Investigating the feasibility of school/university collaboration for teacher development of secondary school teachers of English in Adana

TEACHERS OF ENGLISH IN ADANA

OF ECONOMICS

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TEACHERS OF E N G LISH IN A D A N A

A THESIS P R E S E N T E D BY EMİNE Ç AKIR

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THE INSTITUTE OF ECONOMICS A N D SOCIAL S C I E N C E S IN P A R T I A L FULFILLMENT OF THE R E Q U I R E M E N T S

F OR THE DEGREE OF M A S T E R OF ARTS

IN THE T E A C H I N G OF ENGLISH AS A F O R E I G N L A N G U A G E

BILKENT U N I V E R S I T Y AUG U S T 1996

p . M ÎA& Cf-a lcu-t farafindiu Lpç^onmışfır.

■ T 9 с 3 5

A u t h o r

Eng l i s h in Adana ; Emine Cakir

The s i s Chair p e r s o n

T h e s i s Committee

Dr. Susan D. Bosher, Bilkent University, M A TEFL p r o g r a m Prof. Theodore S. Rodgers,

Ms. Bena Gul Peker, Bilkent University, MA TEFL program.

T e a cher development is a m u c h d i s c u s s e d topic in the c u r r e n t English language teaching p r o f e s s i o n a l literature. It is a concept that describes career long p r o f e s s i o n a l

d e v e l o p m e n t w h i c h can be achieved in v arious ways.

This study aimed to identify the a t titudes of s e c o n d a r y school teachers of English in Ad a n a towards the e x i s t i n g opt i o n s for teacher development and to i n v estigate the

f e a s i b i l i t y of a s c hool/university c o l l a b o r a t i o n as a source for a n e w teacher development possibility.

This study co n s i d e r e d the fol l o w i n g r e s e a r c h questions: 1. W h a t are the attitudes of secondary school teachers of E n g l i s h (SeSTE) in A dana towards t e a cher development?

2. In what ways do secondary school teachers of E n g l i s h in A d a n a develop themselves?

3. W h a t kinds of profe s s i o n a l deve l o p m e n t sources do s e c o n d a r y school teachers of E n g l i s h in A d a n a prefer?

4. Do s e condary school teachers of E n g l i s h in A d a n a support a s c h o o l / u n i v e r s i t y c o l l aboration as a p o s s i b i l i t y for tea c h e r develo p m e n t ?

The sample of this study c o n s i s t e d of 106 s e c o n d a r y school teachers of English and 12 ad m i n i s t r a t o r s in Adana. F o r t y Private school teachers, 30 A n a t o l i a n school teachers, and 36 State school teachers were a d m i n i s t e r e d

questionnaires. Twelve administrators (4 for each school type) were asked interview questions pa r a l l e l to the q u e s t i o n n a i r e .

Dat a ga t h e r e d through q uestionnaires were a n a l y z e d q u a n t i t a t i v e l y u s i n g descriptive statistics such as means, s t a n d a r d deviations, frequencies and percentages. I n t e r v i e w data w e r e an a l y z e d q u alitatively through r e c u r r i n g themes.

Re s u l t s indic a t e d that secondary school t e a chers of E n g l i s h in A d a n a have positive attitude towards t e a c h e r d e v e l o p m e n t but the existing options as sources for t e a c h e r d e v e l o p m e n t are inadequate. General findings p o i n t e d to a s c h o o l / u n i v e r s i t y c o l l a boration as one p r e f e r r e d o p t i o n for t e a c h e r d e v e l o p m e n t of secondary school teachers of E n g l i s h in A d a n a and a c c o r d i n g to the results, guidelines for t e a cher d e v e l o p m e n t built on s c h o o l / university c o l l a b o r a t i o n w e r e p r o p o s e d and p r e s e n t e d in the study.

BILKENT U N I V E R S I T Y

INSTITUTE OF ECONOMICS A N D SOCI A L SCIENCES M A THESIS E X A M I N A T I O N R E S U L T FORM

August 31, 1996

The e x a m ining committee a p p o i n t e d by the I n stitute of E c o n o m i c s and Social Sciences for the thesis e x a m i n a t i o n

of the MA TEFL student

Emine Cakir

has read the thesis of the student.

The committee has decided that the thesis of the student is satisfactory. The s i s Title The s i s A d v i s o r C o m m i t t e e Members Inves t i g a t i n g the f e a s i b i l i t y of s c h o o l / u n i v e r s i t y c o l l a b o r a t i o n for teacher de v e l o p m e n t of s e c o n d a r y school teachers of Eng l i s h in A d a n a Bena Gul Peker

Bilkent University, MA TEFL P r o g r a m Prof. Theo d o r e S. Rodgers

Bilkent University, MA TEFL P r o g r a m Dr. Susan D. B o s h e r

(Committee Member) A p p r o v e d Institute of Economics the d Social Sciences Ali Ka r a o s m a n o g l u Director

I w o u l d like to express m y deepest gratitude to m y thesis advisor, Ms. Bena Gul Peker, for her guidance

t h r o u g h o u t the p r e p a r a t i o n of this thesis.

I am also indebted to Dr. Susan D. B o s h e r and Prof. T h e o d o r e S. Rodgers for their invaluable c o n t r i b u t i o n s d uring the program.

I wo u l d also like to express m y a p p r e c i a t i o n to m y m a n y c o l l e a g u e s at the secondary schools in A d a n a w ho c h e e r f u l l y a n s w e r e d my questionnaires and interviews.

M a n y thanks to m y colleagues, the M A TEFL 1996 students, e s p e c i a l l y Figen Sat, Gonca Unsalan, M e r i h Tevs, Seda K o r u k ç u a n d Sule Berilgen for their support and enc o u r a g e m e n t all t h r o u g h the program.

Special thanks go to Tuba and Baki Ş a hin who h e l p e d me w i t h the daca analysis and to A y s egul and K e n a n Birinci for

t h e i r moral support in Ankara.

Finally, m y deepest a p p r e c i a t i o n and gratitude go to my f a m i l y for their n e v e r - e n d i n g understanding, support and m o t i v a t i o n throughout this year.

C H A P T E R 1 INTR O D U C T I O N TO THE STUDY, B a c k g r o u n d of the Study ., Statement of the P r o b l e m , Purpose of the Study .... R e s e a r c h Questions ... S i gnificance of the Study

1 2 9 9 10 10 C H A P T E R 2 L ITERATURE R E V I E W ... T r a i n i n g or Development ... A p p r oaches to Professional Deve l o p m e n t .... Towards C o l l a b o r a t i o n ... S c h o o l / U n i v e r s i t y C o l l a b o r a t i o n ... Characte r i s t i c s of Successful C o l l a b o r a t i o n Examples of Successful C o l l a b o r a t i o n ... 12 12 16 19 20 24 27 C H A P T E R 3 M E T H O D O L O G Y .. Subjects ... Instruments .. Procedure .... Data A n a lysis 32 32 34 36 37 C H A P T E R 4 DATA A N A L Y S I S ...

