Risk or resistance: understanding teachers’ perceptions of risk in professional learning

Abstract

Resistance to change is a concept commonly used to frame teachers’ non-engagement in professional learning for change. Despite a wealth of literature aimed at managing resistance to change, the problem of teacher non-engagement in change remains. This research challenges the concept of teacher resistance and instead considers the role of teachers’ perceptions of risk. A risk perception lens underpinned by uncertainty and vulnerability was used to understand teachers’ perceptions of risk in professional learning and their influence on teachers’ actions and ability to learn and change. Additionally, the research aimed to understand how leaders and facilitators made sense of teachers’ responses to professional learning. A qualitative three-school case study approach, primarily utilising semi-structured interviews of 21 teachers, 14 leaders and 4 facilitators, was used to capture the experiences of teachers as they participated in professional learning. The analysis focused on psychological, social and contextual factors to capture the complex phenomenon of perceptions of risk and riskrelated actions. Teachers formed perceptions of risk connected to similar sources of uncertainty in relation to professional learning events. Teachers who perceived risk experienced variable levels of emotional responses, as feelings of vulnerability. Furthermore, high perceptions of risk impacted negatively on teacher learning that was affected by emotion connected to perceived risk especially when emotion dominated cognition. Teachers’ perceptions of risk decreased in the presence of supportive relationships and increased in their absence. Leaders and facilitators made different sense of teachers’ responses depending on the frames they used. When leaders and facilitators framed non-engagement as resistance to change they positioned responsibility for engagement in change firmly with the teacher. A perception of risk frame broadened responsibility for engagement in change to include those leading the professional learning. The findings informed a risk perception process model linking uncertainty, vulnerability, emotion and action with teacher learning. This thesis contends that a risk perception lens enables a redefinition of resistance. What might look like resistance may be due to teacher’s perceptions of risk regarding their engagement in professional learning. Understanding this can enable leaders and facilitators to reduce perceptions of risk and increase teacher engagement in change.