Abstract
A lack of common understanding of what constitutes out-of-field teaching can make it difficult to assess the extent and impact of out-of-field teaching. This project draws on existing research findings to ascertain a definition for teaching out-of-field that can be translated across jurisdictions, and which can inform policy, practice and research. Funded by the Victorian Department of Education and Training, the project uses the state’s policy context to develop a definition of out-of-field teaching for secondary schools in Victoria. We conducted a review of the literature (2010–2020). Definitions of what constitutes an in-field and out-of-field teacher were developed based on criteria derived from the literature. For external validation, these definitions were presented to experts to ascertain usefulness, applicability and implications in the Victorian context. The outcome is a multi-faceted definition that provides a measure of alignment, risk and capability. Suggestions are provided for how the definition can be ‘put to work’ as a tool for managing the out-of-field phenomenon.
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Acknowledgements
This research was funded by the Victorian Government Department of Education and Training in 2020. We thank the experts who participated in the interviews to inform this work.
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Hobbs, L., Campbell, C., Delaney, S., Speldewinde, C., Lai, J. (2022). Defining Teaching Out-of-Field: An Imperative for Research, Policy and Practice. In: Hobbs, L., Porsch, R. (eds) Out-of-Field Teaching Across Teaching Disciplines and Contexts. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9328-1_2
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