Analysis of the Q u estionnaire ... B a c k g r o u n d Information ... . Current Situation ... . P a r t i c i p a t i o n in Teacher

Deve l o p m e n t A c t ivities ... T e a c h e r Development

Expe r i e n c e s and Opinions ... . Options for Teacher D e v e l opment ... . P r e f e r r e d C h a racteristics of Te a c h e r Devel o p m e n t Programs ... . Content and D u ration of

T e a c h e r Development Programs ... . F u r t h e r Comments ... . Comments about Te a c h e r D e v e l o p m e n t Needs of SeSTE in General ... . Comments about the Options

for M e e t i n g Te a c h e r D e v e l opment Needs of SeSTE ... Comments about the P o s s i b i l i t y of S c h o o l / U n i v e r s i t y

C o l l a b o r a t i o n ... I n t e r v i e w Analysis ...

Views on T e a cher D e v elopment

in General ... Options for T e a cher Deve l o p m e n t of SeSTE in A d a n a ... 39 41 41 47 50 54 56 59 62 67 68 69 69 70 71 71

A d e q u a c y of Tea c h e r D e v e l opment

Activities in A d a n a ... 72

School U n i v e r s i t y C o l l a b o r a t i o n .... 72

School Support ... 73

T eacher D e v elopment and/or School Development ... 74

C H A P T E R 5 CONCL U S I O N ... 75

Summary of the Study ... 7 5 Summary of Questionnaire Findings ... 76

What are the attitudes of SeSTE in A d ana towards TD? ... 7 6 In what ways do SeSTE in A d a n a develop themselves? ... 78

What kinds of T e a c h e r Deve l o p m e n t sources do SeSTE in A d a n a prefer? ... 79 Do SeSTE in A d a n a support a S c h o o l / U n i v e r s i t y C o l l a b o r a t i o n as a P o s sibility for TD? ... 80 What Characte r i s t i c s of a S c h o o l / U n i v e r s i t y C o l l a b o r a t i o n are the most approp r i a t e for TD of SeSTE in Adana? ... 8 0 Summary of Interview Findings ... 82

Views on T e a cher De v e l o p m e n t in General ... . 82

Options for Tea c h e r Deve l o p m e n t of SeSTE in Ad a n a ... 82

A d e q u a c y of T e a cher Development Act i v i t i e s in A d a n a .... 83

S c h o o l / U n i v e r s i t y C o l l a b o r a t i o n .... 83

School Support ... 84

Teacher development or/ a n d School Development ... 84

Con c l u s i o n ... 84

Discu s s i o n ... 89

L i m i tation of the Study ... 91

Further R e s e a r c h ... . 91

Educational Implication ... 92

R E F E R E N C E S ... 97

A P P E N D I C E S ... 102

A p p e n d i x A: Names of S e c o n d a r y Schools that c o n t r ibuted to the study ... 102

A p p e n d i x B: Consent Letter ... 103

A p p e n d i x C: Interview Q u e s t i o n s ... 104

LIST OF TABLES TABLE

1 O v e r v i e w of INSET courses o ffered by the M i n i s t r y of National E d u c a t i o n for the last four years

in ELT ... 2 Di f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n Teacher Tr a i n i n g and Te a c h e r

D e v e l o p m e n t ... 3 Subjects in the Study ... 4 The Numb e r and Types of Questions in the

Q u e s t i o n n a i r e ... 5 N u m b e r and Percentages of Q u e s t i onnaire

R e s p o n s e s ... 6 C a t e g o r i z a t i o n of Questionnaire Items ... 7 D e m o g r a p h i c Infor m a t i o n ... 8 C u r r i c u l u m and Textbooks Decisions ... 9 Vi e w s on C u r r i c u l u m and Textbooks ... 10 S u p p l e m e n t a r y M a t e rials ... 11 S o l v i n g Problems ... 12 S t r ategies for Improvement of P r o f e s s i o n a l

K n o w l e d g e ... 13 F a c tors P r e v e n t i n g Teachers from P a r t i c i p a t i n g in T e a c h e r Development activities ... 14 M o t i v a t i o n a l Factors ... 15 A d e q u a c y of Te a c h e r Development A c t i v i t i e s in

A d a n a ... 16 P r e f e r e n c e of Sources for Teacher D e v e l o p m e n t

A c t i v i t i e s in Ad a n a ... . 17 S c h o o l / U n i v e r s i t y Colla b o r a t i o n ... . 18 C o n c e r n of Te a c h e r Development Programs ... . 19 S c h o o l / U n i v e r s i t y Collabo r a t i o n Model ... . 20 C o n t r i b u t i o n of Çukurova U n i v e r s i t y to T e a c h e r D e v e l o p m e n t ... . 21 Teachers' Opinions on Content of T e a c h e r

D e v e l o p m e n t Programs ... PAGE 16 33 34 37 40 42 43 44 46 47 49 51 53 56 57 58 59 61 63 65

22 Teachers' Opinions on F r equency of Tea c h e r

D evelopment Programs ...

66

LIST OF FIGURES

1 P r o p o s e d G uidelines for Teacher Deve l o p m e n t of

de s c r i b e a process of continual, intellectual, e x p e r i e n t i a l and a t t i t u d i n a l grow t h of teachers" (Lange, 1990, c i t e d in Richards

Sc

Sc

i m portant skills in teacher development.

Short inservice teacher e d u c a t i o n and trai n i n g (INSET) c o u r s e s - "summer schools", "refresher courses" and "professional u p g r a d i n g programs" are very common in m a n y c o untries as sources for t e a cher d e v elopment because these INSET courses u s u a l l y expose teachers to a great amount of n e w i n f o r m a t i o n and ideas

(Lamb, 1995). Since knowledge is in a continuous state of flux a nd development, there is always a n e e d for p e r i o d i c inservice u p d a t i n g for p r o f e s s i o n a l development (Bowen

Sc

These teacher development activities are either o f f e r e d by the M i n i s t r y of National Education or are run by foreign agencies

like the British Council, the Uni t e d States I n f o r m a t i o n Service (USIS) and the asso c i a t i o n the E n g l i s h Language E d u c a t i o n

A s s o c i a t i o n ( E L E A M N G E D ) which will be d i s c u s s e d later in this chapter. In these courses as Matthews (cited in Jordan, 1933) states: "the starting point for any t e a c h e r training w o r k must be an awareness and' u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the p r e v a i l i n g local c o n d i t i o n s w h i c h shape and c o n s train the type of support p o ssible" (p. 221).

