•  
  •  
 

Keywords

approaches to teaching, patterns of teaching, professional culture, professional development, self-efficacy beliefs

Abstract

This study investigates teachers’ professional practices during the delivery of a transnational professional development programme by one Finnish university for a cluster of Brazilian private universities. The objective is to identify local instructors’ patterns of teaching (teachers’ personal-professional qualities), which are conceptualised as approaches to teaching and self-efficacy beliefs, as well as participation in professional development practices (professional cultures and professional development activities). An online questionnaire was sent to the teaching staff of five universities and 201 responses were received and analysed. The most important explanatory aspect was self-efficacy beliefs, which formed the basis for categorising teachers into meaningful clusters. The findings illuminated significant disparities among these clusters concerning their teaching approaches and engagement in professional development activities. Additionally, the results indicated that teachers who had participated in the transnational pedagogical programme were more committed to experimenting in teaching and participating in research-focused and formal professional development activities than those who had not. Plausible explanations for these results and directions for future research are discussed.

Abstract - Translated

Este estudo investiga as práticas profissionais de professores durante a realização de um programa de desenvolvimento profissional transnacional conduzido por uma universidade finlandesa para uma rede de universidades privadas brasileiras. O objetivo é identificar os padrões de docência dos professores brasileiros (qualidades profissionais individuais dos professores), que são conceituados como abordagens sobre o ensino e crenças de autoeficácia, bem como a participação em práticas de desenvolvimento profissional (culturas profissionais e atividades de desenvolvimento profissional). Um questionário online foi enviado ao corpo docente foram as crenças de autoeficácia, que formaram a base para categorizar os professores em grupos. As descobertas revelaram diferenças significativas entre esses grupos em relação às suas abordagens de ensino e engajamento em atividades de desenvolvimento profissional. Além disso, os resultados indicaram que professores que participaram do programa pedagógico transnacional estavam mais comprometidos com experimentações no ensino e com a participação em atividades formais de desenvolvimento profissional focadas em pesquisas do que os professores da mesma rede que não participaram do programa transnacional. Explicações plausíveis para esses resultados e orientações para pesquisas futuras são discutidas.

References

Aldahdouh, T.Z., Holubek, V., Korhonen, V., Abou-dagga, S., & Al-Masri, N. (2023). Preparing university teachers for times of uncertainty: the role of a transnational pedagogical-development training in Palestinian higher education. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education 15(4), 1011–1028. https://doi.org/10.1108/JARHE-05-2022-0146

Alenius, P., Aldahdouh, T. Z., Holubek, V., Al-Masri, N., El-Holy, A., Linden, J., & Korhonen, V. (2019). Examining teaching approaches, academic culture, and self-efficacy beliefs of instructors at a Palestinian university. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 31(3), 390–401. http://www.isetl.org/ijtlhe/pdf/IJTLHE3435.pdf

Aydogmus, M. (2019). Investigation of the effect of social entrepreneurship on professional attitude and self-efficacy perception: A research on prospective teachers. Studies in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1673719

Bacher, J., Wenzig, K., & Vogler M. (2004). SPSS TwoStep cluster - A first evaluation. University Erlangen-Nürnberg. Lehrstuhl für Soziologie. https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-327153

Baeten, M., Kyndt, E., Stuyven, K., & Dochy, F. (2010). Using student-centered learning environments to stimulate deep approaches to learning: Factors encouraging or discouraging their effectiveness. Educational Research Review 5, 243–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2010.06.001

Baleghizadeh, S., & Shakouri, M. (2017). Investigating the relationship between teaching styles and teacher self-efficacy among some Iranian ESP university instructors. Innovations in Education and Teaching International 54(4), 394–402. https://doi.org/10.1080/14703297.2015.1087329

Bandura, A. (1995). Exercise of personal and collective efficacy in changing societies. In A. Bandura (Ed.), Self-efficacy in Changing Societies (pp. 1–45). New York: Cambridge University Press.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman.

Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology 52, 1–26.

Bélisle, M., Jean, V., & Fernandez, N. (2024). The educational development of university teachers: mapping the landscape. Frontiers in Education 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1376658

Biku, T., Demas, T., Woldehawariat, N., Getahun, M., & Mekonnen, A. (2018). The effect of teaching without pedagogical training in st. Paul’s hospital Millennium Medical college, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Advances in Medical Education and Practice, 893–904.

Carnell, E. (2007). Conceptions of effective teaching in higher education: extending the boundaries. Teaching in Higher Education 12(1), 25–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562510601102081

Chalmers, D., & Gardiner, D. (2015). The measurement and impact of university teacher development programs. Educar 51(1), 0053–80.

