Different Ways of Being Educator: A Sociocultural Exploration of Educator Identity and Development in Practice, in a System of Non-Traditional Flexi Schools

Abstract

Engagement in conventional schooling is untenable for some young Australians due to complex social, emotional and intellectual needs and past experiences of failure and exclusion. An alternative for engaging disenfranchised young people in education is through a system of non-traditional flexible schools. This research explores educator identity and development in practice in five ‘flexi schools’ in Queensland that reengage young people with complex needs. In the exploration of educator identity and development in practice, this study seeks to explore one overarching research issue: how practice in the flexi schools’ context influences educator identity and development. Two questions have been formulated to inform the overarching research issue and relate to two specific domains of practice. The first question asks: How do ways of working in the flexi schools’ context influence educator identity and development in practice? The second research question asks: How do ways of professional learning in the flexi schools’ context influence educator identity and development in practice? Using a sociocultural theoretical lens and design experiment methodology, educators’ ways of working and professional learning have been explored. This occurred through analysis of questionnaire data incorporating descriptive statistics, and through thematic analysis of questionnaires (N=32), interviews (N=16), and reflective practice group (RPG) data. Reflective practice data included written evaluations from participants (N= 20) and researcher journal entries (N=13) on the experience of co-facilitating RPG sessions across five sites.