In Turkey, there are three types of secondary schools w h i c h teach En g l i s h as a foreign language:

1. State schools (general, vocational, technical) 2. A n a t o l i a n schools

3. P r i vate schools

The M i n i s t r y of National E d u c a t i o n (ΜΟΝΕ) is re s p o n s i b l e for planning, carr y i n g out, following up and s u p e r v i s i n g all e d u c a t i o n a l services on behalf of the state. The c u r r i c u l u m for these schools is set by the M i n i s t r y of National E d u c a t i o n and it is u s e d across the country. T e xtbooks that are u s e d at all levels in these schools are either p r e p a r e d or a p p r o v e d by the M i n i s t r y of National Education. Schools are required to choose books f r o m the list of books appr o v e d by the M i n i s t r y of

v e r y limited. T e a c h i n g hours for EFL classes are 3-5 hours per week. Teachers at these schools u s u a l l y experience a w o r k

o v e r l o a d of up to 30 hours a week due to the i n s u f f i c i e n t number of teachers. In this respect, it can be arg u e d that teachers at State schools find little time or o p p o r t u n i t y to f o l l o w teacher d e v e l o p m e n t activities offered via the few options a v a i l a b l e w h i c h will be d i s c u s s e d later in this cha p t e r (Tutunis, 1993).

Co m p a r e d to the State schools, the class size at A n a t o l i a n schools is smaller (35-40). The num b e r of teachers w o r k i n g in these schools is sufficient and students have reg u l a r Eng l i s h instruction. Native speakers of E n g lish are e m p l o y e d in

A n a t o l i a n schools. The teachers' work load and the syllabus to be fo l l o w e d are the same as in the State schools; however,

teachers at A n a t o l i a n schools have more f l e x i b i l i t y a nd autonomy in their te a c h i n g because the textbooks are c h osen by the

t e a chers themselves and approved by the M i n i s t r y of N a t i o n a l E d u c a t i o n a f t e rwards (Tutunis, 1993).

The m a i n d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n pri v a t e schools and o ther s e c o n d a r y school types is in the school fee. In P r i v a t e schools, b e t t e r facilities such as teaching aids and resources are

o f f e r e d to the teachers and students. Teachers are p a i d better than t heir colleagues at State schools but they are e x p e c t e d to spend more time in their wor k i n g contexts. Moreover, there is a k i n d of c o m p e t i t i o n among the teachers b e c ause they do not feel

l e a r n i n g / t e a c h i n g and have a o n e-year p r e p a r a t o r y class; in o t h e r words, bot h A n a t o l i a n and Private schools f o llow an

i ntensive English p r o g r a m and c l a i m to be more s uccessful than the State schools in the field of t e a c h i n g a foreign language.

Despite the fact that secondary schools vary in some

asp e c t s such as the pr o v i d e d equipment, amount of con t a c t hours, a nd student motivation, they share a c o m m o n a i m w h i c h is

t e a c h i n g a foreign language. Language te a c h i n g is an o n - g o i n g p r o c e s s that involves innovation and requires p r o f e s s i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t for teachers' confidence a nd competence. T e a c h e r d e v e l o p m e n t activities such as the oc c a s i o n a l inservice training o f f e r e d by the M i n i s t r y of National E d u c a t i o n and the workshops a nd seminars of f e r e d by private i n s t itutions are a v a i l a b l e for

s e c o n d a r y school teachers of E n g lish (Tutunis, 1993).

The present situation in T u r k e y suggests that sources for t e a c h e r development of secondary school teachers of E n g l i s h

(SeSTE) are inadequate. A c c o r d i n g to the info r m a t i o n the r e s e a r c h e r gained from interviews w i t h ad m i n i s t r a t o r s at the M i n i s t r y of National Education, there are 12,636 E n g l i s h langu a g e teachers in Turkey. Every y e a r the department r e s p o n s i b l e for INSET (Hizmet-ici Daire Baskanligi) at the M i n i s t r y of National Education o r ganizes courses of an average of 2-3 weeks espec i a l l y during summer m o n t h s whe n teachers are free of their teaching load. The inservice training (INSET)

Table 1

O v e r v i e w of INSET Courses Offered by the M i n i s t r y of National £dug.ation ¿or. the Last Four Years in ELT

YEAR

NUMBER OF

COURSES

TOTAL

DURATION

NO. OF

PARTICIPANTS

NO. OF COURSES*

PARTICIPANTS

TO BE LATER

ANNOUTs'CED

1993

15

149 days

491

9

1994

11

109 ”

420

4

1995

15

87 "

968

1

1996

24

253 ”

1175

5

Note. *Number of participants who could participate in these courses were not announced at the time of

the publication of the booklets.

(Booklet of INSET, M i n i s t r y of N a t i o n a l E d u c a t i o n 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996; 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 yili Hizmet ici e ğ i t i m plani)

Table 1 displays the INSET courses for E n g l i s h teachers for the last four years. Booklets p u b l i s h e d in the above

m e n t i o n e d years did not e x p l i c i t l y state the total n u m b e r of the participants. There were still some courses whose p a r t i c i p a n t n u m b e r were not announced at the time of the p u b l i c a t i o n of the b o o k l e t s .

e v a l u a t i o n of the INSET courses of the ΜΟΝΕ exists, the

researcher, for the purpose of the study, c o n v e r t e d percentages g a t h e r e d out of the booklets of the M i n i s t r y of N a t i o n a l

E d u c a t i o n in w h i c h information about INSET for E n g l i s h language t e a c h i n g were assembled. The first striking point is that the n u m b e r of these courses show that only a limited n u m b e r of the total p o p u l a t i o n of English teachers were able to p a r t i c i p a t e in tea c h e r development activities in those years; in 1993 6%, in 1994 4.2^, in 1995 7 . and in 1996 only 10.4^ of the total p o p u l a t i o n of English teachers were able to a t t e n d such courses. W h e n the large number of English teachers w o r k i n g in secondary

schools is considered, teachers have a chance of a t t e n d i n g these courses once every 12 to 15 years d u r i n g their p r o f e s s i o n a l

c a r e e r (Кос, 1990) because of the l imited n u mber for

p a r t i c i p a t i o n and the frequency of o p e n i n g such courses. So, new o ptions for teacher development of sec o n d a r y school teachers of E n g l i s h (SeSTE) are necessary.