Cox, M. D. (2013). The Impact of communities of practice in support of early-career academics. International Journal for Academic Development 18(1), 18–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2011.599600

Daumiller, M., Janke, S., Hein, J., Rinas, R., Dickhäuser, O., & Dresel, M. (2021). Do teachers’ achievement goals and self-efficacy beliefs matter for students’ learning experiences? Evidence from two studies on perceived teaching quality and emotional experiences. Learning and Instruction 76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2021.101458

Dellinger, A., Bobbett, J., Olivier, D., & Ellett, C. (2008). Measuring teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs: development and use of the TEBS-Self. Teaching and Teacher Education 24, 751–766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2007.02.010

De Oliveira, G. A., Ferreira, M. B. C., Nunes, L. N., & Marques Ribeiro, M. F. (2019). Pedagogical training profile of basic health sciences faculty in biomedical and related fields at Brazilian public and private higher education institutions. Advances in Physiology Education 43(2), 180–190.

Dilekli, Y., & Erdoğan, T. (2020). A cross-cultural study: Teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs for teaching thinking skills. Thinking Skills and Creativity 35. https://doi.org /10.1016/j.tsc.2019.100624

Dixon, H., Hawe, E., & Hamilton, R. (2020). The case for using exemplars to develop academic self-efficacy. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 45(3), 460–471.

EU. (2015). ECTS Users’ Guide 2015. European commission, directorate-general for education, youth, sport and culture. Publications Office. Accessed August 16, 2023. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2766/87192

Fabriz, S., Hansen, M., Heckmann, C., Mordel, J., Mendzheritskaya, J., Stehle, S., Schulze-Vorberg, L., Ulrich, I., & Horz, H. (2020). How a professional development programme for university teachers impacts their teaching-related self-efficacy, self-concept, and subjective knowledge. Higher Education Research & Development 40(4), 738–752. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2020.1787957

Felten, P. (2013). Principles of good practice in SoTL. Teaching and Learning Inquiry: The ISSOTL Journal 1(1), 121–125. https://doi.org/10.2979/teachlearninqu.1.1.121

Fischer, J., He, J., & Klieme, E. (2020). The structure of teaching practices across countries: A combination of factor analysis and network analysis. Studies in Educational Evaluation 65, 100861.

Gibbs, G., & Coffey, M. (2004). The impact of training of university teachers on their teaching skills, their approach to teaching and the approach to learning of their students. Active Learning in Higher Education 5(1), 87–100. https://doi.org/10.1177/1469787404040463

Goh, P., Wong, K., & Hamzah, M. (2014). The approaches to teaching inventory: A preliminary validation of the malaysian translation. Australian Journal of Teacher Education 39, 1–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2014v39n1.6

Gore J., & Rosser, B. (2022). Beyond content-focused professional development: powerful professional learning through genuine learning communities across grades and subjects. Professional Development in Education 48(2). https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2020.1725904

Gregory, J., & Jones, R. (2009). ‘Maintaining competence’: A grounded theory typology of approaches to teaching in higher education. Higher Education 57, 769–785. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-008-9175-8

Gümüş, E., & Şükrü Bellibaş, M. (2023). The relationship between the types of professional development activities teachers participate in and their self-efficacy: a multi-country analysis. European Journal of Teacher Education 46(1), 67–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2021.1892639

Guoyan, S., Khaskheli, A., Raza, S. A., Khan, K. A., & Hakim, F. (2023). Teachers’ self-efficacy, mental well-being and continuance commitment of using learning management system during COVID-19 pandemic: a comparative study of Pakistan and Malaysia. Interactive Learning Environments 31(7), 4652–4674.

Ha, H. T. L., Pham, A. T. K., Nguyen, H. T., & Duong, H. T. T. (2021). Training pedagogical skills: evaluation of lecturers and teacher training students at educational universities in Vietnam. EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 17(12), em2054. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/11418

Hair, J.F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R.E. (2010). Multivariate Data Analysis (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson.

Hanbury, A., Prosser, M., & Rickinson, M. (2008). The differential impact of UK Accredited teaching development programmes on academics’ approaches to teaching. Studies in Higher Education 33, 469–483. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070802211844

Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2012). Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in Every School. NY: Teachers College Press.

Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2000). Mentoring in the New Millennium. Theory Into Practice 39 (1), 50–56. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/1477441.

Hargreaves, A. (2019). Teacher collaboration: 30 years of research on its nature, forms, limitations and effects. Teachers and Teaching 25(5), 603–621. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2019.1639499

Iqbal, T., Saeed, A., & Akhter, M. (2019). A study of university teachers’ approaches to teaching at undergraduate level in Punjab, Pakistan. Bulletin of Education and Research 41(1), 147–162.

