Brent Theys
PhD-Candidate
Department of Educational Studies at Ghent University
Brent Theys
Status
I am Brent Theys. From October 2023 until the end of February 2024, I started as a (temporary) teachinng and research assistant in the Department of Educational Studies at Ghent University under the supervision of prof. dr. Ruben Vanderlinde. From March 2024 until September 2024, I worked as a scientific staff member within the organisation of the upcoming Master’s in Primary Education. Since the 1st of November 2024, I have been working as a PhD-research on a FWO-mandate for fundamental research under the supervision of prof. dr. Ruben Vanderlinde (UGent) and prof. dr. Noel Clycq (UAntwerp)
PhD project
Within my FWO-PhD-project, named: ‘Role Models in Education: A Social Network Perspective on Teachers’ Professional Learning’, I aim to address the critical gap in our understanding on the role of role models on teachers’ informal professional learning. While teacher’s professional learning through formal learning activities is well-documented, research on teachers’ informal learning is more limited. Actors in a teacher’s network are known to be significant sources of informal professional learning, Yet, despite claims in literature, there is a lack of theory around how role models can influence this informal learning. This need for theorization is even more needed for teachers with ethnic-culturally diverse backgrounds, as existing obstacles in formal learning processes call for informal processes. Existing theoretical and methodological shortcomings in the available literature prevent an in-depth understanding of the role of role models on teachers’ informal professional learning, especially for ethnic-culturally diverse teachers. From a theoretical point of view, this project will lead to much-needed theorization on role modelling in a professional context and create an integrated theoretical framework on how and why role models can play a role in teacher’s informal professional learning. From a methodological point of view, this project will lead to an innovative methodological design that allows for the use of social network techniques in research on role modelling in the professional context.
Background information
I received my educational Bachelor’s degree in English and Roman Catholic religion from Thomas More college in 2020, followed by my Master’s degree in Training and Education Sciences from the University of Antwerp in 2022. I combined this master’s degree with an FSW-Honours program on educational inequality. Since then, before I started working in the Department of Educational Studies, I have been active as a guest lecturer in an educational bachelor program and a secondary school teacher in the subjects of English and Roman Catholic religion.
Department of Educational Studies | Biblio UGent | ResearchGate