The Multi-Country Implementation of a Finnish Education Innovation: Adoption, Contextualisation, and Teacher Agency

Fares Georges Khalil, Marjorie Voutilainen, Ariunkhishig Gonchigdorg, Alex Shapero, Crystal Green

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionScientificpeer-review

Abstract

Research topic/aim
This study takes a socio-cultural approach acknowledging teachers as social beings that participate in learning and the passing on of ideas, beliefs, and practices (Chen and Zheng, 2023). Teacher agency is increasingly studied in relation to professional learning, innovation, school improvement, and sustainable transformation (e.g., Ashton, 2022; White et al., 2022). This study therefore focuses on teacher agency as a significant contributor to reinvigorating teaching practices and revisiting established frameworks.
Theoretical framework Drawing on the multi-level framework for innovation implementation (Wilcox and Lawson, 2018)- including individual, collective, community, school leadership, and district levels (see Appendix) - this study posits an agency-in-action approach where both individual and collective levels interact for student, staff, and organisational learning. The study also draws from innovation diffusion (Rogers, 1995), particularly on the role of key
stakeholders and the local environment in decision-making and innovation adoption. Methodological design An abductive approach (Lipscomb, 2012) is employed to guide a qualitative case study analysis (Gioia et al., 2012) - the implementation of TeachEase, “a solution to upskill teachers for teaching digital skills to K-12 students” (Teachease, n.d.; Code School Finland, n.d.). Data is gathered via semi-structured interviews with the Finnish innovators and teachers, and with some of the implementing partners and teachers from the 8
countries where the innovation has scaled (e.g., South Africa, China, Japan, Mexico, Thailand). This helps to understand how local factors and
individual mindsets in different contexts shape teacher agency and engagement, and consequently, the receptivity and accommodation of
innovative ideas related to future skills teaching.
Expected conclusions/findings Teacher agency and the associated cognitive, behavioural, and motivational/affective factors play a significant role in transformative integration and in teacher innovativeness and well-being - potentially correlating with student learning outcomes. Interactions with and influence from the environment (e.g., community of practice, school leadership) are expected as per the multi-level interdependencies posited in the framework. Cross-cultural and institutional differences also shape agency dynamics and innovation adoption and adaptation. Relevance to Nordic educational research
In general, the Nordic schooling system has a tradition and reputation for distinctiveness and collaboration; however, research has revealed
transferability limitations to other regions of the globe for example due to the dependence on system and cultural foundations unique to the Nordics
(Rönnberg and Candido, 2023). Therefore, it is vital to study how different local contexts receive and interact with a Nordic (Finnish) innovation, with implications to Nordic educational exports.
Even within a conducive classroom environment and collaborative educational community, inertia, institutionalised practices, and top-down dynamics may contribute constraints that potentially counterbalance the distributed leadership and shared decision-making that promote teacher agency and innovativeness (Wilcox and Lawson, 2018). Within the Finnish context, studies show that teacher agency in active learning and promotion of school development is multifaceted and cannot be reduced to a single attribute (Pyhältö et al., 2015). A holistic conceptualization of teacher agency and its limiting tensions is therefore needed (Pappa et al., 2017), along with a nuanced cross-cultural understanding.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationNera 2024 Conference
Publication date06.03.2024
Pages27-27
Publication statusPublished - 06.03.2024
MoE publication typeA4 Article in conference proceedings
EventNordic Educational Research Association (NERA) - Malmö, Sweden
Duration: 06.03.202408.03.2024
Conference number: 2024
https://sv-se.eu.invajo.com/events/welcome/id/813fac80-aea8-11ed-85b1-3b1d50885dc4

Keywords

  • Business, Markets and Societal Dynamics
  • Innovation Management
  • Education Innovation
  • Internationalization
  • 516 Educational sciences
  • Scaling Education Innovations
  • Contextualization

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Multi-Country Implementation of a Finnish Education Innovation: Adoption, Contextualisation, and Teacher Agency'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this