Australian Journal of Teacher Education - Volume 41 - Issue 2 - Article 7 - Being in and feeling seen in professional development as new teachers

Oct 15, 2026

Dominant professional development discourses for teachers increasingly emphasize performativities—standards-based benchmarks measured through performance management meetings and short workshops. Research in a NZ primary school reveals a counter-movement rejecting imposed standards and instrumental performativities, replacing them with teacher co-constructed, contextualized capacity matrices within an open, seeing learning culture of support. These findings highlight the experiential “being in” and “feeling seen” nature of professional development and its implications for improved classroom practice.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

Background

Some Understandings around Professional Development for New Teachers

Australian Journal of Teacher Education | Volume 41 | Issue 2 | Article 7 | | --- | --- | | 2016
'Being in' and 'feeling seen' in professional development as new teachers: the ontological layer(ing) of professional development practice
Andrew M. Bills
Flinders University, [Andrew.Bills@flinders.edu.au](Andrew.Bills@flinders.edu.au)
David Giles
[David.Giles@flinders.edu.au](David.Giles@flinders.edu.au)
Bev Rogers
[bev.rogers@flinders.edu.au](bev.rogers@flinders.edu.au) | | Recommended Citation Bills, A. M., Giles, D., & Rogers, B. (2016). 'Being in' and 'feeling seen' in professional development as new teachers: the ontological layer(ing) of professional development practice. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 41 (2). [http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2016v41n2.7](http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2016v41n2.7) This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. [http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol41/iss2/7](http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol41/iss2/7) ‘Being In’ And ‘Feeling Seen’ In Professional Development As New Teachers: The Ontological Layer(Ing) Of Professional Development Practice. Dr Andrew Bills Professor David Giles Dr Bev Rogers Flinders University Abstract: Dominant discourses on professional development for teachers internationally are increasingly geared to the priority of ensuring individual teachers are meeting prescribed standards-based performance benchmarks which we call ‘performativities’ in this paper. While this intent is invariably played out in individualised performance management meetings and ‘fly by’professional development workshops, our research into a NZ primary school discovered a counter-movement at work rejecting imposed standards and preoccupations with instrumental performativites and replacing these with teacher co-constructed and contextualised capacity matrices immersed within an ‘open’ and ‘seeing’professional learning culture of support. Within manifestations of a rich and enabling culture of professional development the ontological nature of professional development within the school offers understandings which show the experiential nature of ‘being in’ and ‘feeling seen’ in professional development with consequent implications for improved classroom practices. The purpose of this paper is to discuss these issues. Background Current dominant policy discourses on educational professional development and tertiary teacher preparation programs focus on producing the ‘quality’ teacher. To this end, technologies of performativity are brought into play under the guise of imposed teacher standards to ensure teacher quality can be measured and assured through making individual teachers more accountable for their performance. According to Ball (2003, p. 216),"performativity is a technology, a culture and a mode of regulation that employs judgements, comparisons and displays as a means of incentive, control, attrition and change based on rewards and sanctions (both material and symbolic)". Performativity technologies are at work in standards. According to Celik (2011) standards describe actions and performance thus outlining the functions of individuals within a profession. For teachers, standards attempt to define quality teaching: [r]anging from generic to subject-specific attributes, they outline what a teacher should know and be able to do. Standards are used in many performance appraisal schemes to evaluate and guide teacher development (Kennedy, 2010), with a general agreement that standards and a shared understanding of quality teaching are foundations of any effective appraisal system (OECD, 2013, p. 9) Checks on teacher quality using the technologies of performativity within the standards are invariably played out during individualised performance management or appraisal meetings between the teacher and a school leader. Our research has located a New Zealand Primary School where the ontological nature of

FAQs

What does the paper say about dominant professional development discourses for teachers?

They increasingly focus on ensuring individual teachers meet standards-based performance benchmarks, described as performativities, implemented through appraisal meetings and workshops.

How did the NZ primary school counter the standards-based performativity focus?

It rejected imposed standards and instrumental performativities, using teacher co-constructed, contextualized capacity matrices within an open culture of support and professional learning.

What are the implications of “being in” and “feeling seen” for classroom practice?

The ontological nature of professional development supports understandings rooted in lived experience, with consequent implications for improved classroom practices.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by 4398046744996