Teachers' attitudes toward lesson study, perceived competence, and involvement in

lesson study: Evidence from junior high school teachers

Abstract

A considerable body of literature has shown the benefits of lesson study, but little

attention has been paid to the determinants of lesson study involvement. This study

examines how teachers’ participation in lesson study is affected by their attitudes

toward lesson study as well as their perceived competence. A multilevel logistic

regression model and a multilevel multinomial logit model are separately used to

analyse representative data on active junior high school teachers in Taiwan. The

results reveal that teachers’ positive attitudes toward self-development are

significantly correlated with complete participation as well as with partial

participation in the lesson study cycle, while teachers’ perceived competence only

relates to complete participation. This study not only contributes to developing

predictors of lesson study involvement but also provides valuable references for

policymakers

Keywords: attitudes toward lesson study; junior high school teachers; lesson study

involvement; perceived competence; Taiwan

Introduction

Lesson study, which refers to an approach to teachers' professional development (PD)

and learning, originated in Japan in the 1990s and has gradually been adopted in more

than eighteen countries (Akiba and Wilkinson 2016, Fernandez 2002). Teacher PD is

defined here as professional activities that teachers experience over their career

(Cruickshank et al. 1981). Lesson study has two distinct features that differentiate it

from traditional programs for teacher training. One is the process of collaborative

learning (Puchnera and Taylor 2006). Whether teachers are participating in face-to-

face workshops or distance education courses, PD activities are usually characterised

by independent learning through a one-sided ‘expert’ teaching model, even though

this expert-driven learning has started to change in many contexts. Collaboration,

however, a crucial element of lesson study, is an inherent component of the lesson

study cycle. Discussions on a given research lesson along with feedback from

colleagues are viewed as a learning model to deepen understanding of instructional

goals and improve teachers’ confidence (Chong and Kong 2012).

The other prominent trait of lesson study is that in it, teachers become active

learners. This differs from traditional forms of PD, which emphasise the transmission

of knowledge from instructors to recipients. In the process of lesson study, teachers

play an active role as knowledge constructors in designing, implementing and revising

the content of lessons rather than acting as passive recipients of extant knowledge

(Cheung and Wong 2014, Chong and Kong 2012). The goals of lesson study are to

foster teachers' PD as well as students' learning. A considerable body of literature has

shown that the benefits of a collaborative and learning-oriented PD implemented in

primary and secondary schools include not only an enrichment of teachers'

professional knowledge, an extension in the repertoire of teaching strategies and an

increase in efficacy (Cheung and Wong 2014, Lee 2008, Vangrieken et al. 2015); but

also tend to improve student behaviour and academic performance (Cheung and Wong

2014, Hadfield and Jopling 2016, Saito et al. 2015,Vangrieken et al. 2015). The

development of lesson study and the challenges facing teachers from different

countries are also well documented (Akiba and Wilkinson 2016, Bjuland and Mosvold

2015, Cheng and Yee 2012, Fernandez 2002, Matanluka et al. 2013). A considerable

body of literature has shown the beneficial effects of lesson study, but little attention

has been paid to the determinants of lesson study involvement. In countries where

lesson study is practised, the fact that lesson study participation is non-voluntary may

account for the underdevelopment of this issue. Drawing upon the cognitive

consistency and PD literature, it is likely that teachers' attitudes and perceived

capacity are linked to their participation in lesson study.

Taiwan presents an interesting profile for analysing this issue. Compared to other

countries that have implemented the lesson study approach, the lesson study cycle is

currently not mandatory in every school in Taiwan. The concept of lesson study was

initially introduced and discussed in 2012 there, as a means of promoting teacher PD.

In the past, individual teachers designed the majority of lessons. Only a few teachers,

particularly apprentice and new teachers, were typically assigned to teach prepared

lessons to their classes while other teachers collected data on what they observed and

provided feedback. This scheduled activity was conducted at least once a year. In

2014, the Ministry of Education (MOE) introduced an important element of lesson

study to the K-12 curriculum syllabus, namely, a program that would require all

teachers in elementary and junior and senior high schools to teach a lesson in public at

least once a year. In August 2018, it became mandatory to teach a research lesson in

front of other teachers. However, other elements of lesson study that have been
documented in literature (Chong and Kong 2012, Murata 2011, Perry and Lewis 2009,

Slavit and McDuffie 2013), such as teacher reflection on the research lesson and

subsequent revision of it, are not included in Taiwan’s educational policy on teacher

PD. According to the extant research (Akiba and Wilkinson 2016, Wu et al. 2016), a

complete lesson study cycle requires a considerable investment of time and a

comprehensive overhaul of traditional teaching methods, sometimes causing

resistance from teachers’ unions. The non-mandatory nature of the practice of lesson

study in Taiwan may alleviate the pressure imposed on teachers and improve the

acceptance of lesson study.

In this sense, Taiwan can provide rich information about how pre-existing attitudes

and perceived capacity lead teachers to participate in lesson study. In theory,

identifying potential factors related to participating in lesson study contributes to the

development of useful research from the perspective of exploring relevant

determinants. In practice, such results provide valuable reference points for policy

makers who support lesson study.

