Mutual Learning Community: Teachers’ Opinions about Their Learning Possibilities in Schools Implementing International Programmes

Marcin Rojek, Joanna Leek, Małgorzata Kosiorek, Gabriela Dobińska

Abstract


The purpose of the study is to identify teachers’ opinions on their learning opportunities in schools implementing the following international programmes in Poland: International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced Placement (AP), and International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE). The study was conducted using the diagnostic survey method on a group of 103 teachers. The theoretical basis was Wenger’s (1998) model of learning in communities of practice, which assumes that adult learning (in this case, teachers) can be analyzed in four areas: (1) Belonging, (2) Doing, (3) Becoming, and (4) Experiencing. Therefore, the socio-cultural situation of teachers and their common but specific educational practices conditioned by the specificity of international schools were adopted. The results show that teachers do not feel fully prepared to work after graduation, they use the knowledge and skills acquired in the workplace more often than that acquired during studies, and international programmes create favourable conditions for their learning and professional development. Teachers form a learning community at three levels: school, national, and international. Thus, they form a type of community of communities that Wenger calls a ‘constellation’.


Keywords


workplace learning; teacher education; international educational programmes; international schools

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/j.2023.36.1.27-43
Date of publication: 2023-06-13 12:01:57
Date of submission: 2022-12-28 12:52:40


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