Learning, Unlearning and Redefining Teachers' Agency in International Private Education: A Swedish Education Company Operating in India
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| Title: | Learning, Unlearning and Redefining Teachers' Agency in International Private Education: A Swedish Education Company Operating in India |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Nafsika Alexiadou (ORCID |
| Source: | Educational Review. 2025 77(3):731-749. |
| Availability: | Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 19 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, International Schools, Private Education, Teachers, Principals, Teacher Attitudes, Administrator Attitudes, Cultural Context, Professional Autonomy, Educational Practices, Reference Groups, Values, Teaching Experience |
| Geographic Terms: | India, Sweden |
| DOI: | 10.1080/00131911.2023.2228507 |
| ISSN: | 0013-1911 1465-3397 |
| Abstract: | Private international education is on the rise, but we still have limited knowledge on how different commercial actors operate in this field and how it affects local teachers and their work in the schools abroad. Swedish school companies have been active in exporting schooling in the international arena, including "Swedish" education models. In this article, we examine one company and their operations in India. We explore the interpretations of the company education model by teachers in the Indian schools, and how this affects their professional capacity. Mixed qualitative methods of interviews, on-site school visits and documentary reviews, were used to examine the possibilities for teachers to exercise professional agency within their working environment. Our findings show that teachers operate within a highly structured pedagogical environment characterised by a given curriculum, a centralised learning platform and training programme, and a set of dominant discourses around values and teaching practices. Teachers are expected to embrace a new professional identity in a process of discarding past experiences and adopting the new professional language given by the company's particular education model. In willingly embracing the company discourses and expectations, teachers' agency tends to be constrained. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1485866 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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| Abstract: | Private international education is on the rise, but we still have limited knowledge on how different commercial actors operate in this field and how it affects local teachers and their work in the schools abroad. Swedish school companies have been active in exporting schooling in the international arena, including "Swedish" education models. In this article, we examine one company and their operations in India. We explore the interpretations of the company education model by teachers in the Indian schools, and how this affects their professional capacity. Mixed qualitative methods of interviews, on-site school visits and documentary reviews, were used to examine the possibilities for teachers to exercise professional agency within their working environment. Our findings show that teachers operate within a highly structured pedagogical environment characterised by a given curriculum, a centralised learning platform and training programme, and a set of dominant discourses around values and teaching practices. Teachers are expected to embrace a new professional identity in a process of discarding past experiences and adopting the new professional language given by the company's particular education model. In willingly embracing the company discourses and expectations, teachers' agency tends to be constrained. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0013-1911 1465-3397 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/00131911.2023.2228507 |