Lesson study and its development in Taiwan

In a cycle of lesson study, a group of at least three teachers from the same grade level

or subject participate in four specific stages (Fernandez and Yoshida 2004, Murata

2011). Stage 1 involves choosing a unit, considering students' prerequisite knowledge

of it and setting up a learning goal aligned with its content standards. At this stage,

discrepancies between old experiences and new knowledge should be clarified. Stage

2 involves collaboratively developing a lesson plan. During this stage, participants

work together to understand students' anticipated responses and create new practices

to achieve desired outcomes (Chong and Kong 2012). A detailed experimental lesson

(also known as a research lesson) has clear instructional goals and teaching strategies.
During stage 3, teachers observe the lesson and collect information on student

learning. When one group member teaches the research lesson to a class of students,

the focus of observation should be on student learning rather than on instructor

behaviour (Bjuland and Mosvold 2015). Despite the principle that instructors are not

meant to be the object of observation, opening themselves up to scrutiny nevertheless

creates a challenge (Puchnera and Taylor 2006). Stage 4 involves discussing and

reflecting on the lesson. Following the lesson, all group members meet to discuss it,

based on evidence, as well as to provide constructive feedback to the instructor in a

debriefing session. Members may develop a sense of joint responsibility for designing

an effective lesson (Chong and Kong 2012) and a deeper understanding of

pedagogical content should be developed in this stage. As a lesson constructor, the

instructor's duty is to modify the lesson, the unit and the method of instruction based

on the feedback provided by their peers and applying the revised lesson plan in a new

class then creates the next cycle.

In Taiwan, the four stages are conceptually divided into three steps: collaborative

lesson preparation (stage 1 and 2), open classroom observation (stage 3) and

discussion of completed lessons (stage 4). As stated earlier, however, only the first

two steps are mandatory which reflects the gradually advancing approach to teacher

PD proposed by policy makers. According to the K-12 policy, outstanding teachers

and schools will be rewarded and participation in a lesson study cycle can be regarded

as a step towards improving PD. It is worth noting that there is no penalty for non-

participation in lesson study. Therefore, scholars in Taiwan doubt whether school

leaders will follow the guidelines of the MOE and promote the approach (Yen 2017).

A local survey shows that about 31.7% of secondary school teachers participated in a

full lesson study cycle (complete participation) in 2014 while other teachers have
never or have only partially experienced a cycle (participation in one or two steps

only) (Liu 2017a).

Besides the low participation rate, the participation rate of lesson study varies across

counties. Initially, the implementation of lesson study was enthusiastically promoted

by education bureaus in certain special municipalities, differing from the pre-existing

model of the MOE centrally determining changes in teacher PD (Juan and Wang

2017). Municipalities such as Taipei and New Taipei city initiated the promotion of

lesson study in 2012 and became PD “pilot zones”. Following the trend, one year

later, education bureaus in eleven counties held a series of learning programs to

prepare teachers by enriching their relevant knowledge (Juan and Wang 2017).

However, the other eight county governments did not execute the policy until 2014.

This bottom-up and non-concurrent operation necessarily brings about a divergent

rate of participation in lesson study among different counties. Due to lesson study’s

non-mandatory nature, there are three options for teachers to choose. As a result, this

study not only explores which factors lead teachers to become fully involved in lesson

study but also analyses which factors predict partial participation, after accounting for

variations between counties.

Attitudes and participation behaviour

Cognitive consistency, which links pro-attitudinal behaviour with individual

behaviours, may provide a theoretical ground for the association between attitudes

toward and participation in lesson study. Cognitive consistency originated from

Festinger's (1957) cognitive inconsistency theory. When inconsistent cognitions bring

about an aversive state of arousal, psychological need produces a desire to reduce

cognitive inconsistency and to maintain a state of consonance. The hypocrisy

paradigm (Stone et al. 1994) provides a marked example for explaining how
participants change their behaviours to meet the needs of cognitive consistency. The

experiment let young adults advocate the importance of safe sex and made them

aware of their past failures to use condoms. The results revealed that the inconsistency

between the endorsed attitude (safe sex) and the participants’ unsafe past behaviour

affected their subsequent actions. To reduce dissonance and to revert to the state of

consonance, subjects in experimental groups purchased more condoms, consistent

with the initial endorsed attitudes, than their counterparts in control groups. According

to the theory, it is probable that after exposure to lesson study and awareness of its

beneficial effects, teachers will change their extant behaviours and adapt. As

suggested by Cobb et al. (1990), a cognitive challenge to teachers' pre-existing

thinking and practices may promote change.