A n o t h e r striking point w h i c h was o b t a i n e d b y informal inter v i e w s w i t h teachers is that INSET courses for ELT are not d e s i g n e d a c c o rding to the needs and pr e f e r e n c e s of the teachers. The i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of the needs for an inservice t r a i n i n g is u s u a l l y b a s e d on the p e r c e p t i o n of a few key p e r s o n n e l in the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of the Mi n i s t r y of Na t i o n a l Education. However, teachers' needs and interests in inservice t r a ining should be

w h i l e increasing the frequency of INSET courses a c c o r d i n g to the needs and demands of E nglish teachers together w i t h the

p r a c t i c a l i t y in terms of the i m p l e m e n t a t i o n of these courses. In the absence of central support fro m the M i n i s t r y of N a t i o n a l Education, teachers must be s u p p orted to rely on t h e mselves for p r o f e ssional development. So, new sources for p r o f e s s i o n a l development must be found through encou r a g e m e n t of teachers to take on the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for their own

p r o f e s s i o n a l development and p r o vide t h e m wi t h further teacher d e v e l o p m e n t options of various sources for their preferences.

Besides INSET, o ffered by the M i n i s t r y of N a tional Education, there is a n e w assoc i a t i o n ELEA (INGED) w h i c h was e s t a b l i s h e d in 1995 to meet the demands for d e v elopment in the p r o f e s s i o n of language teaching. T u r k i s h teachers of E n g l i s h now have a national profes s i o n a l a s s o c i a t i o n w h i c h tries to set

standards, goals and development agendas for the profession. D e s p i t e the fact that ELEA is a n e w association, it wi l l be one of the m a j o r support options for tea c h e r d evelopment of

s e c o n d a r y school teachers of En g l i s h in Tur k e y in the future. H i c k m a n and K i m b e r l y (1988) state that networks of these kinds have a pr o g r e s s i v e effect on the c o n f i d e n c e of teachers. In

these activities, teachers come to g e t h e r and have c o n tact with o ther teachers w h i c h provide teachers w i t h n ew ideas a nd thus t e a chers recognise the value of what they already know.

four years (Booklet of INSET, M i n i s t r y of National Education, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996). Thus, the E n g l i s h teachers in Adana have not had any chance to p a r t i c i p a t e in teacher develo p m e n t act i v i t i e s wh i c h shows that "the o r g a n i s a t i o n a l structure of the p r e s e n t Department of Inservice T r a i n i n g in Tur k e y is not

a p p r o p r i a t e for offering and m a i n t a i n i n g a large v a r i e t y of courses" (Кос, 1990).

Çukurova Unive r s i t y in Ad a n a c o u l d serve as a c e n t e r for t e a c h e r development of secondary school teachers of E n g l i s h w h i c h teachers and schools can refer to. Çukurova U n i v e r s i t y a l r e a d y provides its own teachers t r a i n i n g courses such as COTE

(Certificate for Overseas Teachers of English) o f f e r e d by the Royal S ociety of Arts, and CEELT (Certificate of E n g l i s h

L a n guage Teachers) offered by the U n i v e r s i t y of C a m b r i d g e Local E x a m i n a t i o n s Syndicate. It also p r o v i d e s teacher de v e l o p m e n t a c t i v i t i e s throughout the academic y e a r for its teachers. These a c t i v i t i e s w h i c h are held once a w e e k are as follows:

a) r e s e a r c h and development sessions

b) w o r k s h o p s for practical teaching or p r o g r a m o r i e n t a t i o n

c) seminars or works h o p sessions by i n v ited guests on v a r ious topics.

(YADIM C o n s u l t a t i o n F i l e ,Çukurova University, u n p u b l i s h e d Manuscript, 1993)

teachers of English (Se S T E ) . Thus, SeSTE w o u l d have a n e w source to improve t h e m s e l v e s .

Statement of the P r o b l e m

A c c o r d i n g to the findings of some p r e l i m i n a r y interviews w i t h secondary school teachers of E n g l i s h in Adana, there appears to be a need for increased t eacher deve l o p m e n t

op p o r t u n i t i e s for English teachers in Adana. The r e s e a r c h e r

o b s e r v e d that the existing teacher deve l o p m e n t p o s s i b i l i t i e s for s e c o n f a r y school teachers of E n g l i s h in A d a n a are v e r y limited and that the attitudes and pref e r e n c e s for sources of teacher d e v e l o p m e n t change according to the school types (Private school, A n a t o l i a n school and State school) of the teachers;

however, all of the SeSTE share the com m o n attitude that teacher d e v e l o p m e n t of SeSTE is essential in A d a n a and n e w options

s hould be provided.

Purpose of the Study

This study aims to identify the attitudes of SeSTE in A d a n a towards the existing teacher deve l o p m e n t options a nd to in v e s t i g a t e the feasibility of a s c h o o l / u n i v e r s i t y c o l l a b o r a t i o n as a source for a n e w teacher d e v e l o p m e n t possibility.

The study aims (a) to raise the awareness of s e c o n d a r y school teachers of English for te a c h e r d e v elopment in Adana;

(b) to investigate the existing teacher d evelopment options in Adana, (c) to see in what ways s c h o o l \ u n i v e r s i t y c o l l a b o r a t i o n c an mee t teachers' needs; (d) to d e m o n strate that Çu k u r o v a U n i v e r s i t y can serve for an extensive, on - g o i n g involvement of s e c o n d a r y school teachers of English in teacher d e v e l o p m e n t and to make the local u n i v e r s i t y a more active p a r t i c i p a n t in

e d u c a t i o n a l renewal change in its regional environment.

Research Questions

This study will consider the f o l l owing r e s e a r c h questions: 1. What are the attitudes of secondary school teachers of

E n g l i s h (SeSTE) in A d a n a towards t e a cher development? 2. In what ways do secondary school teachers of E n g l i s h in

A d a n a develop themselves?

3. What kinds of teacher development sources do s e c o n d a r y school teachers of E n g lish in Adana prefer?

4. Do secondary school teachers of E n g l i s h in A d a n a support a s c h o o l / u n i v e r s i t y c o l l aboration as a p o s s i b i l i t y for teacher d e v e l o p m e n t ?

5. W h a t characte r i s t i c s of a school / u n i v e r s i t y c o l l a b o r a t i o n are the most appropriate for teacher d e v elopment of seco n d a r y school teachers of E nglish in Adana?

