Papers by Laura Colucci-Gray
The need to improve teachers’ professional knowledge and skills is recognised across the globe. H... more The need to improve teachers’ professional knowledge and skills is recognised across the globe. However while a neo-liberal model of education puts emphasis on skills and expertise; transformative agendas in education seek to establish educational environments that promote both cultural and social change in a systematic manner. Against this backdrop, educational reforms are initiated globally with the intention of implementing a ‘change’ process agenda which could conceivably serve alternative if not opposed goals and outcomes. Drawing on a study in a teacher education reform initiative in Scotland, this paper argues that a critical constructivist approach to mentoring can support collaborative learning between teachers and student teachers and in so doing, serve a model of teacher learning that is grounded in and conscious of the normative structures of classrooms and schools. In this paper, the critical constructivist approach to mentoring is seen as an integrated and egalitarian process encapsulating apprenticeship, reflective, socio-constructivist and participatory strategies to learning. Data collection was carried out using qualitative strategies including semi-structured interview and case studies. A series of examples of practice derived from this empirical study illustrate features of a complex process that incorporates apprenticeship and collaboration based on the critical constructivist approach to mentoring.
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Research on mentoring indicates that prior experience and beliefs about learning and teaching hel... more Research on mentoring indicates that prior experience and beliefs about learning and teaching held by practicing and pre-service teachers contribute significantly in shaping their mentoring relationships and, more broadly, their career outlook and aspirations. While mentoring is commonly seen as a form of support for pre-service teachers, mentoring can be pivotal in the creation of enabling environments in which collaborative, professional dialogues are undertaken. Yet, there lies a tension between enculturation into the norms of schools and promoting self-belief, participation and collaboration. Drawing on a qualitative methodology, this study focuses on the conceptions and expectations of classroom mentoring within the context of a teacher reform initiative in Scotland. Findings indicate that participants in the study held a mixture of beliefs regarding mentoring practices. Implications for partnership arrangements in initial teacher education and teachers’ career development were discussed.
Keywords: mentoring; apprenticeship; critical constructivism; realism; beliefs; career development.
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In this article we take up on the debate spurred by a recent paper published by Qvist & Brook on ... more In this article we take up on the debate spurred by a recent paper published by Qvist & Brook on PLoS/ONE (May 2015), in which the Authors encourage ‘a large expansion of global nuclear power’. We approach the topic from a variety of perspectives, drawing on a variety of sources, in order to highlight the complexity of the issue and the social, political and educational implications of presenting the nuclear option as a plain, linear, rational choice. Adopting the paper by Qvist & Brook as a ‘case in contest’ we develop a critique of conventional scientific research. We argue that for all scientific studies, authors should specify clearly and correctly the boundaries of the system under consideration which in turn, will determine the range of experimental data being collected. Results should be clearly separated from the conclusions which, in fact, are inevitably influenced by personal interpretations and collective imaginaries, which often remain unchecked. Scientists and referees of scientific journals therefore have a great responsibility when dealing with complex and controversial issues, because their voices can influence both the public and policy makers alike. By virtue of the idea, still deeply rooted in the Western world, that science describes reality, scientific evidence is deemed to 'speak truth to power'(Wildavsky, 1979). Consequently, a model of governance by numbers (Ozga, 2015) seeking to be informed by the promises of scientific certainty (Nowotny, 2015) fails to recognize the areas of uncertainty, the multiple questions which yield opportunities for disclosing alternative imaginaries and visions for sustainability. Drawing on the insights offered by feminist epistemologies, and the educational tools here derived, we point to a reformulation of the role of science education in growing democratic expertise that is, the ability of the public to unmask the value and worldviews underpinning the 'products' of science by taking into account the wider, socio-cultural and socio-material discourses in which such products are embedded. We encourage the educational system to pay greater attention towards equipping young people with reflexive abilities and conceptual tools which are appropriate to cope with the global, socio-environmental conflicts of our time.
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Cultural Studies of Science Education, 2014
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In this article we discuss current impacts on the planet as a result of technoscientific developm... more In this article we discuss current impacts on the planet as a result of technoscientific developments and neo-liberal policy. We argue that science education has an important role to play in supporting society to respond to new challenges ahead. However there needs to be a change to the way in which
science is introduced in schools to raise awareness of complex global interconnectedness and our embeddedness in the natural (and increasingly altered) planetary cycles. Such awareness changes how we view the practice of science and the way in which science is presented in schools. Drawing on
recent literature, this paper will present an argument for the reconfiguration of science education for a sustainable future.
