Forventninger og forstyrrelser – Udvikling af relationskompetence hos lærere

Abstract

Abstract Repeated international studies show that the teacher is the single factor that means most to pupils' learning outcome. But who knows the recipe for a good teacher? What makes a good teacher? What is it that he is able to do? Three specific skills - relational competence, classroom management skills and didactic competence - are needed to improve the pupils’ learning outcome. The first mentioned relational competence has the greatest impact on the students’ learning outcome. In this thesis my aim is to describe the relational interaction that takes place in a class between teacher and pupils. My interest is to describe, how the individual is created through participation in relationships with the aim to explain what relational competence is, and how it appears in the practical daily day life in school. My ambition is to come up with suggestions how to the development of relational competence can be qualified at the individual teacher, in the teacher teams, and how the development of relational competence can be supported organizationally. Is relational competence only a means that seeks to achieve better learning? Or is the development of relational competence the goal in our pedagogical ideal conception of the public school in Denmark? In a pedagogical perspective relational competence is both a means and a goal. For the purpose of identifying the answer to my thesis statement I have used Gregory Batesons systemic learning theory that contains terms that make it possible to present and discuss the learning theoretical questions that may qualify my thesis statement. To illustrate and discuss my problem I have interviewed four teachers. The teachers have told me about significant experiences and how these experiences have formed their teaching profession in relation to relational competence. I have used the method of a qualitative research interview, which makes it pos-sible to have a phenomenological approach to the study of the subject. Through qualitative analysis methods I have studied and highlighted the phenomenon of 'relational competence' and 'development of relational competence'. My interviews have been made with four teachers who are employed in different public schools. It has been interesting to see if parts of the organizational context tends to strengthen the development of relational competence. This I have described in the end of my thesis. Briefly and in bullits I have highlighted the key points in my analysis: • Relational competence is reflected in the school's daily life through interactions between pupils and teacher and between teacher and teacher. It is to be seen by the facts that the teacher is able to adjust his approach depending on the pupil needs, he can recognize the pupil and adjust his nonverbal communication. • Relational competence, however, is reaching beyond the actual situation with the pupil, it also goes backward into the past - and forward into the future. • Relational competence can be developed if the teacher, in his planning and execution of his teaching, makes room for feedback processes. • Relational competence can be qualified through several initiatives such as reflections in teams, shared knowledge and by working with narratives - that language creates reality In the future it may help to focus on how the class teacher, as a leader, develops relationships in the classroom where the class is regarded as an organization – as a complex adaptive system. The leader’s task will be to facilitate processes that lead to common reflections on how contextual understanding is dependent on the perspective. Perspective and contextual understanding is important for the pupils’ and the teachers' possibilities of taking action. By creating room for feedback processes it will be possible to support good experiences, mistakes will be seen and experiments can be tested. My thesis has made it clear that the development of relational competence in no way is an internal private matter for the individual teacher. The development of skills and participation in the learning process is a matter for the individual teacher, but the opportunities that are available for this development lies in organizational matters. And therefore the school management and the teachers have to cooperate about this. Abstract Repeated international studies show that the teacher is the single factor that means most to pupils' learning outcome. But who knows the recipe for a good teacher? What makes a good teacher? What is it that he is able to do? Three specific skills - relational competence, classroom management skills and didactic competence - are needed to improve the pupils’ learning outcome. The first mentioned relational competence has the greatest impact on the students’ learning outcome. In this thesis my aim is to describe the relational interaction that takes place in a class between teacher and pupils. My interest is to describe, how the individual is created through participation in relationships with the aim to explain what relational competence is, and how it appears in the practical daily day life in school. My ambition is to come up with suggestions how to the development of relational competence can be qualified at the individual teacher, in the teacher teams, and how the development of relational competence can be supported organizationally. Is relational competence only a means that seeks to achieve better learning? Or is the development of relational competence the goal in our pedagogical ideal conception of the public school in Denmark? In a pedagogical perspective relational competence is both a means and a goal. For the purpose of identifying the answer to my thesis statement I have used Gregory Batesons systemic learning theory that contains terms that make it possible to present and discuss the learning theoretical questions that may qualify my thesis statement. To illustrate and discuss my problem I have interviewed four teachers. The teachers have told me about significant experiences and how these experiences have formed their teaching profession in relation to relational competence. I have used the method of a qualitative research interview, which makes it pos-sible to have a phenomenological approach to the study of the subject. Through qualitative analysis methods I have studied and highlighted the phenomenon of 'relational competence' and 'development of relational competence'. My interviews have been made with four teachers who are employed in different public schools. It has been interesting to see if parts of the organizational context tends to strengthen the development of relational competence. This I have described in the end of my thesis. Briefly and in bullits I have highlighted the key points in my analysis: • Relational competence is reflected in the school's daily life through interactions between pupils and teacher and between teacher and teacher. It is to be seen by the facts that the teacher is able to adjust his approach depending on the pupil needs, he can recognize the pupil and adjust his nonverbal communication. • Relational competence, however, is reaching beyond the actual situation with the pupil, it also goes backward into the past - and forward into the future. • Relational competence can be developed if the teacher, in his planning and execution of his teaching, makes room for feedback processes. • Relational competence can be qualified through several initiatives such as reflections in teams, shared knowledge and by working with narratives - that language creates reality In the future it may help to focus on how the class teacher, as a leader, develops relationships in the classroom where the class is regarded as an organization – as a complex adaptive system. The leader’s task will be to facilitate processes that lead to common reflections on how contextual understanding is dependent on the perspective. Perspective and contextual understanding is important for the pupils’ and the teachers' possibilities of taking action. By creating room for feedback processes it will be possible to support good experiences, mistakes will be seen and experiments can be tested. My thesis has made it clear that the development of relational competence in no way is an internal private matter for the individual teacher. The development of skills and participation in the learning process is a matter for the individual teacher, but the opportunities that are available for this development lies in organizational matters. And therefore the school management and the teachers have to cooperate about this.

