Self-Organised Learning Environments : appropriation in an English secondary school context

Abstract

Self-Organised Learning Environments (SOLEs) have captured the imagination of some educators who welcome the suggestion that children can learn without adult intervention. While this is an intriguing prospect, it undermines the role of the teacher and does not necessarily resonate with the experiences of educators in English secondary schools. SOLE grew out of research in India and was developed in English primary schools; to date there is no literature regarding the appropriation of SOLE in English secondary schools. Although this research centres around SOLE itself, it extends to a wider consideration of innovative practice in a context that is centrally controlled through a comprehensive system of accountability. Activity Theory formed the theoretical framework for this research which was useful for explicating the complex school environment. The principle of contradictions was particularly suitable for understanding the challenges that teachers faced in SOLE implementation, which typically centred around the object. Two schools formed the cases in a comparative case study, where in depth consideration of each school facilitated understanding of local factors impacting on appropriation, while cross-case analysis provided insight into the wider cultural, historical and social influences. The findings confirm that the wider context within which schools operate is influential and this research contributes an analysis of the significance of the distribution of power within activity systems. In addition, the findings suggest that SOLE use can be sustainable in English secondary schools, albeit with some redefinition of the notion of sustainability to reflect the restrictions imposed by the wider context. Finally, this research offers some insight into the challenges of implementing innovations which are underpinned by epistemological assumptions that differ from the dominant activity; this has been characterised as the ‘epistemological fog’. Recommendations are made for practitioners who are interested in introducing SOLE, or similar innovations, to their own contexts.