Significance of the Study

This study will be a step towards c o l l a b o r a t i o n b e t w e e n Ç u k u r o v a U n i v e r s i t y and the secondary schools in A d a n a for the p r o f e s s i o n a l d e v elopment of English teachers. T e a c h e r

d e v e l o p m e n t activities will be ide n t i f i e d a c c o r d i n g to the

s e c o n d a r y school teachers of English' p e r c e i v e d needs, interests and p r e f e r e n c e of source, at the same time invol v i n g them in d e c i s i o n s c oncerning teacher d e v elopment p r o g r a m design, time a nd place. Thus, the present lack of teacher de v e l o p m e n t sources will be d o c u m e n t e d and teacher deve l o p m e n t g u i delines built on

CHAPTER 2 L ITERATURE R E V I E W

This study examines teacher de v e l o p m e n t of secondary school teachers of English in Adana. In particular, it aims to define the attitudes of secondary school teachers of E n g l i s h towards the existing teacher d e v elopment options in A d a n a and to investigate the f e a s i b i l i t y and d e s i r a b i l i t y of

s c h o o l / u n i v e r s i t y collaboration as a n e w teacher deve l o p m e n t possibility. As framework for this study, re s e a r c h in the areas of teacher training, which includes teacher

development, professional development, and models of p r o f e s s i o n a l development will be r e v i e w e d followed by r e s e a r c h in the area of s c h o o l - u n i v e r s i t y collaboration, w h i c h includes characteristics of successful c o l l a b o r a t i o n and examples from the literature.

T e a c h e r training, teacher d e v e l o p m e n t and p r o f e s s i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t are three different appro a c h e s to teacher

education. Since these terms have b e e n u s e d in the literature interchangeably, the researcher wi l l diffe r e n t i a t e b e t w e e n te a c h e r t r aining and teacher de v e l o p m e n t but will use the terms tea c h e r development (TD) and p r o f e s s i o n a l de v e l o p m e n t

(P D ) i n t e r c h a n g e a b l y .

Training or D e v e l o p m e n t

In recent years, there has b e e n the need to

d i f f e r e n t i a t e the terms teacher t r a i n i n g (TT) and teacher d e v e l o p m e n t (TD) since these terms are u s e d to describe two d i s tinct approaches in teacher education. In fact, trai n i n g

a nd de v e l o p m e n t share the same purpose: ach i e v i n g changes in what teachers do and why. However, these two concepts differ

in the means they adopt to achieve that p urpose (Freeman, 1989) .

A c c o r d i n g to Freeman, training is a strategy for direct i n t e r v e n t i o n by the collaborator whose a i m is to gener a t e some f o r m of change in the teacher w hile focusing on specific a s p ects of the teachers' teaching. The c o l l a b o r a t o r p r ovides it, the teacher implements it and the e v a l u a t i o n is done by e i t h e r the c o llaborator or together w i t h the teacher.

T r a i n i n g is u s u a l l y based on the m a s t e r y of discrete aspects of skills and knowledge, which should later lead to a whole n e w fo r m of teaching com.petence (Freeman, 1989). However,

since teac h i n g is more than just the p r e s e n t a t i o n of skills and kno w l e d g e another strategy that adopts a holi s t i c and i n t e g r a t e d appr o a c h is needed; a strategy w h i c h will not deal w i t h t e a c h i n g in a fragmented way. This strategy is k n o w n as d e v e l o p m e n t .

Deve l o p m e n t is a strategy for indirect i n t e r v e n t i o n that deals w i t h the complex, integrated aspects of teac h i n g w h i c h are idiosyn c r a t i c and individual. The p u r p o s e of te a c h e r d e v e l o p m e n t is to achieve change, change w h i c h m i ght start w i t h awa r e n e s s raising (Freeman, 1989).

In teacher training it is the c o l l a b o r a t o r w ho is r e s p o n s i b l e for a certain aspect of skill and k n o w ledge and the s o l u t i o n for problems. Development, on the o t her hand.

depends on the teachers themselves. It works more w i t h the indivisible, idiosyncratic aspects of teacher training. "Teacher development is the prof e s s i o n a l growth a t eacher a c hieves as a result of gaining i n creased experience and

e x a m i n i n g his or her teaching systematically". (International E n c y c l o p e d i a of Education, p. 5930)

Ev e r y mem b e r of a pro f e s s i o n pos s e s s e s a kind of k n o w l e d g e w h ich S c hon (1990) refers to as 'professional k n o w l e d g e ' . It is the knowledge of facts, data and theories and the knowledge a p p lied in action. Schon (1990) also

m e n t i o n s the fact that k n o w i n g - i n - a c t i o n is dynamic w h i c h is the w a y we make use of procedure, rules and theories w h i c h are static.

B a s e d on Schon's definition, Wal l a c e (1991)

di f f e r e n t i a t e s the knowledge of language teachers b e t w e e n 'received knowledge' and 'experiential knowledge'. R e c e i v e d k n o w l e d g e is knowledge of "acts, data, theories w h i c h are e i t h e r by n e c e s s i t y or by c o n vention a s s o c i a t e d w i t h the study of a p a r t i c u l a r p r o f e s s i o n and e x p e r iential k n o w l e d g e w h i c h is the knowledge achieved in p r o f e s s i o n a l action"

(p. 12). The ma j o r focus of teacher d evelopment should be on the c o m b i n a t i o n of b o t h of these types of knowledge. We can co n c l u d e that teacher development is the a c q u i s i t i o n of r e c e i v e d and e x periential knowledge that is cher i s h e d by a w a r e n e s s r a i s i n g .

W i t h regard to teachers' p r o f e s s i o n a l development, P e n n i n g t o n (1990) points out that "a d i s t i n g u i s h i n g

c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the notion of t e a c h i n g as a p r o f e s s i o n is the c e n t r a l i t y of career growth as an o n - g o i n g goal"

(p. 132). Professional development does not result m e r e l y f r o m years of teaching. The teacher must actua l l y w o r k to d e v e l o p because professional deve l o p m e n t is an active process w h i c h is career long, starting w i t h initial t r aining until r e t i r e m e n t (Dean, 1991).

Richards (1987) differentiates t e a cher t r aining a nd t e a c h e r development from another p oint of view. He states that TT emphasizes more in the p r e p a r a t i o n of teachers w h e r e a s TD goes b eyond training and triggers t e a c h e r s '

a w a r e n e s s to the und e r l y i n g princ i p l e s of teaching. To make the d i s t i n c t i o n clear. Woodward (1991) separates the aspects of TT from TD as in Table 2.

