Kusanagi, Kanako; (2019) Recontextualization of professional development: bureaucratization of lesson study in a junior secondary school in Java. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Lesson study, a professional development approach originated in Japan 150 years ago, has been widely considered to be one of the best practices for collaborative professional development and practiced in over 40 countries. Since lesson study is considered an effective approach in improving student performances, it has been transferred as a remedy for shortcomings of schooling in foreign countries. There is an underlying assumption that when “the best practice” in Japan is transferred to another country, it will generate a similar effect and will improve the quality of schooling. However, there is a fundamental problem with such pedagogic transfer. This thesis discusses the problem of pedagogic transfer through examining the “recontextualization” of pedagogic practice or what happens when lesson study, which originated in Japan, was introduced into foreign contextual settings. Since pedagogic practice is socially constructed, the meaning of educational practice is always open to interpretation within the local setting of the receiving country. This is especially true for schools in developing countries which may operate differently from those of industrialized countries. This study provides a sociological analysis of recontextualization of lesson study based on the review of the literature and an ethnographic style study of its implementation in a Javanese school. Since professional accountabilities are negotiated and contested within existing social relations, the practice—lesson study—transforms as it moves between contexts, across sociocultural contexts and also between policy and practice. The purpose of this study is not on the applicability of findings themselves across contexts but to analyze conceptually how the sociocultural settings shape teachers’ practice and influence their choice of pedagogy. As explored in the thesis, due to the strong bureaucratic accountability, lesson study in the Javanese junior high school, SMP Sari, was implemented as a bureaucratic project.

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