Likewise, Farrell and Morris (2004) show that teachers who express antipathy

towards an educational scheme (in this case for performance-related pay (PRP)) tend

to apply for it reluctantly, if at all. As a majority of primary and secondary school

teachers hold antipathetic attitudes toward the principle of linking pay to performance

and doubt its impact, non or inactive participation became the most common response

to it. The results of their study provide evidence of teachers' negative attitudes,

leading to inactive behaviour. Local research using independent sample t tests find

that there are significant differences in scores on the impacts of lesson study between

participants and non-participants (Liu 2017a). Yet it remains unclear whether

recognition of the merits of lesson study relates to involvement in it.

Generally, teachers' motivations for PD are categorised into intrinsic (e.g., to satisfy

individual demands) and external motivators (e.g., to seek reward or to avoid

punishment) (Gorozidis and Papaioannou 2014,Thomson and Turner 2013). Although

both motivators may be influential, they are not equally so. It was found that teachers
with higher intrinsic motivation engaged more often and had stronger intentions of

participating in PD activities than those with externally regulated reasons (Gorozidis

and Papaioannou 2014,Jansen in de Wal et al. 2014). The same logic may apply to

teachers' reactions to lesson study. It is reasonable to assume that compared with

attitudes toward external recognition, positive attitudes toward self-development

would drive teachers to participate more actively. It is of note that reciprocal causation

between attitude and behaviour has been documented in psychological theories

(Bandura 1989, Gastil and Xenos 2010). In this study, attitudes are viewed as crucial

predictors. This study tentatively explores the role of teachers' attitudes toward lesson

study in shaping their participation behaviour.

Perceived competence and involvement in professional activities

Teacher perceived competence has multidimensional traits, but its basic components

consist of teaching and pedagogical skills, a sound knowledge base and clear

awareness of one’s role (Huntly 2008, Liakopoulou 2011). Numerous studies have

found that teacher perceived competence predicts students' performance (Sultan and

Shafi 2014) as well as the use of educational technology (Jahanban-Isfahlan et al.

2017). To date, no empirical studies have been carried out on the relationship between

teacher perceived competence and their levels of participation in PD activities.

Knowles, Holton, and Swanson (2015) determined that learners’ needs can be

attributable to the gap between learners’ current ability and their desired

competencies. Insufficient skills or knowledge may drive teachers to engage in

professional learning programs. However, the assumption of a deficiency arousing

learning needs is established based on independent learning through a unidirectional

expert-teacher learning model. The learning model is distinct from lesson study,

which emphasises mutual and collaborative learning. As such, the deficiency

perspective is not appropriately applied in collaboration-based learning activity.

Teaching in front of other colleagues is identified as one of the most difficult aspects

of lesson study for US teachers (Fernandez 2002). Although in lesson study observers

should focus on student learning, the reality of peer observation can place teachers in

a vulnerable position. Collaborative work makes it more noticeable if a teacher has a

lack of knowledge (DeLuca et al. 2017) and such teachers risk being exposed to

public criticism more than teachers in typical classes would. Anxiety and a fear of

being viewed as incompetent when lecturing in public have been found in Western as

well as Eastern countries (Chong and Kong 2012, Fernandez 2002, Puchnera and

Taylor 2006) and the unpredictability of student behaviour may increase the

likelihood of receiving negative feedback. The psychological stress surrounding the

potential revelation of incompetence can deter teachers with limited abilities from

participating in lesson study. In addition, a fear of confronting public criticism may be

even worse in a country like Taiwan where Confucianism values the importance of

shame. Fear of losing face or experiencing shame derived from the violation of moral

integrity is horrifying (Gao 2008). Hence, Nissilä et al. (2015) highlight teacher

competence as the basis of team teaching to combat inner social emotions such as

envy, contempt, and shame. Even though Taiwanese participants of lesson study

recognise its benefits in terms of improved teaching skills, mutual trust and cohesion

in the learning community, they also feel pressured due to the presence of group

members, principals and other teachers (Wu et al. 2016). Therefore, overall, teachers

with high levels of perceived competence are more likely to participate in lesson

study.

Earlier research found that teacher attitudes were positively associated with capacity

(Koksal 2013, Maskit 2011). Primary and secondary teachers who were at the stage of
competency building or growth had positive attitudes toward pedagogical change

(Maskit 2011). This may be because competent teachers view the implementation of

change as a necessary component of professional development and thus demonstrate

positive attitudes. Another study, which included student teachers, revealed a positive

relationship between attitudes toward the teaching profession and general teaching

competence (Koksal 2013). These results show that when an analytic model fails to

include teachers’ attitudes and perceived competence simultaneously, the impact of

one of the two factors may be overestimated. With this in mind, this study examines

how teachers’ attitudes toward lesson study as well as their perceived competence

affect their levels of participation in it. Two research questions are addressed using a

multilevel logistic regression model and a multilevel multinomial logistic model: (1)

whether teacher attitudes toward lesson study and perceived competence relate to

their complete participation it and (2) whether the two factors relate to partial

participation in lesson study after adjustment for teacher characteristics including

gender, education, work experience and county-level duration for implementation.

Method

Data and Participants

The sources of the data are the released files on secondary school teachers'

collaborative lesson study in Taiwan (Liu 2017b). A self-designed survey was

conducted to collect a nationally representative sample consisting of 2374 junior high

school teachers from 20 counties by using a stratified random cluster in January 2014.

