Secondary Teachers’ Perceptions of their School’s Redesign to an Innovative Learning Environment

Abstract

This thesis presents findings from a qualitative research study on secondary teachers’ perceptions of the re-design of their school to an Innovative Learning Environment (ILE). The study is a case-study capturing teachers’ perceptions prior to high decile, mid-size, suburban secondary school’s transition to an ILE. The study also investigated how teachers’ perceptions influenced their approach to this change. The focus on the move from a traditional single-cell classroom school to an ILE school is pertinent as ILEs currently are the school design of choice in New Zealand, reflecting the dominant 21st century teaching and learning agenda. An interpretivist framework was used in order to capture the similarities and differences of the lived experiences of the participants, within the wider context of this change. Through interviews with ten teachers, including people in leadership positions, a range of perspectives were gathered and thematically analysed. The findings indicate that teachers adopted three distinct mindsets about the prospect of teaching in an ILE, which influenced their approach to change. The three mindsets identified were: Idealists, Realists and Sceptics. Their mindset influenced how they viewed the impending change in space, and corresponding de-privatisation of teacher practice, and changes to pedagogical practices, including collaboration among teachers. Significant findings included the extent to which the participants’ believed that aspects of their existing practices would still be useful in the ILE, and their belief that innovation was possible in any space. Each participant also framed their perceptions within the strong collective culture of the case study school. Their responses are further grounded within the wider educational and social context of this change. Conclusions drawn from findings have implications for the school itself, as they embed practice in the ILE and for other schools transitioning to an ILE. Recommendations are made for improving teachers’ prior understanding of the expectations of an ILE practice.