Chapter 9: Building Knowledge and Capacity: Highlighting the Professional Agency of Teachers

We find ourselves in a complex time for teachers, characterised by increased workload, parental demands, and challenging student behaviour. Teachers are leaving the profession and schools face teaching shortages as student numbers increase. The implications of the current educational situation are multifaceted, and oftentimes those offering solutions to the problems are from outside of the teaching profession. The conversation around context in educational settings is missing, and simplistic answers such as production of pre-prepared lesson materials, designed for mass appeal, are proposed. Drawing from a large study of early years educators across two Australian states, we contend that the answer lies outside of external ‘saviours’ but can and should be found from within the education profession. Data elicited from the educators who participated in a bespoke literacy professional learning programme demonstrated that an investment in building the knowledge and capacity of teachers is needed. Insights revealed that lessons must be matched to the learners and the settings in which they are delivered. An understanding of context is imperative.