The lesson study survey was designed to tap concepts regarding teacher attitudes

toward lesson study, their perceptions of the teaching profession, and their

characteristics. Teachers completed a self-administered questionnaire and mailed it

back to National Changhua University of Education, which developed a sampling

plan and carried out informed consent procedures. The academic ethics committee of

the Ministry of Science and Technology approved the whole procedure prior to data

collection.

The total number of respondents with incomplete values is 82. This study used a

listwise deletion to deal with missing values because less than 5% of the data was

missing, which was deemed inconsequential as has been asserted by Schafer (1999). A

total of 2292 participants were contained in the final analysis. Of the teachers, 728

teachers experienced complete participation, 846 experienced partial participation,

and the remaining teachers did not have any participation experience (see Table 1).

According to the statistics of MOE in 2014 (MOE 2018), approximately 87% of

junior high schools belong to the public school system, and the remainder are private

schools. Accordingly, the results represent the attitudes and perceived competence of

a majority of public school teachers.

Measures

Two predictors (attitudes toward lesson study and perceived competence), a nominal

dependent variable (involvement in lesson study), and four control variables (gender,

education, working experience, and county-level duration for implementation) are

included in this study. Attitudes and perceived competence scales were originally

designed by Liu (2017b). At an early stage of the design of the questionnaire, five

experts in the teaching PD field and five practicing junior high school teachers were

invited to check the face validity of these measures. The first questionnaire was sent

to more than 200 junior high school teachers. According to these returned

questionnaires, some inappropriate items were deleted to promote internal consistency

(Liu 2017b).

Attitudes toward lesson study: Attitudes toward lesson study questions were
composed of twelve items about the purposes and benefits of lesson study, including

improvement in the teaching profession, increased recognition of the teaching

profession, deeper understanding of subject knowledge, the promotion of student

performance, improvement in school reputation, and the pursuit of recognition from

superiors, (e.g., “To what extent do you agree that lesson study enhances the teaching

profession?”). The detailed operational definitions of attitudes toward lesson study

and perceived competence are presented in Appendix A. Response options on a five-

point scale ranged from 1 ‘strongly disagree’ to 5 ‘strongly agree’. After oblimin

rotated factor analysis, the percentages of variance show two distinct factors

explaining 74.7% of the item variance. The two factors on a basis of a theoretical

concept of PD are named separately as attitudes toward self-development and toward

the pursuit of external recognition. The reliability coefficients for the two factors were

0.95 and 0.89 (Cronbach’s alpha). The correlation coefficient between the two factors

was 0.48, showing a conceptual distinction between the two subscales.

Perceived competence: Perceived competence was measured using a 10-item scale,

which is in line with the crucial components of pedagogical competence stated earlier

(Huntly 2008, Liakopoulou 2011). Items of perceived pedagogical professional

competence encompass subject knowledge, instructional skills, student learning and

individual differences, instructional designs, teaching strategies, instructional

resources, and multiple assessment. The scale was rated in the same way as the 5-

point scale in attitudes toward lesson study. The factor analysis reveals that these

items are basically one dimension. The alpha coefficient for these items was 0.91.

Involvement in lesson study: Involvement in lesson study assesses where teachers

participate in lesson study. Three possible options include complete participation,

partial participation, and non-participation. The non-participants are viewed as the

reference category.

Control variables: Gender was recorded as 1 for male and 0 for female. Educational

attainment was seen a dummy variable with 1 for a master degree or above and 0 for

bachelor degree. Working experience was dichotomised into three years and above

and less than three years of teaching experience in order to distinguish novice teachers

from experienced teachers. County-level duration for implementation, measured as a

continuous variable (score ranging from 0 to 2), denoted the amount of time a county

government had been implementing lesson study. It is easy to calculate the score by

subtracting the timing of implementation in each county based on information

provided by Juan and Wang (2017) from 2014. The higher the value, the longer lesson

study has been practiced in a given county. The county-level mean is 0.8 with a

standard deviation of 0.7.

Data analysis

This study employs a multilevel logistic regression model and a multilevel

multinomial logit model, respectively, to examine the two research questions

(exploring whether teachers participate in lesson study completely or not, and whether

they are complete participants, partial participants or non-participants). Theoretically,

when teachers are nested within counties, using a generally logistic regression to

analyse clustered information not only violates the assumption of independence but

also understates standard errors, which can easily bias outcomes (Bryk and

Raudenbush 1992). Therefore, using a multilevel model to analyse data through

hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) is appropriate for reducing bias. If lesson study

participation varies significantly across counties, then a two-level analysis is needed.

In the process of sampling, schools were not sampled with probability proportional to

their size. Hence, this study does not assess variance at the school level, but estimates
the between-county variance.

