Teacher Educators' Professional Learning and Pedagogical Change in Relation to Learner-Centred Pedagogy
Abstract
Teacher education has received less attention in the literature on learner-centred pedagogy in the global south despite its recognised role in teacher learning. This paper explores the processes of teacher learning and pedagogical change in relation to Active Teaching and Learning (ATL), a learner-centred pedagogy, among pre-service teacher educators in Uganda. The study was framed by cultural-historical activity theory, specifically by the principle of 'contradictions' as a driver for change in activity systems, to analyse how the teacher educators learned, interpreted, and integrated ATL in their practices across a three-year period mediated by a professional development initiative. A qualitative interpretivist research approach, specifically a case study design was adopted for the study. In years 1 and 2 of the study, data comprising video recordings of reflection workshops and interviews were collected in three teachers' colleges. In the third year, 13 more interviews were held in one college, with 10 teacher educators and three administrators. All the data sets were thematically analysed. Findings showed that the first two years of implementation were characterised by contradictions in terms of initial resistance to ATL, misconceptions and divergent interpretations of the approach, and perceived tension between ATL implementation and the institutional and broader contexts of practice. In the third year, significant positive changes in the teacher educators' perceptions, knowledge, and enactment of ATL were evident, which enabled the take-up of the pedagogic innovation in the practices of the researched college. The paper contributes insights into the professional learning and pedagogical change of teacher educators in relation to learner-centeredness and underscores the imperative of paying more attention to pre-service teacher education during pedagogical reforms in school systems
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