A Teacher-Led Interpretation of the Teacher Growth Model: Inquiry into the Professional Identity of Singapore Teachers

This project seeks to map the Singapore Teacher’s professional identity through the way teachers in Singapore exercise Decisional Capital in the sense-making and interpretation of selective aspects of the Teacher Growth Model (TGM) (i.e. Ethical Educator and Transformational Leader) developed by the Academy of Singapore Teachers, Ministry of Education (AST-MOE). Through this, we seek to find the convergence between theory, policy and practice in the examination of how these facets of the TGM have contributed to the development of professional capital that supports a teacher-led professionalism. Occurring hand-in-glove, the research collaboration seeks an organic source for the definition of professional standards for teacher identity from teachers on the teaching track, as they are the builders of pedagogical capacities in the teaching force. We will commence our investigation with the strategic exploration of the interface between teacher interpretation of Ethical Educator and Transformational Leader from the TGM, through their deployment of Decisional Capital in the sense-making process. With the insights gathered from this inquiry, we look forward to inform AST work that supports the growth of teacher’s professional identities as Ethical Educators and Transformational Leaders, and also to offer theoretical insights as to how Decisional Capital is an important component in the growth of teacher’s professional identity. We aim to do this by offering a compilation of ground-up teacher professional identity, so as to contribute to the understanding of how TGM has encouraged and supported the growth and professional development of teachers in their roles as Ethical Educators and Transformational Leaders. We will focus on a qualitative study of the identity domains of Ethical Educator and Transformational Leader in order to support an in-depth probe into these domains. This research will engage a teacher sample in an online discussion forum, after which selected participants will be interviewed in a focus group setting. An adapted Grounded Theory approach informs data collection and analysis, where theory development of current TGM and Decisional Capital frameworks are sought in the process of locating their points of convergence, based on insights gathered in this inquiry.

Funding Source: Non-HK - Others^^