Table 2

D i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n TT and TD

Teacher Training

Teacher Development

compulsory

voluntary

competency based

holistic

short term

long term

on-off

on-going

temporary

continual

external agenda

internal agenda

skill/technique and

knowledge based

awareness based, angled towards personal

growth and the development of

attitudes/insights

compulsory for entiy to

the profession

non-compulsory

top-down

bottom-up

producL'certificate weighted

process weighted

means you can get a job

means you can stay interested in your job

done with experts

done with peers

(Woodward, 1991, p. 147)

A p p roaches to Professional D evelopment

Teachers can make choices about their own p r o f e s s i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t among three different types of approaches n a m e l y the indi v i d u a l i s t i c approach, the group appr o a c h and the p o l i c y - b a s e d ap p r o a c h (Bell, 1991).

In the first approach w h i c h includes the ap p r e n t i c e s h i p m o del and the c o u r s e - b a s e d model, the teacher acts as a more or less isolated individual in iden t i f y i n g and finding ways of m e e t i n g his or her development needs. Therefore, this m o del is called the individualistic approach.

The second approach, is the group ap p r o a c h of

p r o f e s s i o n a l development which includes the s c h o o l - b a s e d and sc h o o l - f o c u s e d models. In these models, the needs of the school are taken into conside r a t i o n and the school p r o vides its own program; however, it can ignore individual needs w h ile ove r e m p h a s i z i n g school needs and some schools m a y not have sufficient expertise or resources.

In the third approach, the p o l i c y - b a s e d approach,

teachers have control over their own d evelopment w h i c h m a y be c l o s e l y related to the needs of the school and to the

d e v e l o p m e n t p l a n that formulates those needs. This p l a n can ensure that linking the needs of p r o f e s s i o n a l deve l o p m e n t of i n dividual teachers and the needs of the whole school is an effe c t i v e way of development.

All these models offer different o p p o r tunities for t e a c h e r choice and control over p r o f e s s i o n a l d e v e l opment in the schools that teachers teach in. A c c o r d i n g to Clark

(1992), traditional professional d e v e l opment of teachers c arries negative overtones because it implies a pro c e s s in w h i c h teachers are u s u a l l y forced into d e v e l o p i n g and it is u s u a l l y based on a disease model w h i c h focuses only on the w e a k n e s s e s of teachers. However, recent approaches to teacher

deve l o p m e n t have been centered more in schools and involve teachers directly in decisions of the shape of these

appro a c h e s (Thiessen, 1992).

Teachers are more likely to feel in control of the p r o c e s s if they see their own develo p m e n t as part of the deve l o p m e n t of their school; thus, school development is c l o s e l y related to the p r o f essional develo p m e n t of teachers

(Dean, 1991). Schools should support teachers because teachers cannot improve themselves c o n s i s t e n t l y if the d e v e l opment of schools only rests on the sum of the individual teacher's contributions (Bell, 1991).

Professional development is for b o t h the need of individual teachers and the aim of the school. Therefore, teachers are a vital part at every stage; they need to be invo l v e d in the p l a n n i n g as well as the i m p l e m e n t a t i o n of p r o g r a m s of p r ofessional development (Dean, 1991).

Most of the changes coming to schools from the outside are r e q u iring a change in teaching style, p a r t i c u l a r l y where the secondary school is concerned. In m a n y respect teachers have m o v e d a long w a y in a short time in a c c o m m o d a t i n g

t hemselves to the changes but there are n e v e r t h e l e s s m a n y c o n s t raints w h i c h affect their readiness and a b i lity to change w h i c h must be taken into account in p l a n n i n g p r o f e s s i o n a l development w ithin the school(Dean, 1991).

Day, Whit a k e r and W r e n (1987) p oint out that any p l a n for profes s i o n a l development needs to take the f o llowing aspects of teachers into account:

values - specified and priz e d opi n i o n

attitudes - more or less settled modes of think i n g assumptions - t a k e - for-granted ideas and opinions They also suggest that teachers share needs of: affili a t i o n - the sense of b e l o n g i n g (to a team) achievement - the need for a sense of ''getting

somewhere" in what is done

influence - the need for a sense of h a v i n g some influence over what happens in the w o r k

setting

ownership - the need for a sense of pe r s o n a l investment in the process of a ppraisal and its outcomes.

(p. 37)

Towards C o l l a b o r a t i o n

Contexts w h i c h enable teachers to c o l l a borate in solving c o m m o n problems in a focused way a ppear to enhance teacher's own individual efforts at development. Thus, s c h o o l - i n i t i a t e d and scho o l - b a s e d projects, as well as c r o s s -school groups of teac h e r s wi t h similar interests might pro v i d e helpful

c o n t e x t s for c o l l a b o r a t i o n where there are comm o n interests to be shared. The mutual interest, trust and support that d e v e l o p with i n groups appear to p r o v i d e a e n c o u r a g i n g e n v i r o n m e n t for taking individual and c o l l ective risks

(Raymond, Butt, & Townsend, 1992).

L i e b erman (1986) in relation to col l a b o r a t i v e r e s e a r c h claims that, "regardless of the context, tea m d e l i b e r a t i o n

has b e e n shown to produce knowledge and s e l f -learning for teachers, provide powerful prof e s s i o n a l development and e n c o u r a g e greater collegial interaction" (p. 29).

The school inservice p r o g r a m should not only make use of o p p o rtunities for teachers to atte n d outside courses, but shou l d also consider whe t h e r the various inservice prov i d e r s in the n e i g h borhood can offer what the school requires. Most of the local providers are likely to be offe r i n g courses of t heir own designing, perhaps at the i n s t i gation of the local authority, but most of them will also be p r e p a r e d to pro v i d e courses or other inservice activities to meet the needs of individual schools or groups of schools (Dean, 1991).

Staff from a u n i v e r s i t y and college of e d ucation might contr i b u t e with various development activities (Dean, 1991) a. Lectures

b. Courses leading to certificate, diploma or degree

c. Cons u l t a n c y over parti c u l a r aspects of the school's wo r k d. Eva l u a t i o n

e. A c t i o n Resea r c h

f. C l a s s r o o m obse r v a t i o n

g. Exchange arrangements and involvement of students

(p. 175)

Scho o l / U n i v e r s i t y C o l l a b o r a t i o n

The future of e d u c ation must engage all p r o f e s s i o n a l s in the p rocess of m a n a g i n g collaborative change (Fullan &

r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for teacher development have to recon s i d e r their fundamental role and function in this field. M a n y p e o p l e agree that schools and u n i v e r s i t i e s should b e g i n a c o l l a b o r a t i o n to improve teacher e d u c a t i o n by r e d i s t r i b u t i n g r e s p o n s i b i l i t y for teacher development b a s e d on asking: "Who should contribute what to teacher learning, and at wha t stage of teachers' cognitive and pro f e s s i o n a l development c an these contrib u t i o n s be made most effi c i e n t l y and e f fectively?"

