Abstract
Education is characterized by volatility (V), uncertainty (U), complexity (C), and ambiguity (A). The reality of classroom practice shows that change management skills are highly important for both novice and experienced teachers to survive professionally in this context. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss a new set of skills that teachers need to develop during their ITE in order to overcome the constant change when working with a generation that is transforming rapidly the way to build relationships, work, and transfer knowledge. In terms of methodological approach, this chapter seeks theoretical entailment, analyzing teacher education from a new perspective and suggesting possible customized solutions from around the world.
TopVuca In Education
VUCA, short for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, (Bennett and Lemoine, 2014; Bolman and Deal, 2015; Rodriguez and Rodriguez, 2015) conflates four distinct types of challenges that demand different educational types of responses. The challenges can be external (political top-down decision, change in management approach, new educational strategy, children with special educational needs, etc.) or internal (teacher’s personality, ability to adapt, stage in career development, level of emotional intelligence abilities, etc.)
Key Terms in this Chapter
Critical Thinking: The objective analysis and evaluation of an issue in order to form a judgement.
Change Management: The process of managing change, a transformation of a person/an organization's current situation, goals, processes or technologies, with the purpose of controlling the transition to the new state and helping people to adapt to the new conditions.
VUCA: An acronym used to describe the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of general conditions and situations; in particular, it relates to how people view the conditions under which they make decisions, plan forward, manage risks, foster change and solve problems.
Reflexivity: the ability to examine one’s own feelings, reactions, and reasons for acting and how all these influence what one does or thinks in a situation.
Teaching Skills: A group of developed or developing teaching acts or behaviors intended to facilitate students learning directly or indirectly.
Emotional Intelligence: A group of abilities (perceiving, understanding, using and managing emotions) to join intelligence, empathy and emotions to enhance thought and understanding of interpersonal dynamics.
Survival Kit: A collection of items to help someone in a particular situation.
ITE (Initial Teacher Education): Pre-service courses that present students, before entering the classroom as a fully responsible teachers, the policies, procedures and provisions designed to equip them with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom, school and wider community.