Expansive Learning in Teacher Education

  • 5,188

    Total Downloads

  • 47k

    Total Views and Downloads

Download PDFDownload EPUB

Submit your idea

You will be redirected to our submission process.

Submit your manuscript summarySubmit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

Teacher education is currently the target of public and policymakers' pressure to provide teachers with knowledge and skills that will enable today's children to participate in a global, rapidly changing and competitive world. Acknowledging that education has a key role in an individual’s ability to exploit their potential for a meaningful, satisfying life and contribution to society, traditional work methods and knowledge transmission models are no longer sufficient. Groundbreaking yet sustainable innovations are sought after.

Expansive Learning is a term coined by Engeström to describe creation of new professional knowledge, as opposed to learners' acquisition of existing knowledge previously unknown to them. Expansive learning involves a three-pronged change: transformed practices, novel theoretical conceptualizations, and empowered sense of agency. Expansive learning is a social and not merely an individual one, and it transforms all aspects of the learning organization's professional activity: its vision, goals, practices and products.

There is often a trigger for expansive learning because existing organizations are often unable to react to an acute problem or changing reality, leading to the requirement of a new model of action. This is very true of the state of teacher education today. Expansive learning often occurs in heterogeneous groups of professionals who cross organizational boundaries and collaborate to find new solutions, helping to find fresh viewpoints, unfamiliar conceptualizations and work habits.

Learning develops gradually in cyclic processes in the learning organizations' `proximal development zone'. Collaboration between different people leads to the construction of new knowledge that is formed and expanded whenever it is implemented and experienced. A new circle opens when existing, stable achievements, which were formed in previous cycles, are called into question.

The Expansive learning process has seven typical components: (1) Questioning (2) Analysis (3) Modelling the new solution (4) Examining and testing the new model (5) Implementing the new model (6) Reflecting on the process (7) Consolidating and generalizing the new practice. These components are not a fixed sequence and are not always all present in expansive learning processes. The process is fraught with misunderstandings, gaps, conflicts, and unexpected outcomes. It is heavily influenced by the personal characteristics of the participants, their existing knowledge goals, their values, emotions and habits. The outcome is not guaranteed, and it is quite possible that disagreements and other constraints will lead to the failure of the entire process. However, these failed processes may become a source of inspiration for others.

This Research Topic's call is directed at teacher educators who are formally involved in teacher preparation or professional learning. The collection of peer-reviewed articles will publish original empirical studies documenting expansive learning at the organizational level and beyond, i.e., descriptions of projects or initiatives that transformed accepted practices as well as conceptualizations, that may inspire other organizations to learn from and try. As a whole, this Research Topic will contribute to the collective effort to provide teacher educators, teachers and students with the education they need.

Keywords: Expansive Learning, Teacher Education, Professional Development, Teacher Educators, Educational Change

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and they fall under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

      In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Impact

  • 47kTopic views
  • 39kArticle views
  • 5,188Article downloads
View impact