Journal article
Investigating Teachers’ Perceived Costs and Benefits Toward a Knowledge Generation Environment
International journal of educational research, Vol.133, 102686
01/01/2025
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijer.2025.102686
Abstract
•PD effectiveness is shaped by teachers’ perceived costs and benefits, influencing their willingness to adopt knowledge generation approaches.•Axiological orientation—teachers’ underlying value frameworks—plays a critical role in how they evaluate and implement knowledge generation practices.•Strong implementers demonstrate dispositional openness, reframing challenges such as time and resource constraints as part of meaningful inquiry, underscoring the need for PD that supports both belief shifts and practical enactment.•Teachers’ ontological and epistemological orientations distinctly affect implementation—with ontological discomfort around student agency emerging as a key barrier to adopting reform-based practices.
In knowledge generation environments, students actively engage as classroom participants, tasked with creating and developing new concepts and materials both individually and collaboratively. This approach aims to deepen their understanding beyond the provided information and foster meaningful learning experiences. However, transitioning from traditional learning focused on knowledge replication to generative learning is complex. Building on previous research centered on teacher concerns, we recognize that change incurs costs for each teacher involved, necessitating an examination of the benefits compared to these costs. This study employs a cost-benefit framework to assess teachers’ perceptions of the value of professional development (PD) in aiding their understanding of knowledge generation. Conducted as a multiple-case study involving ten K-5 teachers, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, vignettes, written reflections, and classroom observations. A key contribution of this study is the introduction of axiological orientations—value frameworks that we argue influence the development and implementation of knowledge generation environments. The findings underscore the critical role of perceived costs and benefits in determining the effectiveness of PD initiatives aimed at promoting knowledge generation. The analysis reveals that teachers’ willingness to adopt and implement knowledge generation environments heavily depends on their perceived benefits versus costs in instructional practices, epistemic tools, and orientations.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Investigating Teachers’ Perceived Costs and Benefits Toward a Knowledge Generation Environment
- Creators
- Ercin Sahin - University of IowaJee Kyung Suh - Baylor UniversityJale Ercan Dursun - University of AlabamaBrian Hand - Department of Teaching and Learning, College of Education, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- International journal of educational research, Vol.133, 102686
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.ijer.2025.102686
- ISSN
- 0883-0355
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/01/2025
- Academic Unit
- Teaching and Learning
- Record Identifier
- 9984848116302771
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