İlhan-Beyaztas, D. (2019). What is the relationship between teaching approaches of instructors and learning approaches of teacher candidates? Asian Journal of University Education 15(2). https://doi.org/10.24191/ajue.v15i2.7557

INEP. (2020). Resumo técnico do censo da educação Superior 2018 [Technical summary of the 2018 Census of Higher Education]. Accessed August 16, 2023. https://www.gov.br/inep/pt-br/centrais-de-conteudo/acervo-linha-editorial/publicacoes-institucionais/estatisticas-e-indicadores-educacionais/resumo-tecnico-2013-censo-da-educacao-superior-2018

Ismayilova, K., & Klassen, R.M. (2019). Research and teaching self-efficacy of university faculty: Relations with job satisfaction. International Journal of Educational Research 98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2019.08.012

Jacobs, J.C., Wilschut, J., van der Vleuten, C., Scheele, F., Croiset, G., & Kusurkar, R.A. (2020). An international study on teachers’ conceptions of learning and teaching and corresponding teacher profiles. Medical Teacher 42(9), 1000–1004. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1772465.

Kálmán, O., Tynjälä, P., & Skaniakos, T. (2020). Patterns of university teachers’ approaches to teaching, professional development and perceived departmental cultures. Teaching in Higher Education 25(5), 595–614. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2019.1586667

Katsara, O. (2023). Reconceptualizing pedagogy within the context of an Internationalized Problem-Based Learning Approach. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 15(1). Retrieved from https://www.ojed.org/index.php/jcihe/article/view/4864

Kek, M. & Huijser, H. (2011). Exploring the combined relationships of student and teacher factors on learning approaches and self‐directed learning readiness at a Malaysian university. Studies in Higher Education 36(2), 185–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070903519210

Knight, J. (2016). Transnational education remodeled: toward a common TNE framework and definitions.” Journal of Studies in International Education 20(1), 34–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315315602927

Knight, P.T., & Trowler, P.R. (2000). Department-level cultures and the improvement of learning and teaching. Studies in Higher Education 25(1), 69–83. https://doi.org/10.1080/030750700116028

Korhonen, V., & Alenius, P. (2018). Introduction: international and transnational dimensions in higher education. In V. Korhonen and P. Alenius (Eds.), Internationalisation and Transnationalisation in Higher Education, (pp. 15–37). Bern: Peter Lang.

Kosmützky A., & Putty, R. (2016). Transcending borders and transversing boundaries: a systematic review of the literature on transnational, offshore, cross-border, and borderless higher education. Journal of Studies in International Education 20(1), 8–33.

Kurosh, S., Yousefi, M.H., & Kashef, S.H. (2020). Iranian teachers’ reflective teaching practice in relation to self-efficacy perceptions: investigating teachers’ discipline. Reflective Practice 21(3), 356-370. https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2020.1748591

Lindblom-Ylänne, S., Trigwell, K., Nevgi, A., & Ashwin, P. (2006). How approaches to teaching are affected by discipline and teaching context. Studies in Higher Education 31(3), 285–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075070600680539

López Cabrera, M.V., Olivares Olivares, S.L. & Heredia Escorza, Y. (2020). Professional Culture in Medical Schools: A Medical Educator Interpretation. Med.Sci.Educ. 30, 281–286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-019-00896-x

McLaughlin, C., & Wood, E. (2020). ‘The village and the world’: competing agendas in teacher research – professional autonomy, interpretational work and strategic compliance. Teaching Education 32(1), 63–76. https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2020.1842354

Milistetd, M., Salles, W.N., Backes, A.F., Mesquita, I., & Nascimento, J.V. (2019). Learner-centered teaching in a university-based coach education: First attempts through action research inquiry. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching 14(3), 294–309. https://doi.org/10.1177/1747954119842957

Mladenovici, V., Ilie, M.D., Maricuțoiu, L.P., & Lancu, D.E. (2021). Approaches to teaching in higher education: the perspective of network analysis using the revised approaches to teaching inventory. High Education 84, 255–277. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-021-00766-9

Múñez, D., Bautista, A., Khiu, E., Keh, J-S., & Bull, R. (2017). Preschool teachers’ engagement in professional development: Frequency, perceived usefulness, and relationship with self-efficacy beliefs. Psychology, Society, & Education 9(2), 181–199. https://doi.org/10.25115/psye.v9i2.655

Myllykoski-Laine, S., Vilppu, H., Postareff L. & Murtonen, M. (2024). Exploring the variation of educational developers’ teaching-related perceptions in higher education. International Journal for Academic Development, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2024.2311368

Noben, I., Deinum, J.F., Douwes-van Ark, I.M.E., & Hofman, W.H.A. (2021). How is a professional development programme related to the development of university teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and teaching conceptions? Studies in Educational Evaluation 68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2020.100966

Norušis, M. (2012). IBM SPSS Statistics 19 Statistical Procedures Companion. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Østerberg Rump, C. (2019). Teacher’s approaches and beliefs concerning teaching in higher education. Presentation at International Symposium at Islamic University of Gaza, March 2019.