(Hawley, 1990, p. 9).

Collaborative s c hool/university p a r t n erships are b e c o m i n g more and more common in e d u c a tional practice

(Lasley, Matczynski, & Wiliams, 1992) b ecause such

p a r t n e r s h i p s p r o vide opportunities for institutional g r o w t h w h ere options for teacher development are restricted. Despite

the fact that school improvement and teacher d evelopment are o f t e n dealt wit h separately, W a t s o n and Fullan (1992) argue that they are ve r y muc h related b ecause teacher deve l o p m e n t is a career long event and cannot be a c h i e v e d without school d e v e l o p m e n t .

C o l l aborative partnerships are likely to become p o p u l a r in future educational practice since collabo r a t i v e efforts are n e c e s s a r y for institutional growth (Lasley, Matczynski, Williams, 1992). G o o dlad (1990) n o t e d that in colla b o r a t i v e r e l a t ionships schools and u n i v e rsities can work to g e t h e r to assure "exemplary performance of o v e r l a p p i n g mutual self-

interest" (p. 324); since Universities have the m a j o r goal and subject area of professionals and phys i c a l reasons for

s u p p o r t i n g ELT INSET. Universities can serve as a c e n t e r for p r o f e s s i o n a l development where teacher co u l d consult when e v e r n e e d e d and not just depending on the time scheduled for the INSET courses. As Palaich (1985), states '"teachers cannot

improve their perf o r m a n c e left on their own if they e i t h e r lack the n e c e s s a r y knowledge or find themselves in condi t i o n s that dis c o u r a g e effective teaching." (p.50)

In traditional school/university partnerships, the u n i v e r s i t y was the knowledge prod u c e r and the schools were s imply the receivers. New partnerships focus on mutu a l concerns of school and university, inservice teacher d e v elopment and

school improvement (Sirotnik & Goodlad, 1988). This brings us to the n e w model of Collaborative Pa r t n e r s h i p wh i c h involves

teachers, school administrators and u n i v e r s i t i e s to re-examine p r o j e c t goals, content and structure to serve the needs of all p a r t n e r s better (Noto, 1992). Univer s i t i e s must link themselves to schools' in order to provide support and resources for

d e v e l o p m e n t of teachers. As Boyd (1991) states,

" S c h o o l / U n i v e r s i t y partnership provides the field se t t i n g to observe, explore and demonstrate new teac h i n g strategies

a c c o m p a n y reform" (p. 136). Thus, the c o l l a b o r a t i o n of secondary schools and univ e r s i t i e s provides an important o p p o r t u n i t y for m u t u a l p r o f e s s i o n a l development.

Yet c o l l a b o r a t i o n may be difficult to achieve as school and u n i v e r s i t i e s are two distinct institutions. In o r d e r to e s t a b l i s h a c o l l a b o r a t i o n between schools and u n i v e r s i t i e s e f f orts must be spent to identify the factors wh i c h m ight

d i s t i n g u i s h these institutions. A c c o r d i n g to Robin s o n and

D a r l i n g - H a m m o n d (1994) three factors m a y d i s t i nguish these two institutions: usage of time, d i f ferences in norms and work styles and traditions regarding status.

Both institutions have different w o r k schedules. It can be difficult to arrange meetings; that is w h y arrangements

for c o l l a b o r a t i o n require a significant support and sacrifice on one p a r t .

Teachers at public schools and u n i v e rsities have d i fferent norms and work styles. E s p e c i a l l y in p r o b l e m ­

solving, school-based teachers use a p r a g m a t i c approach. They implement changes as quickly as po s s i b l e w i t h little

variation. U n i v e r s i t y - b a s e d teachers, on the other hand, use a more theoretical approach to n e w situations and p r o blems fo c u s i n g more on theory than practice. School teachers need immediate solutions in individual classrooms; collective s h a ring and dis c u s s i n g theoretical issues m a y seem to be a l u x u r y .

Lack of p a r i t y in school and u n i v e r s i t y relationships is a n o t h e r factor w h i c h might be difficult for collaboration. Traditionally, career advancement is a c h i e v e d through gr a d u a t e study at universities. Thus, it is difficult to e s t a b l i s h collegial relationships w h i c h are essential for s c h o o l / u n i v e r s i t y c o llaboration (Robinson Sc Darling-Hammond, 1994).

M a n y writers agree on the fact that schools and u n i v e r s i t i e s m a y indeed have different types of cultures.

Ha r g r e a v e s (1989, cited in W a t s o n & Fullan, 1992) describes this difference referring to schools as the ''world of

commi t m e n t " and universities as the "world of questioning". The factors stated above make scho o l / u n i v e r s i t y

c o l l a b o r a t i o n a source of risk, w o r r y and failure; however, w i t h effort wh i c h is always r e q uired for change it is

p o s s i b l e to overcome these cultural barriers and e s t a b l i s h a p o s i t i v e process of change, c o l l a b o r a t i o n and content for ent e r p r i s e (Robinson & Darling-Hammond, 1994).

Characteristics of Successful C o l l a b o r a t i o n

Gordon Van de Waters (1989, cited in R o b i n s o n & Darling- Hammond, 1994) in his research on the Educational Equa l i t y Project identifies ten characteristics of s c h o o l / u n i v e r s i t y c o l l a b o r a t i o n w h i c h Robinson and D a r l i n g - H a m m o n d (1994, p. 209) explore as follows: (only headings are quoted directly) 1. MutuaJL_self-interest and c ommon goals

For successful collaborations part i c i p a n t s must have a c l ear idea of self and mutual interest. Both school and u n i v e r s i t y teachers must accept that perc e p t i o n s and

realities of teacher quality dep e n d on b o t h institutions; in this way, not only teachers but also students will benefit fro m this situation.

2. M u t u a l trust and respect

Bot h sides in a collabo r a t i o n must recognize and trust the talents and perceptions of ea c h participant. This can start w i t h open dialogues and sharing. Senge (1990, ci t e d in

R o b i n s o n Sc Darling-Hammond) describes tea m learning as an important means for creating the c o m m o n language and respect n e e d e d for collaboration. In order to prevent a negative start the basis for trust and respect must be c reated w h i c h starts w i t h g etting to know the other participant.

3 . decision making

All decisions, starting from g o a l - s e t t i n g to operations, must be shared in order to identify c o n s i d e r needs and

p e r s p e c t i v e s of all participants. T r y i n g to u n d e r s t a n d each other, to communicate and to set d i r e ctions together

solidifies mutual trust and respect w h i c h are key a spects for t e a m learning and working together.

