Teacher Learning in a Policy Era: A Cross-National Comparative Study of Beginning Science Teachers’ Cycle of Instruction in South Africa and the United States

Abstract

Internationally, beginning teachers are in a formative phase of their professional learning trajectory and are informed by global, national, and local pressures. However, little is known about how different levels of policy (macro, meso, micro) influence beginning teachers’ actions through an instructional cycle of planning, teaching, and reflection. To increase the knowledge in this area, this study investigates how 12 first, second, and third year chemistry teachers in South Africa and the United States sequence through a cycle of instruction. This is a cross-national and collaborative study, which specifically illuminates the national, regional, and local influences on beginning teachers’ instruction. The data included questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations, which were analyzed through policy frameworks and institutional theory. The data analysis revealed how different levels of policy influence teachers differently at different phases in the cycle of instruction, and how there are some differences between first, second, and third year teachers. Finally, this study shows the need for coherence between the levels of policy. It suggests that teacher educators and policy makers must consider how to prepare and support beginning science teachers to achieve these shared global visions in light of rapidly changing policies.