Interactive professionalism

The term “interactive professionalism” seems to capture much of what is essential in the relationships and communication necessary to foster reflective inquiry and the co-construction of understandings about professional practice. The term was introduced by Fullan and Hargreaves (1996), who use it to describe the kinds of collegial relationships they think educators need to develop in order to achieve sustained improvement.

The greatest problem in teaching is … how to create, sustain, and motivate good teachers throughout their careers. Interactive professionalism is the key to this. For us it entails:

• discretionary judgement as the heart of professionalism.
• collaborative work cultures.
• norms of continuous improvement where new ideas are sought inside and outside one’s setting.
• reflection in, on and about practice in which individual and personal development is honoured, along with collective development and assessment.
• greater mastery, efficacy and satisfaction in the profession of teaching.

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Interactive professionalism is based on the assumption that people need to find ways of communicating with each other that will support them to inquire into the effect their practices are having on student outcomes. Embedded in interactive professionalism is the belief that if professional learning is to be directed towards change for improvement, then the relationships between ISTEs and the individuals and communities with whom they work must be partnerships.

Interactive professionalism involves meaningful collaboration between stakeholders in all parts of the school system. This principle is supported by evidence that partnerships between educators and parents that are focused on student learning have a positive effect on learning outcomes (Alton-Lee, 2003). It is articulated in The Schooling Strategy, which calls for the development of a strong infrastructure to support all those who work within, or interact with, schooling.

All students deserve the best that the collective expertise, knowledge, and commitment of everyone involved in schooling can offer: teachers, specialist staff, families, whānau, principals, boards of trustees, communities, teacher educators, researchers, government, and government agencies.

Ministry of Education, 2005, page 7

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