Although results from the multilevel logistic regression model provide consistent

estimates of the parameters of the multinomial logit model, the former model involves

numerous comparisons. This study tends to use multinomial analysis to address the

second question due to such analysis being more efficient. In model 1, it does not

contain any predictors and control variables, except for the coefficient in the random

parts. In model 2, the effects of teacher attitudes, perceived competence and

covariates are examined. The teacher-level structure model for the comparison of

complete involvement and non-involvement is specified below. The same set of

predictors and control variables on the right-hand side is applied to the other pair,

such as partial involvement versus noninvolvement.

ln[pij(complete involvement)/pij(noninvolvement)] = β0j(c)+β1j(c)*(self-development)ij+

β2j(c)*(external recognition)ij + β3j(c)*(perceived competence)ij+ β4j(c)*(gender)ij +

β5j(c)*(education)ij+ β6j(c)*(working experience)ij

β0j(c) = γ00(c) + γ01(c)*(duration of implementation)+μ0j(c)

Where the left side denotes the probability of complete participation in lesson study

by teacher i belonging to county j relative to the non-involvement choice. The same

logic happens to the log-likelihood of choosing partial participation. In the multilevel

multinomial logistic analysis, the intercepts, β0j(c) and β0j(p) are allowed to vary across

counties, while the effects of the predictors and control variables are viewed to be

fixed across counties. The β0j(c) and β0j(p) serve as the dependent variables at the county

level. Where β0j(c)reflects average complete participation rates for county j; γ00(c) means
the average complete participation rate for all counties; and μ 0j(c) indicates the county-

level random components for unobserved effects. Additionally, the Pearson’s

correlation coefficients for the individual-level variables are below 0.48 (see

Appendix B). The medium strength of association means a lower risk of

multicollinearity; hence, all the variables used in the model are not centered on the

grand mean or group mean. The fixed effect demonstrated in the multilevel analysis

represent coefficients with robust standard errors that were calculated via an HLM

6.08.

Results

According to the descriptive results shown in Table 1, in-service teachers from junior

high schools in Taiwan generally hold positive attitudes toward lesson study.

Respondents agree that lesson study would give teachers more benefits of increased

collaborative ability (Mean=3.85) than the increase in school reputation (Mean=2.98).

In terms of perceived competence, on average, active teachers have the highest score

on subject knowledge, followed by instructional skills, while having the lowest score

on design of instructional activities. In a situation of non-mandatory involvement in a

lesson study cycle, the proportion of complete participants is nearly the same as that

of non-participants. Most respondents are experienced teachers rather than beginner

teachers with three years' working experience or less.

 [Table 1 near here]

Table 2 examines the relationship between attitudes toward lesson study as well as

perceived competence and complete involvement in lesson study after adjusting for

other covariates. The intercept-only model (Model 1) shows significant between-

county random variation in complete involvement (μ0j(c)=1.387), p<.001); county-level

differences account for about 30% of the variability in the odds of a teacher
completely participating in lesson study (intra-class correlation, ICC=0.297). The

county-level complete involvement rates range from a low of 11.5% to a high of

97.4% (data not shown).

In Model 2, attitudes toward self-development, perceived competence, and county-

level duration of implementation are among the most noticeable determinants

explaining complete participation. Teachers who recognise the purposes of lesson

study are more likely to be complete participants than non-participants

(exp(0.44)=1.55). Likewise, competent teachers are more likely to become completely

involved than less capable counterparts (exp(0.33)=1.39). The likelihood of complete

teacher participation in lesson study increases in counties that have implemented

lesson study for a longer period of time. ICC scores decline from the previous Model

(from 0.297 to 0.279), meaning that between-county differences are partly attributable

to these significant predictors.

 [Table 2 near here]

Table 3 reports the parameter estimates based on multilevel multinomial logistic

analyses. Scoring higher on self-development attitudes increases the chance of

complete involvement to 54 (exp(0.43)=1.54) as well as the chance of partial

involvement to 28 (exp(0.25)=1.28). The results regarding the relationship between

perceived competence and complete involvement in Table 3 are almost as same as

those shown in Table 2. However, perceived competence does not significantly

increase the probability of partial involvement in lesson study. When the analytic

model excludes perceived competence, the estimated coefficients of two dimensions

of attitude toward lesson study increase. Similarly, excluding attitude measurement

results in an increased effect on complete participation from 0.31 to 0.47 and in a

significant effect on partial participation from 0.10 to 0.17 (data not shown).
 This is evidenced by the significantly negative value of the coefficient for work

experience in Model 2 in terms of predicting partial participation. Teachers with more

than three years' working experience tend not to participate in PD activity. The

county-level duration of implementation apparently increases the chance of complete

involvement, but it does not affect the likelihood of partial participation.

The estimate of intercept variance of partial involvement is significant (μ0(p)=0.484),

suggesting there is significant variation in partial involvement among the twenty

counties. Although attitudes toward self-development and work experience contribute

to the county-level disparities in partial participation, and the ICC score slightly

reduces from 0.128 to 0.121, there are unobserved contextual factors that are

associated with partial involvement in lesson study and hence warrant future

exploration.

