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J-C Couture
Lindsay Yakimyshyn
As the Alberta Teachers’ Association’s presence in the education research community continues to grow, each year we consider what lines of inquiry would be of interest to this community and to the Association’s members. With this in mind, the research priorities for 2016/17 include strengthening international networks and partnerships; advocating for a provincial research framework and an action research network; emphasizing teacher leadership in curriculum; investigating education, technology and well-being; and facilitating exemplary teaching practice and leadership.
First, the Association collaborates with a network of national and international researchers in key areas of education policy analysis. These partnerships take many forms. In collaboration with the Canadian Association of Principals, the Association has completed a comprehensive study of the critical influences shaping the work of school leaders. These areas include the growing use of email and social media, the influence of accountability policies and the impacts of commercialization related to student assessment and learning resources to name a few.
Sometimes the research is far too complex and problematic for one group or researcher. In these cases education experts participate on a consensus panel to provide oversight for a project and in the communication of its results (see The State of Inclusion in Alberta (2015) or The Role of the Superintendent and the Teaching Profession in Alberta (2016)). Sometimes organizations partner with the ATA on research initiatives with far-reaching implications, as in the case of the Growing Up Digital (GUD) Project, for which the Association has partnered with the University of Alberta, Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. This partnership has not only attracted international attention, it has established Alberta as a hub of research in terms of our understanding of the impacts on children and youth of the digitally saturated environments they inhabit.
To further the work initiated in 2012 in the A Great School for All initiative, which maps out a long-term approach to educational development in the province, the Association is drawing on the experiences of education partners in other countries, including Finland, Norway and New Zealand. This work is helping us to better understand the promises and challenges related to education reforms here in Alberta. Our international partnerships have the ability to push boundaries to support adaptive leadership, as well as the collective impact of the profession to influence government policy.
While the value of these partnerships cannot be diminished, the voices of Alberta teachers and school leaders are even more valuable in the research we undertake. Recent and forthcoming research reports call on these voices, examining such topics as inclusion, curriculum redesign, school leadership and off-campus education. In particular, the Association’s most recent research publication, The Future of Social Studies—The Voices of Alberta Teachers (2016), examines the results of a survey of nearly 500 Alberta social studies teachers. With participants highlighting the multifaceted complexities that they face, the study further affirms the need for teachers’ voices to be heard and for teachers to be active partners in the Alberta Education minister’s six-year, $64-million curriculum review. Another study, focusing on the experiences of off-campus educators is also being completed and will help shed light on the realities of teachers working in these areas.
Teachers also provide insight into teaching and learning conditions through the Association’s longitudinal studies. Currently, Association staff are planning the fourth iteration of the provincial digital reporting and assessment tools research study, which will build upon data collected in 2008, 2011 and 2014. Overall, this study, along with the Association’s annual Member Opinion Survey, investigates how teachers’ and school leaders’ work is changing in the context of increasingly complex teaching and learning environments. On a related front, a longitudinal study of first-year teachers started this past September. This study will examine the impacts of growing classroom complexity, work intensification and the use of social media and digital platforms for professional development on the formation of teachers’ professional identity.
And the work is changing. International benchmarking is becoming more prominent. Public education is increasingly being driven by the imperatives of datafication, privatization and commercialization. For example, increasingly we have seen the proliferation of international benchmarking activities such as the new international benchmarking test for 2017/2018 called the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS). This assessment, along with others costing over $1 million, has been undertaken without meaningful consultation with the profession, making it even more important than ever that the Association continue its research efforts.
By working with key partners and listening to Alberta teachers and school leaders, the Association continues working to better understand and mobilize the profession’s views. Though the priorities may shift year-to-year, the ATA’s research efforts remain focused on the importance of evidence-informed policy that enables ideal teaching and learning conditions and, ultimately, a great school for all Alberta students.
Dr. J-C Couture is the associate coordinator of research for the Alberta Teachers’ Association.
Dr. Lindsay Yakimyshyn is an administrative officer involved in research at the Alberta Teachers’ Association.
