In his doctoral thesis, Christer Larsson studies the music teacher profession as an example, but the findings apply to the teaching profession as a whole. The focus is on education policy – ideas and decisions intended to guide and develop schools – and on how this policy is created and enacted by various actors, including government agencies, trade unions, interest organisations, and school staff. The thesis is based on the premise that policy does not follow linear paths but is instead interpreted and negotiated in different contexts. Thus, various conceptions of what constitutes a professional teacher emerge. These influence both how the teaching profession is understood, and the scope for teachers’ professional agency.
“Although there are texts regulating what schools are expected to achieve, the idea that these can be implemented in an orderly and linear way is a simplification. In practice, policy is enacted – that is, interpreted, negotiated, and translated into action by different people within their specific contexts.”
The need for a better understanding of how policy works
Christer Larsson’s thesis shows a need to strengthen policy know-how and policy know-why – knowledge of how policy is enacted and why certain consequences arise. Such knowledge is essential for a more informed approach to policy work involving multiple actors.
“If we simplify what a scientific foundation in schooling entails, we also risk simplifying what it means to be a professional teacher. A better way forward is to increase the understanding of policy work among both teachers and decision-makers, and to develop more reflective ways of working together.”
When teachers and researchers work together
The thesis highlights development projects in which teachers and researchers work together in schools as an opportunity to build this knowledge. Such collaborations, involving policy-informed researchers, teachers, and school leadership or other governing actors, can contribute both to improved reform work and to the development of teachers’ policy competence and professionalism.
“I would like to advocate for development projects in which teachers and researchers jointly explore work related to a scientific foundation or other forms of policy work, developing a more nuanced understanding of these processes. My thesis can serve as a useful starting point for this type of project.”
Policy work shapes schools and the teaching profession
The findings highlight the need for policy work to be more reflective and knowledge-based. A better understanding of how policy operates in practice must be built and drawn on in efforts to develop schools. Formal and informal policy work across different contexts shapes how schooling and the teaching profession are understood.
“The thesis shows how the concept of a scientific foundation is employed to justify various interests. I hope the study can contribute to a greater awareness of the consequences that the various ways of using scientific foundation in policy have on the governance, shaping and development of the teaching profession.”
