| dc.description.abstract | England has a school teacher recruitment and retention crisis. Fewer people are turning to teaching as a career and of those that do, nearly half of them leave the profession within a few years in the classroom. Common reasons for this include micromanagement, excessive workload, and low professional morale. School leaders must balance the weight of high-stakes external accountability through standardised assessment and inspection with a positive school climate where teachers deeply believe in their capacity to improve and impact upon pupils’ achievement. It is therefore important that school leaders are able to draw upon theories in action that positively impact on teachers’ perceptions of the school climate and self-efficacy that simultaneously support deep teacher learning and pupil outcomes. Professional capital theory posits that through the systematic development and integration of three kinds of capital – human, social and decisional – learning and achievement can improve everywhere (A. Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012). Lesson Study (LS) is a model of teacher development that has been widely researched for its impact on teacher learning and pupil outcomes, but with little evidence about its association with teachers’ perceptions of school climate and teacher self-efficacy. While a small number of recent studies have considered the impact of LS on school culture and teacher self-efficacy, they have focused primarily on quantitative measures and have been conducted by external researchers, without considering the voice of the teachers in an emerging picture of LS in shaping the school climate or teacher self-efficacy. LS is positioned within the study as an approach aligned with social capital while, crucially, the research is being conducted at a school situated within a system that is not conducive to professional capital in action. This is of importance to school leaders as teachers’ perspectives on school climate and self-efficacy as a result of improvement approaches are fundamental in teacher satisfaction, development, improvement and job performance. Teachers’ perspectives about school improvement are fundamental to its sustainability and long term impact. The aims of this study were: 1) To positively change school culture/climate through the introduction of Lesson Study as professional learning and development; 2) To improve teacher self-efficacy in teaching mixed-ability classes in mathematics, ultimately phasing out “ability grouping”; and, 3) To interrogate current teaching strategies being used with struggling and advanced learners in primary mathematics with regard to pupil progress. The following research questions were formulated to explore the aims: 1) Will initiating a programme of Lesson Study be associated with a positive impact on the climate of a primary school? 2) Will initiating a programme of Lesson Study be associated with a positive impact on teacher self-efficacy in implementing inclusive practice? 3) What conclusions did the teachers draw about improving the teaching following the Lesson Study cycle? 4) What changes to practice will teachers sustain after engaging in a wave of Lesson Study? 5) What changes in pupil maths attainment will follow a programme of Lesson Study? This research presents the case study of a primary school in inner London conducting LS for the first time in 2015/16, with a prologue discussing the events leading up to the study itself from 2012, concluding with an epilogue exploring the outcomes over time in 2020/21. Using professional capital theory, I collected data from semi-structured individual interviews, group interviews, pre- and post- LS questionnaires and a review of group research posters and pupil mathematics assessment data. I then critically examined this data to identify qualitative themes in teacher perspectives. Finally, these analyses were combined to consider what associations teachers perceived LS to have. Quantitative analysis showed both high initial ratings from teachers and overall mean score improvements to both climate and self-efficacy scales. These results were expanded upon through interview and teachers identified new potential domains for the analysis of the school climate and teacher self-efficacy. Teachers' responses to questions about their learning and sustained changes to practice were in line with relevant LS literature and pupil outcomes reflected a significant difference when comparing Wave 1 to Wave 2 and a difference between prior low-attaining pupils and prior high attainers. There is also evidence to support a change in teacher practice as it related to “ability grouping” due to the construct of LS itself. The research undertaken in this project is significant as it supports and furthers the work in the field of LS. It contends that LS is both a vehicle for teacher development and pupil achievement, but adds to the field that LS is a mechanism that can be used to positively influence the climate in a primary school and improve the self-efficacy of teachers in implementing inclusive practices in the context of professional capital theory over time. In addition to this, this study adds content to the body of knowledge about school climate and teacher self-efficacy beyond the realm of LS, which could be used in designing quantitative tools to measure climate and efficacy in other settings. It also provides a longitudinal look at the place of LS and professional capital theory in action at an English primary school over time, with work analysed in both the initial stages and five years on. Future research could be pursued about those elements that allow effective LS to be sustained in English primary schools and the factors that support or dissuade leaders from adopting Lesson Study in system-based cultures less conducive to LS. An analysis of current school climate and self-efficacy scales could be undertaken to further develop the coverage of school climate and teacher self-efficacy measures. | en_GB |
