Teacher Academies as a Cultural Learning Community

Abstract

This article discusses the limitations of professional development approaches that define teacher learning in terms of instructional effectiveness, performance, and measurable outcomes. It examines the Teacher Academies model, launched by the Istanbul Provincial Directorate of National Education in 2016 and expanded nationwide by the Ministry in 2023, within a conceptual framework. While professional learning communities are mostly conceptualized in the international literature as school-based, performance- and accountability-oriented arrangements, teachers' search for professional meaning, cultural positioning, and identity construction processes are addressed at a relatively secondary level. This study aims to reframe Teacher Academies as cultural learning communities where teacher learning is shaped through culture, identity, literacy, ethical participation, and collective meaning-making. In line with sociocultural learning theories and the community of practice approach, the article argues that teacher academies offer a unique community model that integrates teacher learning with its ethical, cultural, and human dimensions through their voluntary nature, out-of-school organization, and interdisciplinary content structure. It also argues that the collective relationship forms established with texts and cultural narratives in academies open up a broad field of practice that links literacy to teacher identity and meaning production. The study offers a theoretical contribution to expanding established concepts related to teacher communities and rethinking teacher learning in a context-sensitive manner.

Keywords

• Teacher Academies
• Teacher Identity
• Professional Learning Communities
• Sociocultural Learning
• Literacy

Supporting Institution

The authors declared that this study received no financial support.

Ethical Statement

This study is theoretical in nature and does not involve any human participants in the data collection process. Since no personal data were used, ethical approval was not required.

Kültürel Bir Öğrenme Topluluğu Olarak Öğretmen Akademileri

Abstract

Bu makale, öğretmen öğrenmesini öğretimsel etkililik, performans ve ölçülebilir çıktılar üzerinden tanımlayan mesleki gelişim yaklaşımlarının sınırlılıklarını tartışarak, 2016’da İstanbul Milli Eğitim Müdürlüğünce başlatılan, 2023’te Bakanlıkça ülke sathına genişletilen Öğretmen Akademileri modelini kavramsal bir çerçevede ele almaktadır. Uluslararası alan yazında profesyonel öğrenme toplulukları çoğunlukla okul temelli, performans ve hesap verebilirlik eksenli düzenlemeler olarak kavramsallaştırılırken; öğretmenlerin mesleki anlam arayışları, kültürel konumlanmaları ve kimlik inşa süreçleri görece ikincil düzeyde ele alınmaktadır. Bu çalışma, Öğretmen Akademilerini mekân, kültür ve insan temelli etkileşimler aracılığıyla öğretmenlerin aidiyet, değer ve mesleki kimliklerini birlikte ürettikleri kültürel öğrenme toplulukları olarak yeniden çerçevelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Sosyokültürel öğrenme kuramları ve uygulama toplulukları yaklaşımı doğrultusunda makale, öğretmen akademilerinin gönüllülük, okul-dışı örgütlenme ve disiplinler üstü içerik yapısıyla öğretmen öğrenmesini etik, kültürel ve insani boyutlarıyla bütünleştiren özgün bir topluluk modeli sunduğunu ileri sürmektedir. Ayrıca akademilerde metinlerle ve kültürel anlatılarla kurulan kolektif ilişki biçimlerinin, okuryazarlığı öğretmen kimliği ve anlam üretimiyle ilişkilendiren geniş bir pratik alan açtığı tartışılmaktadır. Çalışma, Öğretmen Akademilerinin öğretmen topluluklarına ilişkin yerleşik kavramları genişletmeye ve öğretmen öğrenmesini bağlama duyarlı biçimde yeniden düşünmeye dönük kuramsal bir katkı sunmaktadır.

Keywords

• Okuryazarlık
• Öğretmen Akademileri
• Öğretmen Kimliği
• Profesyonel Öğrenme Toplulukları
• Sosyokültürel Öğrenme

Supporting Institution

Yazarlar bu çalışmanın herhangi bir finansal destek almadığını beyan etmişlerdir.

Ethical Statement

Bu çalışma teorik bir nitelik taşımakta olup veri toplama sürecinde insan katılımcılar yer almamıştır. Çalışma kapsamında herhangi bir kişisel veri kullanılmadığından etik kurul onayı gerekmemektedir.

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