S c h o o l / u n i v e r s i t y collaboration must have a clear focus r e g a r d i n g the outcome, the creation of a n e w v ision of the n e w o r g a n i z a t i o n and the mission it will undertake. S e t t i n g a clear focus is time consuming; once it is set those invo l v e d in the c o l l a b o r a t i o n have to revisit and refine it over time. 5. M a n a g e a b l e agenda

In s c hool/university c o l l a b o r a t i o n activities have to be m a p p e d so that each participant is aware of the efforts spent

to a c h ieve the outcome. No one side should take the w h o l e responsibility; everyone should kn o w what the entire a g e n d a xs .

For successful collaboration institutional leaders should support the work by giving l e g i timacy and p r o v i d i n g n e c e s s a r y resources. They should e s p e c i a l l y reduce the time

for traditional work while the future wor k is w o r k e d on. I n stitutional leaders have to be involved in the p r o c e s s of c o l l a b o r a t i o n because they will facilitate the p rocess of collaboration. In contrast, the lack of involvement of key u n i v e r s i t y and school leaders will slow down the p r o g r e s s of c o l l a b o r a t i o n .

7. FjLscal support

Like all collaborations, sc h o o l / u n i v e r s i t y c o l l a b o r a t i o n has operational expenses. Before starting the task any kind of o p e r a tional support must be o r g a n i z e d since p a r t i c i p a n t s have to give their full energy in the w o r k and not m e a s u r e their ene r g y accordingly. In future, core funding by local school districts and universities c o uld be established. 8. Lo n g - t e r m commitment

C o l l a b o r a t i o n will result in changes bot h on b e h a l f of schools and universities. Both institutions have their own w o r l d w i t h biases regarding the other and change m a y be

a c h i e v e d very slowly. This fact needs to be kept in m i n d and thought of in the long term.

Partic i p a n t s of the collabo r a t i o n must have the entire control over the activities. They can revisit plans,

i n c orporate n e w ideas and change priorities. In o t her words. 6

.

the effort to t r a n s f o r m their home institutions demands c o n t inual dynamic p l a n n i n g and action.

10. Information sharing and co m m u n i c a t i o n

Participants must develop habits of sharing i n f o r mation w h i c h is of interest to colleagues in the other institution. They n e e d to communicate w i t h i n and across institutions and share information with each other. M a n y teachers a g r e e d that the effort of initial p l a n n i n g and de c i s i o n m a k i n g groups to share information and to insure that all means for

c o m m u n i c a t i o n were open, were the key factors in e s t a b l i s h i n g trust and willingness to participate. Thus, barriers c an be o v ercome and beneficial c o l l a b o r a t i o n can be achieved.

These ten characteristics of successful c o l l a b o r a t i o n are important guidelines for current and future

s c h o o l / u n i v e r s i t y c o l l a b o r a t i o n s .

Examples of Successful Colla b o r a t i o n

In recent years both experience and research r e g a r d i n g c o l l a b o r a t i o n b e t w e e n public schools and u n i v ersities have grown. Professional Development Schools (PDS) w h i c h are also c a l l e d pa r t n e r schools, clinical schools or p r o f e s s i o n a l

de v e l o p m e n t sites or centers have e x i sted since the late 19th c e n t u r y focusing on p r o f e ssional development (Ishler & Eden,

1995). PDSs are organizations in the U.S. w h i c h d epend u p o n c o l l a b o r a t i o n b e t w e e n public schools and universities.

R o b i n s o n Sc Darl i n g - H a m m o n d (19 94) state that each p a r t n e r brings a critical element to the relationship. Public schools

p r o v i d e authentic venues wh i c h are essential for n e w teacher d e v e l o p m e n t and for professional d e v e l opment of e x p e r i e n c e d teachers. Universities, on the other hand, provide

theo r e t i c a l knowledge and the latest developments in the f i e l d .

The goal of the c ollaboration in PDSs is ^^to p r o v i d e new m o d e l s of teacher education, builders of knowledge, and

v e h i c l e s for c o mmunicating p r o f e ssional u n d e r s t a n d i n g am o n g t e a c h e r educators, novices and v e t e r a n teachers". (Darling- Hammond, 1994, p. 1). In other words, pub l i c schools and u n i v e r s i t i e s interact in a conscious w a y to combine theory and practice, and continual development. Ishler and Eden

(1995) also emphasize the c o l l a b o r a t i o n b e t w e e n school and u n i v e r s i t y faculties to provide oppor t u n i t i e s to connect r e s e a r c h and practice.

C o n c e r n i n g general goals, PDSs m a y focus on different goals such as preservice education, inservice develo p m e n t t h r o u g h research and collaboration, or on pro f e s s i o n a l g rowth

(Ishler & Eden, 1995). However, as Clark (1992) indicates, this type of p a r t n e r schools "are not an end but a means by w h i c h schools and universities seek to a c c o m p l i s h e d four p u r p o s e s " (p. 80):

1. Educate children and yo u t h 2. P repare educators

3. P r o vide professional development 4. C onduct inquiry

A n o ther example for scho o l / u n i v e r s i t y c o l l a b o r a t i o n is the Acad e m i c Alliance in the U.S.; Gaudiani and Burnett

(1986, cited in Robinson & Darling-Hammond, 1994) have d o c u m e n t e d the experience of the Ac a d e m i c Alliance, a

m o v e m e n t to create local communities of academic scholars and p u b l i c school teachers that meet m o n t h l y to share knowledge and take responsibility for their own p r o f e s s i o n a l growth. This colla b o r a t i o n has resulted in improved p r actice in both u n i v e r s i t y and public schools.

A further example for schoo l / u n i v e r s i t y c o l l a b o r a t i o n is the pa r t n e r s h i p between Sheffield Local Educational

Authority, Sheffield Schools and S h e f f i e l d Uni v e r s i t y

(Rudduck, 1992). The c o mmon aim of the schools were "equality of opportunity, the integration of subject experience, active learning, and greater student control over and u n d e r s t a n d i n g of their learning program, progress and achievement."

(Rudduck, 1992, p. 202) So, changing the whole c u r r i c u l u m a c c o r d i n g to the students' needs were initiated. U n i v e r s i t y staff and teachers from schools w o r k e d together for awareness r a i s i n g of cross-c u r r i c u l a r issues and h e l p e d teachers

u n d e r s t a n d the change w i t h i n their own institutions (Rudduck, 1992), Conclusions of the study suggest the f o l l o w i n g advantages of such partnerships:

1. U n iversities can offer help w i t h specialist content in c u r r i c u l u m a r e a s .

2. Partners can use the combined skills available to t h e m to o f fer schools, or groups of schools, support w i t h the