How understanding teacher learning as a complex process can support school improvement

MacDonald, Fiona Macgregor (2025) How understanding teacher learning as a complex process can support school improvement. Ed.D thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This dissertation presents the findings of my Practitioner Enquiry into teacher learning. As a headteacher in a Scottish primary school, there is an expectation that I will bring about ongoing school improvement by supporting teachers’ learning. My study explored teacher learning through the lens of the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI) (Kaplan and Garner 2017)

I contextualise the study by exploring literature and policy. I pay particular attention to Graham Donaldson’s 2011 Report, Teaching Scotland’s Future, which set out expectations for teachers and school leaders around professional learning. To explore perceptions of teacher learning in Scotland, I conducted eight semi-structured interviews of teachers and others responsible for teacher learning both in person and on-line. Following transcription, I used a hybrid approach to coding data involving both deductive and inductive methods, drawing on the work of Braun and Clarke (2006) to undertake thematic analysis. Analysis led to key findings relating to teachers’ identity, collaboration, and the role of leaders in creating school cultures which support learning.

Using the DSMRI as a lens through which to interpret the data showed that it captured the complexity of teachers learning enabling me to develop a depth of understanding of the personal nature of teacher learning and how this can be supported or hindered within a school. I developed my understanding of the complexity of the processes that teachers go through as they apply learning in their own classrooms. The findings have influenced my approach to teachers’ learning and school improvement in my own practice. I encourage all staff to complete a Practitioner Enquiry each year in an area of interest to them and have limited the number of whole school improvement priorities to ensure there is a balance of whole school and teacher directed learning.

• Item Type: Thesis (Ed.D)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: L Education > L Education (General); L Education > LB Theory and practice of education
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > School of Education
• Supervisor's Name: Doherty, Dr. Robert and Patrick, Dr. Fiona
• Date of Award: 2025
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2025-85014
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 08 Apr 2025 15:17
• Last Modified: 08 Apr 2025 15:19
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.85014
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85014