Gentagne internationale undersøgelser viser, at læreren er den enkeltfaktor, der betyder allermest for elevernes udbytte af undervisningen. Men hvem kender opskriften på en dygtig lærer? Hvad består en dygtig lærer af? Hvad er det han kan? Tre specifikke kompetencer: relationskompetence, klasseledelseskompetence og didaktisk kompetence skal der til for at øge elevernes læringsudbytte. Førstnævnte relationskompetence har størst betydning for elevernes læringsudbytte. I dette speciale er det mit sigte, at beskrive det relationelle samspil, som foregår i en klasse mellem lærer og elever. Min interesse retter sig mod at beskrive hvordan individet skabes gennem deltagelse i relationer, med formålet at belyse, hvad relationskompetence er og hvordan det kommer til syne i skolens praktiske hverdag. Min ambition er at komme med mulige bud på, hvordan udviklingen af relationskompetence kan kvalificeres hos den enkelte lærer, i lærerteams og hvorledes udviklingen af relationskompetence kan støttes organisatorisk. Er relationskompetence blot et middel, der søger at fremme målet: øget læring? Eller er udvikling af relationskompetence målet i vores pædagogiske idealforestilling om folkeskolen? I et pædagogisk per-spektiv er relationskompetence både et middel og et mål. Til brug for indkredsning af svar på min problemformulering har jeg brugt Gregory Batesons systemi-ske læringsteori, der indeholder begreber, som gør det muligt at fremlægge og diskutere læringsteoretisk spørgsmål, der kan kvalificere arbejdet med min problemstilling. Til belysning og diskussion af min problemstilling har jeg interviewet jeg fire lærere. Lærerne har fortalt mig om signifikante oplevelser, og om hvordan disse oplevelser fremadrettet har præget deres lærergerning i forhold til det relationelle. Jeg har brugt det kvalitative forskningsinterview, som giver mig mulighed for en fænomenologisk tilgang til studiet at emnet. Gennem kvalitative analysemetoder har jeg studeret og belyst fænomenet ’relationskompetence’ ’og udvikling af relationskompetence’. Mine interviews gennemføres med fire lærere, der er ansat på forskellige folkeskoler. Det har været interessant at kigge på, om dele af den organisatoriske kontekst er medvirkende til at styrke udviklingen af relationskompetence. Dette er jeg afslutningsvis kommet ind på. Kortfattet og i punktform er her fremhævet de mest centrale pointer i min analyse: • Relationskompetence kommer til udtryk i skolens hverdag gennem interaktioner mellem elever og lærer og mellem lærer og lærer. Den viser sig ved at læreren kan afstemme sin adfærd efter, hvad eleven har brug for, anerkendelse af eleven og justering af sin nonverbale kommunikation. • Relationskompetencen rækker dog ud over øjeblikket med eleven, den rækker også bagud i fortiden og ind i fremtiden. • Relationskompetence kan udvikles ved at læreren i tilrettelæggelse og gennemførsel af undervisning planlægger rum for feedbackprocesser. • Relationskompetence kan kvalificeres organisatorisk gennem flere tiltag, fx refleksioner i teams, fælles viden og gennem arbejde med narrativer, at sprog skaber virkelighed I fremtiden kan der med fordel sættes fokus på, hvordan klasselæreren som leder kan arbejde med udvikling af relationer i klassen, hvor klassen betragtes som en organisation, et kompleks adaptivt system. Lederens opgave vil være at fremme processer, som kan føre til fælles refleksioner over hvordan kontekstforståelsen er afhængig af perspektivet. Perspektiv og kontekstforståelse har stor betydning for elever og lærers handlemulighederne. Ved at konstruere mulighed for feedbackprocesser, kan der dannes grobund for at gode erfaringer støttes, fejltagelser belyses og eksperimenter afprøves. Mit speciale har tydeliggjort, at udvikling af relationskompetence på ingen måde er et indre privat anliggende for den enkelte lærer. Den endelig udvikling af kompetence og deltagelse i læreproces ligger godt nok hos den enkelte lærer, men de muligheder han/hun får stillet til rådighed til denne udvikling ligger i organisatoriske forhold. Og er derfor et anliggende for skolens ledelse og ansatte at samarbejde om.

A master programme thesis from Aalborg University

Forventninger og forstyrrelser – Udvikling af relationskompetence hos lærere

[Forventninger og forstyrrelser. Udvikling af relationskompetence hos lærere]