) An assessment of peer coaching to drive professional development and reflective teaching. Communications in information literacy, 5(1), 3.
Smith, J. (2007) Getting emotional over class concerns: Reflecting on fieldwork and the pursuit of ethical practice by a fledgling school ethnographer. Ethnography and Education, 2(2), 159-174.
Soisangwarn, A., & Wongwanich, S. (2014) Promoting the reflective teacher through peer coaching to improve teaching skills. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 2504-2511.
Sparkes, A. C. (2002) Telling Tales in Sport and Physical Activity: A Qualitative Journey. Human Kinetics.
Sprott, R. A. (2019) Factors that foster and deter advanced teachers’ professional development. Teaching and Teacher Education, 77, 321-331.
Steffy, B. E., Wolfe, M. P., Pasch, S. H., & Enz, B. J. (Eds.). (2000) Life cycle of the career teacher. Corwin Press.
Stoll, L., & Fink, D. (1996) Changing Our Schools. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Stover, K., Kissel, B., Haag, K., & Shoniker, R. (2011) Differentiated coaching: Fostering reflection with teachers. The Reading Teacher, 64(7), 498-509.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1998) Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Stringer, E. (2004) Action Research in Education. New Jersey: Merrill Prentice Hall.
Stringer, E. T. (1996) Action Research: A Handbook for Practitioners, Sage, Thousand Oaks.
Stringer, E. T., Christensen, L. M., & Baldwin, S. C. (Eds.). (2009) Integrating teaching, learning, and action research: Enhancing instruction in the K-12 classroom. Sage.
Swann, J. (2000) How-can Research lead to Improvement in Education? Paper presented at the BERA Conference, Cardiff University, Cardiff, September 2000.
Sylvester, B. (2002) The ‘first’ international school in International Education in Practice, Hayden M, Thompson J & Walker, W (eds) pp.3-17. London: Routledge.
Tarc, P., & Mishra Tarc, A. (2015) Elite international schools in the Global South: transnational space, class relationalities and the ‘middling’ international schoolteacher, British Journal of Sociology of Education, Vol. 36 No. 1, pp. 34-52.
Tate, N. (2012) Challenges and pitfalls facing international education in a post-international world. Journal of Research in International Education, 11(3), 205-217.
Taylor, C. (1980) Understanding in Human Science. The Review of Metaphysics, 34(1), pp. pp. 25-38.
Teddlie, C., & Tashakkori, A. (2003) “Major Issues and Controversies in the Use of Mixed Methods in the Social and Behavioral Sciences,” in Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social and Behavioral Research, A. Tashakkori and C. Teddlie (eds.), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, pp. 3-50.
Teddlie, C., & Tashakkori, A. (2009) Foundations of Mixed Methods Research, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Tomlinson, C. A., & McTighe, J. (2006) Integrating differentiated instruction and understanding by design: Connecting content and kids. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Tremmel, R. (1993) Zen and the Art of Reflective Practice in Teacher Education, Harvard Educational Review, Winter 1993(63).
Tuckett, A. G. (2005) Applying thematic analysis theory to practice: A researcher’s experience. Contemporary Nurse, 19, 75-87.
Turner, J. C. (2005) Explaining the nature of power: a three‐process theory. European Journal of Social Psychology, 35(1), 1-22.
Twigg, V. V. (2010) Teachers’ practices, values and beliefs for successful inquiry-based teaching in the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. Journal of Research in International Education, 9(1), 40-65.
UNESCO (1995) Declaration and integrated framework of action on education for peace, human rights and democracy
Van den Berg, R. (2002) Teachers’ meanings regarding educational practice. Review of educational research, 72(4), 577-625.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 238
Svetlana Belic Malinic
10 |
Re
fere
nce
s
Van Petegem, K., Aelterman, A., Van Keer, H., & Rosseel, Y. (2008) The influence of student characteristics and interpersonal teacher behaviour in the classroom on student’s wellbeing. Social Indicators Research, 85(2), 279-291.
van Tartwijk, J., Brekelmans, M., Wubbels, T., Fisher, D. L., & Fraser, B. J. (1998) Students perceptions of teacher interpersonal style: The front of the classroom as the teacher’s stage. Teaching and Teacher Education, 14, 1–11.
Van Veen, K., Sleegers, P., & Van de Ven, P. H. (2005) One teacher's identity, emotions, and commitment to change: A case study into the cognitive–affective processes of a secondary school teacher in the context of reforms. Teaching and teacher education, 21(8), 917-934.
van Werven, I. (2015) Preparing globally competent teachers for the international school context. The SAGE handbook of research in international education, 298-308.
Veldman, I., van Tartwijk, J., Brekelmans, M., & Wubbels, T. (2013) Job satisfaction and teacher–student relationships across the teaching career: Four case studies. Teaching and Teacher Education, 32, 55-65.