Ödalen, J., Brommesson, D., Erlingsson, G.Ó., Schaffer, J.K., & Fogelgren, M. (2019). Teaching university teachers to become better teachers: the effects of pedagogical training courses at six Swedish universities. Higher Education Research & Development 38(2), 339–353. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2018.1512955

Pauli, J., Chambel, M. J., Capellari, M. R., & Rissi, V. (2018). Motivation, organisational support and satisfaction with life for private sector teachers in Brazilian higher education. Higher Education Quarterly 72(2), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.1111/hequ.12152

Postareff, L. & Lindblom-Ylänne, S. (2008). Variation in teachers’ descriptions of teaching: Broadening the understanding of teaching in higher education. Learning and Instruction 18, 109–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2007.01.008

Postareff, L., Lindblom-Ylänne, S., & Nevgi, A. (2008). A follow-up study of the effect of pedagogical training on teaching in higher education.” Higher Education 56, 29–43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-007-9087-z

Postareff, L., Lindblom-Ylänne, S., & Nevgi, A. (2007). The effect of pedagogical training on teaching in higher education. Teaching and Teacher Education 23, 557–571. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.11.013

Remmik, M., Karm, M., Haamer, A., & Lepp, L. (2011). Early-career academics’ learning in academic Communities. International Journal for Academic Development 16(3), 187–199. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1360144X.2011.596702

Sadler, I. (2012). The challenges for new academics in adopting student-centred approaches to teaching. Studies in Higher Education 37, 731–745. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2010.543968

Saroyan, A., & Frenay, M. (Eds.) (2023). Building teaching capacities in higher education: A comprehensive international model. Taylor & Francis.

Steiner-Ghamsi, G. (2014). Cross-national policy borrowing: understanding reception and translation. Asia Pacific Journal of Education 34(2), 153–167. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2021.1892639

Stes, A. & Petegem, van, P. (2014). Profiling approaches to teaching in higher education: a cluster-analytic study. Studies in Higher Education 39(4), 644–658. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2012.729032

Tabachnick, B.G., & Fidell, L.S. (2007). Using Multivariate Statistics. Boston: Pearson Education Inc.

Taber, K.S. (2018). The Use of Cronbach’s Alpha When Developing and Reporting Research Instruments in Science Education. Research in Science Education 48(6), 1273–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11165-016-9602-2

Templeton, G.F. (2011). A two-step approach for transforming continuous variables to normal: implications and recommendations for IS research. Communications of the Association for Information Systems 28. https://doi.org/10.17705/1CAIS.02804

Trigwell, K., & Prosser, M. (1996). Changing approaches to teaching: A relational perspective. Studies in Higher Education 21(3), 275–284. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079612331381211

Trigwell, K., & Prosser, M. (2004). Development and use of the approaches to teaching inventory. Educational Psychology Review 16(4), 409–424. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-004-0007-9

Tschannen-Moran, M., Woolfolk, A., & Hoy, W.K. (1998). Teacher efficacy: Its meaning and measure. Review of Educational Research 68, 202–248. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543068002202

Tynjälä, P. & Heikkinen, H. (2011). Beginning teachers’ transition to working life: Theoretical perspectives and best practices. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenshaft 14(1), 11–33.

Uiboleht, K., Karm, M., & Postareff, L. (2018). The interplay between teachers’ approaches to teaching, students’ approaches to learning and learning outcomes: a qualitative multi-case study. Learning Environment Research 21, 321–347. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10984-018-9257-1

Wang, T., Ramdeo, J., & McLaughlin, C. (2021). Experiencing and experimenting: An exploration of teacher agency in an international collaborative teacher professional development programme using experiential learning. Teaching and Teacher Education 104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103389

Wei, R.C., Darling-Hammond, L., Andree, A., Richardson, N., & Orphans, S. (2009). Professional learning in the learning profession: A status report on teacher development in the U.S. and abroad. Dallas, TX: National Staff Development Council.

Yin, H., Han, J. & Perron, B.E. (2020). Why are Chinese university teachers (not) confident in their competence to teach? The relationships between faculty-perceived stress and self-efficacy. International Journal of Educational Research 100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2019.101529

Yong, A.G., & Pearce, S. (2013). A Beginner’s guide to factor analysis: Focusing on exploratory factor analysis. Tutorials in Quantitative Methods for Psychology 9(2), 79–94. https://doi.org/10.20982/tqmp.09.2.p079

Download

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.