 [Table 3 near here]

Discussion

Even though the amount of research on lesson study has been growing, previous

studies have not examined the predictor of involvement in lesson study due to the fact

there is a mandatory requirement for lesson study involvement in most countries that

use this method. The non-mandatory rule for complete participation in lesson study in

Taiwan presents an interesting profile for analysing these pertinent questions. This

study, analysing a nationally representative sample, finds that active junior high

school teachers have two distinct attitudes toward lesson study. The merits of self-

development that lesson study should create are more highly valued than the notion

that it will lead to improved external recognition. Owing to collaboration-based traits

(Puchnera and Taylor 2006), most teachers believe lesson study implementation will

lead to increased collaborative ability. The finding that holding positive attitudes
toward self-development enhances the probability of complete participation in lesson

study corroborates the argument of cognitive consistency (Festinger 1957).

Regardless of the type of involvement in lesson study, teachers' positive attitude

toward self-directed PD is associated with higher rates of active participation. As

anticipated, the pursuit of external recognition has not been found to influence

involvement, which corroborates earlier results in motivation research (Gorozidis and

Papaioannou 2014, Jansen in de Wal et al. 2014). The result provides a valuable

contribution in understanding how to increase lesson study involvement especially

among voluntary participants.

It is worthwhile to note that, to some extent, collaboration conflicts with autonomy.

Methods of improving teacher professional learning in lesson study such as

discussions about its implementation and learning from colleagues' feedback may

affect teachers' autonomy (Puchnera and Taylor 2006, Vangrieken et al. 2015). When

the lesson study cycle involves instructional change, by nature it interferes with

teachers' freedom to preserve existing methods of instruction or not to modify their

preferred lesson. The threat that interdependence poses to professional autonomy may

prevent teachers from participating in discussion or reflecting. To resolve the paradox

and attract more teachers to lesson study, policymakers should expose teachers to

empirical evidence which demonstrates the benefits of lesson study so their attitude

toward supporting it will change. When teachers become aware of PD issues, they are

more likely to act on them (Slavit and McDuffie 2013).

It is believed that trainees with less competence are more likely to participate in

programs to satisfy their learning needs (Knowles et al. 2015) rather than in lesson

study. Numerous qualitative studies provide convincing explanations for this

phenomenon. The deeply rooted fear and anxiety of receiving public criticism and
being judged as incompetent (DeLuca et al. 2017, Lee 2008, Nissilä et al. 2015) may

explain why less competent teachers choose not to become complete participants. In

Taiwan, the pressure felt by the lecturer also comes from open observation in front of

other teachers (Wu et al. 2016). This study contributes to providing empirical results

to identify this hindrance factor that has been documented in earlier qualitative

research.

There are two promising ways to alleviate feelings of unease, with a view to

improving the participation rate of less competent teachers. On the one hand,

providing teachers who teach a lesson in public with a supportive environment where

members work effectively together, is essential (Chong and Kong 2012, Lee 2008).

No participant should be labelled as incompetent. Sharing pedagogical concepts and

subsequently modifying lesson content requires a friendly environment. On the other

hand, open classroom observation should put more emphasis on mutual learning than

supervisor-teacher interaction. Teachers in lesson study should not merely observe

what students learn in team members' classrooms but also learn how to emulate their

best and brightest peers. One of the characteristics of lesson study is the equal

relationship between participants (Lee 2008), which may reduce fears of teaching in

public.

Perceived capacity influences the likelihood of complete participation but does not

affect that of partial participation. Given that the first step of collaborative lesson

preparation in Taiwan does not require a high level of teacher competence (see

Section 4), it is a reasonable observation that there is no connection between

perceived competence and the likelihood of only participating in the first step of

lesson study. The fact that no penalty is imposed on non-participants increases the

validity of the above-mentioned argument. As such, there has been a call for the
establishment of a combination of performance assessment and involvement in

professional learning activities in Taiwan (Huang 2014).

As mentioned earlier, a positive relationship between attitudes toward lesson study

and perceived competence has been found, which is consistent with previous literature

(Koksal 2013, Maskit 2011). Failing to take the two variables into consideration

simultaneously causes the overestimated effect. When both dimensions of attitudes

are excluded, the insignificant impact of perceived competence on partial

participation becoming significant is specifically prominent. To avoid bias, the two

important elements of participation in lesson study need to be examined

simultaneously.

The results reveal that teaching experience is negatively associated with the

probability of partial involvement, while it is not related to complete participation.

Because of the cycle's time-intensive nature and the fact that all steps in the lesson

study cycle are closely related to each other (Akiba and Wilkinson 2016), teachers

with limited time might tend to experience only some of the steps relevant to them.

Empirical research in Dutch secondary schools shows that teachers are less likely to

believe that a topic is important to learn about the more years they have been teaching

(Louws et al. 2017). Another explanation for this discrepancy may be the

heterogeneous composition of experienced teachers with more than three years'

teaching experience; mid and late-career teachers have different learning needs.