Vygotsky, L. (1978) Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Waldrip, B. G., Reene, P., Fisher, D. L., & Dorman, J. P. (2008) Changing primary students’ perceptions of teacher interpersonal behaviours in science. Research in Science Education, 38, 213-235.
Walker, G. (2000) ‘International Education: Connecting the National to the Global’ in International Schools and International Education. Improving Teaching, Management and Quality, Hayden, M & Thompson, J (eds). London: Kogan-Page, 193-204.
Walker, G. (2012) Tea and oysters: metaphors for a global education. International Schools Journal, XXXI (2), 8–17.
Webb, E. J., Campbell, D. T., Schwartz, R. D., & Secherst, L. (1966) Unobtrusive Measures: Non-Reactive Research in The Social Sciences. Chicago, IL: Rand McNally.
Weber, M. (1949) The Methodology of the Social Sciences, Glencoe, Illinois: Free Press, pp. 49-112 ('"Objectivity" in social science and social policy').
Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge university press.
Whitehead, J. (1989) Creating a living educational theory from questions of the kind, ‘How do I improve my practice?’. Cambridge Journal of Education, 19(1), 41-52.
Whitmore, J. (2009) Coaching for performance: Growing human potential and purpose: the principle and practice of coaching and leadership.
Winter, R. (2003) Some principles and procedures for the conduct of action research. In New directions in action research (pp. 19-32). Routledge.
Wood, D. J., Bruner, J. S., & Ross, G. (1976) The role of tutoring in problem solving. Journal of Child Psychiatry and Psychology, 17(2), 89-100.
Wragg, E. C., Haynes, G. S., Wragg, C. M., & Chamberlin, R. P. (2000) Failing Teachers? London: Routledge.
Wubbels, T., & Brekelmans, M. (2005) Two decades of research on teacher–student relationships in class, International Journal of Educational Research, Volume 43, Issues 1–2, 2005, Pages 6-24
Wubbels, T., & Levy, J. (Ed.) (1993) Do you know what you look like? Interpersonal relations in education. London: The Falmer Press.
Wubbels, T., Brekelmans, M., Créton, H., & Hooymayers, H. (1990) Teacher behavior style and learning environment. The study of learning environments, 4, 1-12.
Wubbels, T., Brekelmans, M., den Brok, P., & van Tartwijk, J. (2006a) An interpersonal perspective on classroom management in secondary classrooms in the Netherlands. In C. Evertson & C. S. Weinstein (Eds.), Handbook of classroom management: Research, practice and contemporary issues (pp. 1161–1191). New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Wubbels, T., Creton, H., Levy, J., & Hooymayers, H. (1993) The model for interpersonal behaviour. In T. Wubbels., & J. Levy. (Eds.), Do you know what you look like? Interpersonal relations in education. London: The Falmer Press.
Wubbels, T., Den Brok, P., Veldman, I., & van Tartwijk, J. (2006b) Teacher interpersonal competence for Dutch secondary multicultural classrooms. Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice, 12(4), 407-433.
Wubbels, T., Levy, J., & Brekelmans, M. (1997) Paying attention to relationships. Educational Leadership, 54 (7), 82-86.
Yerdelen-Damar, S., Ozdemir, O. F., & Ünal, C. (2015) Pre-service physics teachers' metacognitive knowledge about their instructional practices. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 11(5), 1009e1026.
York-Barr, J., Sommers, W. A., Ghere, G. S., & Montie, J. (2001) Reflective practice and continuous learning. Reflective practice to improve schools: an action guide for educators.
Zeichner, K. (2001) Education action research. In P. Reason, & H. Bradbury (Eds.), Handbook of Action Research: Participative Inquiry and Practice (pp.273–283). London: Sage.
Zeichner, K. M., & Liston, D. P. (1996) Reflective teaching: an introduction. Mahwah, NJ: L.
Zeni, J. (1998) A guide to ethical issues and action research [1]. Educational action research, 6(1), 9-19.
Zeni, J. (2009) Ethics and the ‘Personal’ in Action Research (pp. 254-266). Sage: Thousand Oaks, CA, USA.
Coaching and peer-collaboration as a means for improving teaching:
an action research in an international school in Serbia 239
Svetlana Belic Malinic
10 |
Re
fere
nce
s
Zubber-Skerritt, O. (1982) Action Research in Higher Education. London: Kogan.
Zwart, R. C., Wubbels, T., Bergen, T., & Bolhuis, S. (2009) Which characteristics of a reciprocal peer coaching context affect teacher learning as perceived by teachers and their students?. Journal of Teacher Education, 60(3), 243-257.
Zwart, R. C., Wubbels, T., Bolhuis, S., & Bergen, T. C. (2008) Teacher learning through reciprocal peer coaching: An analysis of activity sequences. Teaching and teacher education, 24(4), 982-1002.
Zwart, R.C., Wubbels, T., Bergen, T.C.M., & Bolhuis, S. (2007) Experienced teacher learning within the context of reciprocal peer coaching, Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 13, 2, 165-187.