Rannsóknin Starfshættir í framhaldsskólum fór fram á árunum 2012–2018. Hún var
samstarfsverkefni rúmlega 20 manna hóps rannsakenda, bæði kennara og nemenda við
Menntavísinda- og Félagsvísindasvið Háskóla Íslands með aðsetur á Rannsóknastofu
um þróun skólastarfs á Menntavísindasviði. Rannsóknin var hluti af norræna
öndvegissetrinu Justice through Education (JustEd, e.d.) sem styrkt var af NordForsk.
Meginmarkmið rannsóknarinnar var að varpa ljósi á starfshætti í framhaldsskólum
og þann bakgrunn og þau öfl sem móta þá. Athyglin beindist einkum að skipulagi
og stjórnun skóla og skólastarfs, námi og kennslu, námsumhverfi og viðhorfum
nemenda, kennara og stjórnenda til skólastarfsins. Gagna var aflað árin 2013–2014 í
níu framhaldsskólum víða um land sem voru valdir með lagskiptu slembiúrtaki. Fyrir
liggja vettvangslýsingar á 130 kennslustundum (167 klukkustundum), skráð viðtöl
við stjórnendur, kennara og nemendur, alls 61 að tölu við samtals 100 manns, 111
sett ljósmynda úr mannlausum kennslurýmum og 90 náms- eða kennsluáætlanir,
auk opinberra gagna sem safnað var. Í þessu sérriti eru birtar tíu greinar sem
byggjast á fyrrnefndum gögnum. Auk þeirra eru þrjár greinar eftir þátttakendur í
rannsóknarhópnum sem byggjast á öðrum gögnum, ein þeirra á rætur í rannsókninni
Skilvirkni framhaldsskóla, en tvær eru hluti af rannsókninni Framhaldsskólaval í
Reykjavík og Helsinki. Rannsóknarhópurinn væntir þess að niðurstöður verði nýttar
við mótun og skipulag þróunarstarfs í framhaldsskólum, við stefnumótun og þróun
skólakerfisins í heild og að þær gagnist við bæði grunn- og símenntun kennara.
Ráðgjöf um nýtingu niðurstaðna í þróunarstarfi er hluti af verkefninu, ef skólar óska
eftir.
This research project Upper secondary school practices in Iceland was carried out
in 2012–2018. It was a cooperative undertaking by over 20 researchers, including
teachers and graduate students at the Schools of Education and Social Sciences at
the University of Iceland, and located in the Centre for Research in Educational
Development, School of Education. The project was associated with the Nordic
Centre of Excellence: Justice through Education in the Nordic Countries (JustEd,
n.d.), 2012–2018, supported by NordForsk (an organisation providing funding
for Nordic cooperation in research). The centre focused on the question: How do
systems, cultures and actors in education facilitate and constrain justice in the context
of globalising Nordic welfare states? This study was carried out by one of its seven
teams.
The main objectives of the research project were to provide an understanding of
teaching and learning in upper secondary schools in Iceland and the moulding
forces of their evolution. A special emphasis was placed on educational structures,
administration, the physical learning environment, teaching strategies, views within
the institution and student influence, engagement and initiative.
The research framework included five strands. The first focused on the structures of
the upper secondary schools, official initiatives and the relationship between current
practices and intended changes, as presented in the educational policy introduced
by legislation (2008) and the curriculum (2011). The second strand was intended to
throw light on teachers’ views towards education, covering their beliefs on the effect
of current practices on student learning, including structure, curriculum, teaching,
and learning. Strand three pointed to the current physical environment in the schools,
especially classrooms, focusing on features of change in school buildings, reflecting
new challenges involving architecture, educational ideology and school policy. The
fourth strand was directed towards exploring current classroom practices, including
various teaching methods, especially in terms of the national curriculum set in 2011.
Finally, the fifth strand focused on student influence, engagement and initiative in the
learning process, as well as students’ opportunities to influence school governance.
Data was collected during 2013 and 2014 in nine upper secondary schools located
around the country, chosen as a stratified random sample out of a total of 31. The
student population numbered from around 200 up to 2,000 in each school, representing
33% of the total student population in Icelandic upper secondary schools. This paper
describes the methodology in detail.
The data covers: a) Classroom observations supported by an observation frame,
conducted during 130 randomly selected lessons (167 hours). Classes or individual
students were followed during one school day, by one (56%) or two researchers (44%);
b) Photos taken in each classroom (after students had left the room), a total of 111 sets,
focusing on furniture arrangement, educational equipment and material displayed on
walls; c) A total of 61 recorded interviews with 100 people, supported by interview
frames: firstly, with nine heads of school and twelve members of middle management;
secondly, with two to three selected teachers in each school, a total of 23; thirdly,
with seventeen groups of students consisting of 56 volunteers, eighteen years old or
older; and d) Educational documents like lesson plans and school curricula.
The results will serve as a database for longitudinal and comparative research. It
is expected that the study will support development in upper secondary schools,
the school system in general, and teacher education. Consultancy on behalf of the
research group, upon request, is a component of the project. In this special issue of Netla there are ten articles based on data from the above
research project (this article included). In addition, one is rooted in a longitudinal
research project, School effectiveness and students’ educational progress, commencing
in 2007, and two in a study on school choice at the upper secondary level in both
Reykjavik and Helsinki.