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Journal of Education for Teaching, 2010
... Gray a * & Laura Colucci‐Gray a pages 425-439. ... As Korthagen, Loughran and... more ... Gray a * & Laura Colucci‐Gray a pages 425-439. ... As Korthagen, Loughran and Russel (200633. Korthagen, F., Loughran, J. and Russell, T. 2006. Developing fundamental principles for teacher education programs and practices. Teaching and Teacher Education , 22: 102041. ...
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ABSTRACT Teaching is acknowledged to be complex, multifaceted and dynamic. Curriculum revisions i... more ABSTRACT Teaching is acknowledged to be complex, multifaceted and dynamic. Curriculum revisions in Scotland, and elsewhere, call for teachers who are adaptable and capable of change. Yet the skills and attributes traditionally valued and acquired by teachers during ...
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Despite science’s central role in European culture, public perception of, and
participation with... more Despite science’s central role in European culture, public perception of, and
participation with, science is characterised by contradictions and conflicting
agenda. School curriculum reform, for example by Scottish Government,
promotes ‘science for citizenship’, yet teachers’ understandings of the nature of
science and its relationship with society are often underdeveloped. This article
reports on the experiences of a group of first-year students enrolled in the
course ‘socio-cultural perspectives in science learning’ within a primary teacher
education programme. Drawing on sociocultural theory, attention was given to
language as a system for constructing symbolic realities. Through participation in
activities, which explored science knowledge production and communication,
students were encouraged to reflect on the nature of science and the dynamic
relationship between content, methods and value-frameworks. Findings cluster
around interconnected themes: students’ views of knowledge, language genres
across communities and knowledgepower negotiations. The course attempted to
move from a space for knowledge consumption to an intermediary space between
science and society for students to inhabit in the dual roles of citizens and
co-constructors of knowledge. In this transition, linguistic genres pointed to the
complexity of interactions between curricular materials offered by the course and
newly established social networks. The article argues for further consideration of
linguistic practices in science education as a means for disclosing interpretations
and cultural framings and a necessary step in equipping teachers to understand
‘science for citizenship’ issues.
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In this three-part article we seek to establish connections between the emerging framework of sus... more In this three-part article we seek to establish connections between the emerging framework of sustainability science and the methodological basis of research and practice in science education in order to bring forth knowledge and competences for sustainability. The first and second parts deal with the implications of taking a sustainability view in relation to knowledge processes. The complexity, uncertainty and urgency of global environmental problems challenge the foundations of reductionist Western science. Within such debate, the proposal of sustainability science advocates for inter-disciplinary and inter-paradigmatic collaboration and it includes the requirements of post-normal science proposing a respectful dialogue between experts and non-experts in the construction of new scientific knowledge. Such a change of epistemology is rooted into participation, deliberation and the gathering of extended-facts where cultural framings and values are the hard components in the face of soft facts. A reflection on language and communication processes is thus the focus of knowledge practices and educational approaches aimed at sustainability. Language contains the roots of conceptual thinking (including scientific knowledge) and each culture and society are defined and limited by the language that is used to describe and act upon the world. Within a scenario of sustainability, a discussion of scientific language is in order to retrace the connections between language and culture, and to promote a holistic view based on pluralism and dialogue. Drawing on the linguistic reflection, the third part gives examples of teaching and learning situations involving prospective science teachers in action-research contexts: these activities are set out to promote linguistic integration and to introduce reflexive process into science learning. Discussion will focus on the methodological features of a learning process that is akin to a communal and emancipatory research process within a sustainability scenario.
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Tom G. K. Bryce and Stephen P. Day’s (2013) original article on scepticism and doubt in science e... more Tom G. K. Bryce and Stephen P. Day’s (2013) original article on scepticism and doubt in science education explores the context of citizens’ attitudes towards the complexities and uncertainties of global issues, namely global warming. This response aims to stimulate reflection on some of the implicit assumptions underpinning the relationships between science, technology and the public. I argue that an underestimation of the political and ethical dimensions of science and technology limits the possibilities for education to set the agenda for citizens’ participation in science and technological matters. Drawing on Sheila Jasanoff’s model of co-production, this paper proposes a radical re-affirmation of the aims and purposes of science education to embrace a multiplicity of disciplines, narratives and ways of knowing in science, technology and society issues.