Moreover, it is evident that counties that have implemented lesson study for a longer

time show a higher probability of complete participation. Taking Taipei and New

Taipei city for example, local education bureaus provide incentives to encourage

teachers to participate in entire lesson study cycles instead of merely joining in one or

two steps. As such, a higher rate of complete participation is reflected in these

counties that experienced earlier implementation.

Although this study advances the understanding of which factors predict teachers'

participation in lesson study under relatively free circumstances, these findings are

subject to several limitations. First, the composition of partial involvement is mixed.

It is difficult to identify whether attitudes toward self-development are positively

linked to one or two steps (e.g., joining in collaborative lesson preparation or open

classroom observation). Researchers in the future should collect data from each step

in the lesson study cycle and analyse the determinants of each step to understand the

barriers to participation in PD activity. Second, theoretically, there is a reciprocal

relationship between attitude and behaviour although the findings cannot infer

causality due to this study’s cross-sectional design. These results do, however,

provide ground for future research in the fields of lesson study determinants. In

addition, when motivation is taken as a crucial factor that affects teachers' learning

(Gorozidis and Papaioannou 2014, Thomson and Turner 2013) and teachers’

motivation and attitudes toward PD are taken to positively relate to each other

(Chienet al. 2012), failure to include these factors may influence the estimates of

attitudes toward self-development. Capturing a more comprehensive understanding of

the determinants of participation in lesson study awaits future research. Finally, to

confirm these findings, it is necessary to re-examine the relationship shown in this

study in other countries that do not have mandatory requirements of participation in

lesson study.

Conclusions and implications

This study is the first to empirically analyse the predictors of lesson study. The

findings show that junior high school teachers in Taiwan, who recognise the purpose

of lesson study as self-development and have high levels of perceived competence,

tend to fully participate in lesson study. Attitudes toward self-development are also

positively associated with the likelihood of partial involvement in lesson study. These

results provide numerous implications for future research and policy.

First, two critical predictors are found in this study, which have important

contributions to the theoretical development of lesson study involvement. Numerous

studies focus on exploring the positive and negative impacts that lesson study brings

about. However, to date, there has been a paucity of studies conducted on the

predictors of lesson study involvement. Future research should shift the focus from

the analysis of the consequences of implementing lesson study to the examination of

the potential causes of involvement in lesson study. Existing qualitative research

sheds light on the challenge of lesson study including time constraints, lack of

familiarity with the process, and isolationist culture (Akiba and Wilkinson 2016,

Puchnera and Taylor 2006), which may provide a clue about exploring the issue. To

understand the issue in a comprehensive way, teachers' motivation, attitudes,

competence, and school support and culture should be considered in future research.

Second, evidence-based results may change the attitudes of non-participants or

partial participants, which may form a virtuous circle between teachers' involvement

in a lesson study cycle, professional growth, and better educational outcomes. When

lesson study exerts its effects to improve teaching quality and student performance

(Hadfield and Jopling 2016, Saito et al. 2015, Vangrieken et al. 2015), the better

outcomes documented in lesson study literature provide powerful evidence for policy

makers to persuade teachers who are never exposed to lesson study or doubtful of the

function of involvement in PD activities. In terms of K-12 policy, these results convey

some pivotal messages to MOE in Taiwan. This study suggests that there are two

effective ways to increase current low rates of complete participation in lesson study:
shaping teachers' positive attitudes toward lesson study and developing their

professional competence.

Furthermore, according to lesson study literature (Akiba and Wilkinson 2016, Cheng

and Yee 2012) the overall implementation of lesson study does not occur in a majority

of countries. A meta-analysis study on training participation suggests that voluntary

training participation is associated with more positive training outcomes than

mandatory training participation (Gegenfurtner et al. 2016). Therefore, the findings

regarding the relationship between attitudes toward lesson study and perceived

competence and overall involvement in lesson study under the circumstances of

voluntary complete participation could have implications for many other contexts

beyond Taiwan. In a nutshell, this study provides authorities, which adopt a gradual

reform approach to teacher PD, with valuable information about how to overcome

barriers to lesson study participation. In particular, understanding the predictors

involved in lesson study may be relevant for policy makers to enhance the quality of

teaching and improve student performance.

Appendix A. Correlations among predictors and individual-level covariates.

Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6
1. Attitudes toward self-development 1
2. Attitudes toward external recognition 0.48** 1
3. Perceived competence 0.37** 0.23** 1
4. Gender 0.07** 0.05* 0.05* 1
5. Education -0.01 0.01 0.07** 0.08** 1
6. Working experience -0.09** -0.06** 0.06** -0.01 0.17** 1
N=2,292. **p < .01, *p < .05.
Appendix B. Measurement of attitudes toward lesson study and perceived competence
and its results of factor analysis.
Items Factor
Self-development External recognition
Attitudes toward lesson study: 12 items
1. Lesson study enhances the teaching profession. 0.88 -0.04
2. Lesson study increases recognition of teacher 0.78 0.11
professional competence.
3. Lesson study develops teacher collaborative ability. 0.90 -0.08
4. Lesson study advances the understanding of subject 0.86 0.01
knowledge.
5. Lesson study increases the subject knowledge. 0.84 0.02
6. Lesson study increases the familiarity with instructional 0.89 -0.05
strategies and multiple assessment.
7. Lesson study deepens the understanding of student 0.85 -0.01
learning in class.
8. Lesson study provides information about how to 0.85 0.01
improve instructional interactions between teachers and
students.
9. Lesson study improves student performance. 0.73 0.14
10. Lesson study improves school reputation. 0.08 0.89
11. Lesson study meets society's expectations . 0.11 0.88
12. Lesson study gains recognition from superiors (e.g., -0.10 0.91
education bureaus)
Perceived competence: 10 items
1. I am familiar with subject knowledge. 0.70
2. I understand how to teach students subject knowledge 0.76
clearly.
3. I understand student learning and the individual 0.77
differences among students.
4. I am able to design curriculum-based activities. 0.75
5. My instructional design takes students from different 0.76
backgrounds into consideration.
6. I am able to motivate students to learn. 0.77
7. I am able to use appropriate teaching strategies based on 0.80
instructional goals, textbook, and student traits.
8. I am able to take advantage of educational resources 0.74
 inside and outside school.
9. I am able to use multiple assessment methods to 0.73
evaluate students' learning and their performance.
10. I am able to adjust teaching methods according to 0.74
outcome evaluation.
N=2292.
Table 1. Descriptive statistics of the individual-level variables.
Variables Mean (SD) Percentage (frequency)

Attitudes toward self-development 0 (1.00)

Teaching profession 3.76 (0.86)
Recognized Profession 3.60 (0.90)
Collaborative ability 3.85 (0.83)
Knowledge structure 3.66 (0.91)
Knowledge base 3.69 (0.90)
Multiple assessment 3.81 (0.87)
Student learning 3.69 (0.93)
Teacher-student interaction 3.73 (0.89)
Student performance 3.52 (0.95)
Attitudes toward external recognition 0 (1.00)
School reputation 2.98 (1.04)
Social expectation 3.02 (1.04)
Recognition from superiors 3.13 (1.13)
Perceived competence on 0 (1.00)
Subject knowledge 4.09 (0.64)
Instructional skills 4.07 (0.63)
Individual differences 3.87 (0.68)
Curriculum 3.80 (0.72)
Design of instructional activities 3.67 (0.75)
Stimulation of learning motives 3.90 (0.70)
Teaching strategies 3.92 (0.67)

The use of educational resources 3.72 (0.76)

Multiple assessment methods 3.76 (0.76)
Reflection on learning outcomes 3.87 (0.71)

Involvement in lesson study

Complete involvement 31.8% (728)
Partial involvement 36.9% (846)
Noninvolvement 31.3% (718)

Gender
Male 35.0% ( 802)
Female 65.0% (1490)
Education
 Master degree or above 59.0% (1352)
Bachelor degree 41.0% ( 940)
Working experience
Three years and above 88.7% (2033)
Less than three years 11.3% ( 259)
Notes: Individual-level N=2292. County-level N=20.

Table 2. Multilevel logistic regression on involvement in lesson study.

Complete involvement versus noninvolvement
Model 1 Model 2
Coef. (SE) Coef. (SE)
Intercept -0.05 (0.27) -0.69* (0.28)
Individual-level predictors
Attitudes toward 0.44** (0.10)
self-development
Attitudes toward -0.01 (0.09)
external recognition
Perceived competence 0.33** (0.08)
Gender -0.17 (0.13)
Education 0.10 (0.16)
Working experience 0.05 (0.16)
County-level predictor
Duration of implementation 0.73** (0.23)
Random effects (μ0j) 1.387** 1.270**
Intra-class correlation 0.297 0.279
Notes: Individual-level N=1446. County-level N=20. **p < .01; *p < 0.05

Table 3. Multilevel multinomial logistic regression on involvement in lesson study.

Complete involvement Partial involvement
versus noninvolvement versus noninvolvement
Model 1 Model 2 Model 1 Model 2
Coef. (SE) Coef. (SE) Coef. (SE) Coef. (SE)
Intercept -0.03 (0.27) -0.73* (0.26) 0.25 (0.17) 0.46 (0.24)
Individual-level predictors
Attitudes toward 0.43**(0.09) 0.25**(0.07)
self-development
Attitudes toward 0.06 (0.09) -0.03 (0.08)
external recognition
Perceived competence 0.31**(0.08) 0.10 (0.06)
Gender -0.10 (0.12) -0.21 (0.12)
Education 0.10 (0.14) 0.06 (0.14)
Working experience 0.08 (0.14) -0.50**(0.14)
County-level predictor
Duration of implementation 0.73** (0.23) 0.39 (0.19)
Random effects 1.325** 1.181** 0.484** 0.451**
Intra-class correlation 0.287 0.264 0.128 0.121

Notes: Individual-level N=2292. County-level N=20. **p < .01; *p < 0.05