Aim

This study seeks to understand how schoolteachers in Scotland respond to and manage the challenges in an increasingly complex educational environment. It examines teachers’ views on their working environment and the ways in which conditions in their schools have an influence on aspects of teacher quality including professionalism.

Framework

The conceptual framework was based on a review of the literature on teacher quality and effectiveness which led to the creation of a conceptual map of the main debates that seemed to relate to teacher commitment to pupils and their learning, pedagogical content knowledge, self-efficacy, successful school leadership and policy reform (Bradford et al., 2021).

Methods

A questionnaire survey was employed to get an overview about teachers’ perceptions of their school conditions and their work. The survey embraced a 48-item Likert-type scale and was informed by the wider research literature on teachers’ perceptions of improvement in different areas of their school’s work including non-academic areas. Data were collected from a sample of 280 teachers (12% response rate) through a stratified random sample of secondary schools in Scotland.

Results

Exploratory and confirmatory analyses generated four underlying factors for the models focusing on 1) curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, 2) creating an environment for raising achievement, 3) collaborative school culture and 4) teachers’ self-efficacy. Results demonstrate that teachers’ perceptions of their work vary significantly, and can be dependent on the individual teacher, the influence of school leadership, as well as the school culture.

Relevance to the Conference theme

This study builds knowledge of teacher quality, development and motivation as pillars of teacher professionalism in Scotland and points to the importance of teacher commitment as a significant factor in teaching quality, teachers’ capacities to adapt successfully to change, teacher retention, and pupil learning outcomes.

The professional life of a schoolteacher is influenced by several contextual factors that account for changes in their professional practice and attitudes, both of which influence how they participate in education as a social contract. This study aimed to explore how Zimbabwean teachers’ narratives of their professional experiences influenced changes in their perceptions of, and attitudes towards their profession. The study was motivated by the several curriculum changes that the country has gone through since attaining independence in 1980. Documenting changes in the teachers’ professional perceptions and attitudes was seen as important for understanding their evolving commitment and values, both of which are significant for the quality of teaching and students’ learning. The study drew on Positioning Theory (Felix & Ali, 2023) and the Multidimensional Adapted Process Model (MAP) (Riitta-Leena Metsapelto, et al., 2022) to analyse teacher narratives of their experiences for changes in their practice and attitudes. The study involved a sample of 13 teachers with 10 or more years of teaching experience in either primary of secondary schools. The teachers’ written narratives of their experiences on several issues relating to their professional practice constituted the data collected and analysed in the study. The narratives were analysed thematically. Findings indicate that the teachers’ perceptions of changes in their practice and attitudes were shaped by curriculum reforms, economic instability, technological developments, migration, and professional mobility, among others. The findings highlight several issues that influence how teachers’ experiences influence how they position themselves in relation to their professional practice, and their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the profession. The findings contribute to knowledge of how teachers’ experiences influence qualitative changes in their professional practice, which in turn can inform an understanding of their evolving roles and attitudes in relation to education as a social contract.