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Science Education, 2006
In this paper, we report some reflections on science and education, in relation to teaching and r... more In this paper, we report some reflections on science and education, in relation to teaching and research in the field of complex and controversial socio-environmental issues. Starting from an examination of the literature on the epistemological aspects of the science of controversial issues, and introducing the perspective of complexity, the article argues for a complexity of content, context, and method in understanding current problems. Focusing on a model of learning which includes dialogical and reflective approaches, the final part of the article reports on aspect of the authors' experimental practice with role-play for dealing with complex issues. The review of the literature and our experience of action–research introduce a view of education which promotes young people's awareness of multiple points of view, an ability to establish relationships between processes, scales, and contexts which may be nonlinearly related, and practice with creative and nonviolent forms of interrelations with others. Such an approach in science education is coherent with a scenario of planet sustainability based on ecological webs and equity principles. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed90:227–252, 2006
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British Educational Research Journal, 2011
This study was conceived as an opportunity to reflect on the place of action-research in the cont... more This study was conceived as an opportunity to reflect on the place of action-research in the contested landscape of educational change in the UK where increasing emphasis has been put on the use of evidence to drive reform. In the context of a government-sponsored project in Scotland, this study looked at the impact of a scholarship initiative supporting classroom teachers to undertake action-research projects on a topic of their own choice with the assistance of a mentor. Data collected from interviews with teachers and analysis of teacher action-research reports pointed to a multi-faceted concept of practice unfolding from individual inquiry and dialogical conversations with colleagues and university mentors. The study argues for further analysis of the use of action-research as a means to develop teachers’ knowledge and to recover the value of collective and creative engagements in education to guide reform.
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Drafts by Laura Colucci-Gray
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Papers by Laura Colucci-Gray
Keywords: mentoring; apprenticeship; critical constructivism; realism; beliefs; career development.
science is introduced in schools to raise awareness of complex global interconnectedness and our embeddedness in the natural (and increasingly altered) planetary cycles. Such awareness changes how we view the practice of science and the way in which science is presented in schools. Drawing on
recent literature, this paper will present an argument for the reconfiguration of science education for a sustainable future.
participation with, science is characterised by contradictions and conflicting
agenda. School curriculum reform, for example by Scottish Government,
promotes ‘science for citizenship’, yet teachers’ understandings of the nature of
science and its relationship with society are often underdeveloped. This article
reports on the experiences of a group of first-year students enrolled in the
course ‘socio-cultural perspectives in science learning’ within a primary teacher
education programme. Drawing on sociocultural theory, attention was given to
language as a system for constructing symbolic realities. Through participation in
activities, which explored science knowledge production and communication,
students were encouraged to reflect on the nature of science and the dynamic
relationship between content, methods and value-frameworks. Findings cluster
around interconnected themes: students’ views of knowledge, language genres
across communities and knowledgepower negotiations. The course attempted to
move from a space for knowledge consumption to an intermediary space between
science and society for students to inhabit in the dual roles of citizens and
co-constructors of knowledge. In this transition, linguistic genres pointed to the
complexity of interactions between curricular materials offered by the course and
newly established social networks. The article argues for further consideration of
linguistic practices in science education as a means for disclosing interpretations
and cultural framings and a necessary step in equipping teachers to understand
‘science for citizenship’ issues.
Drafts by Laura Colucci-Gray
Keywords: mentoring; apprenticeship; critical constructivism; realism; beliefs; career development.
science is introduced in schools to raise awareness of complex global interconnectedness and our embeddedness in the natural (and increasingly altered) planetary cycles. Such awareness changes how we view the practice of science and the way in which science is presented in schools. Drawing on
recent literature, this paper will present an argument for the reconfiguration of science education for a sustainable future.
participation with, science is characterised by contradictions and conflicting
agenda. School curriculum reform, for example by Scottish Government,
promotes ‘science for citizenship’, yet teachers’ understandings of the nature of
science and its relationship with society are often underdeveloped. This article
reports on the experiences of a group of first-year students enrolled in the
course ‘socio-cultural perspectives in science learning’ within a primary teacher
education programme. Drawing on sociocultural theory, attention was given to
language as a system for constructing symbolic realities. Through participation in
activities, which explored science knowledge production and communication,
students were encouraged to reflect on the nature of science and the dynamic
relationship between content, methods and value-frameworks. Findings cluster
around interconnected themes: students’ views of knowledge, language genres
across communities and knowledgepower negotiations. The course attempted to
move from a space for knowledge consumption to an intermediary space between
science and society for students to inhabit in the dual roles of citizens and
co-constructors of knowledge. In this transition, linguistic genres pointed to the
complexity of interactions between curricular materials offered by the course and
newly established social networks. The article argues for further consideration of
linguistic practices in science education as a means for disclosing interpretations
and cultural framings and a necessary step in equipping teachers to understand
‘science for citizenship’ issues.