The use of personal knowledge management initiatives by teachers in Poland. Contribution to the discussion

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The use of personal knowledge management initiatives by teachers in Poland. Contribution to the discussion

Irena Figurska, Grzegorz Piekarski, Ewa Piotrow

Abstract

The article discusses the issues related to personal knowledge management (PKM) and initiatives undertaken in this area by a professional group of teachers. These issues are still insufficiently researched, and thus cognitively interesting and requiring further exploration. The aim of the study was to determine the level of teachers' initiative in the area of personal knowledge management, with reference to the relationships between the variables characterizing the surveyed teachers, such as: gender, age, seniority, type of educational institution and the position held. In the study, conducted by means of a diagnostic survey method among 169 professionally active teachers, the author's Questionnaire of Personal Knowledge Management Initiatives was used. The obtained research results were statistically analyzed using the PSPP program, Gnu General Public License Version 3. The data were processed using the ANOVA analysis of variance. The applied method of standard deviations showed that the largest group of the surveyed teachers presents an average level of initiative in the field of personal knowledge management. Based on the obtained results, it can also be concluded that: women, teachers with the longest seniority, from the oldest age group, holding managerial positions; employed in kindergartens and educational non-school institutions, are characterized by a higher level of initiative in the field of personal knowledge management. The obtained research results are of practical importance both for teachers and for the organizations in which they work. They may also contribute to the introduction of new solutions in the education of future teachers at the university level, as well as to the organization of training and workshops improving and developing personal knowledge management skills among professionally active teachers.

Keywords; knowledge, personal knowledge management, initiative in personal knowledge management, teacher.

Introduction

In a knowledge-based economy, human competitiveness on the labor market is determined primarily by knowledge possessed and skillfully used in practice. Although it has always been a factor of fundamental importance for human development and security, the increase in awareness of this fact came along with the change in the conditions in which people had to live and work. Constant and often unpredictable changes (social, economic, technological, etc.) taking place in the human environment mean that achieving success in such a turbulent environment requires employees to react quickly to changes, make rational, knowledge-based decisions and actions.

Recognizing knowledge as a strategic resource of a knowledge worker entails the need to manage it appropriately using methods, tools and initiatives tailored to the needs, skills and capabilities of the individual and the needs of the organization in which he works.

An employee who wants to become a good manager of his own knowledge must answer a number of questions, such as: which knowledge is worth developing, protecting and preserving, where is this knowledge located, how to translate knowledge into wise decisions and effective actions, how to embed knowledge in work products as well as which initiatives facilitate the management of personal knowledge (PKM). In other words, it is necessary to define what, why and how should be done so that the knowledge would bring its holder and the environment as many broadly understood benefits as possible. For this reason, it is worth paying special attention to the initiatives of personal knowledge management used by teachers. After all, in this profession, as in no other, there is a responsibility for preparing a young person for professional and social functioning in a society of knowledge and market economy.

Theoretical background

Personal knowledge management. Personal knowledge management as a management concept was created at the intersection of organizational knowledge management, Personal Information Management, cognitive psychology, philosophy, management and communication sciences (Pauleen, 2009; Mittelmann, 2016).

® managing and maintaining personal knowledge to enrich an individual knowledge database to retrieve knowledge time-effectively so as to use, re-use and mobilize it for the benefit of the person, the organization and the community (Jain, 2011);

© intertwined macro-competency that involves cognitive, metacognitive, information, social and learning competencies (Cheng 2015);

® process of creating, sharing, and storing knowledge acquired by individuals for the sake of improving individual's ability of problem solving, decision making, co mpetence and innovation (Tohiye & Garfield, 2017).

Personal knowledge management refers to the knowledge, experience, skills and competences of each knowledge worker, including teachers, who, due to the specific role of the school as an institution, are expected to meet new challenges. Therefore, it is the teacher as th e organizer of the social learning environment that should, especially in a situation of extremely rapid and often unprecedented social transformations, accept different ways of implementing knowledge management processes.

One of the most frequently quoted classifications of knowledge management processes in the literature, applicable to both organizational and personal knowledge, is their division into: locating knowledge, acquiring it, developing it, sharing it, as well as using and preserving it (Probst 2002).

Locating knowledge consists in identifying sources of knowledge valuable for the employee, which may be: the human mind, files on a computer, personal records, other employees, experts, publications, consulting companies, the Internet, etc. In the process of locating knowledge, various methods of its visualization may be helpful, such as: knowledge maps or contact books (Almeida & Kogut, 1999; Wagner 2013; Figurska, 2019).

When a person does not have the knowledge necessary to make specific decision s and actions, it can be obtained from the broadly understood environment or developed. Acquisition of knowledge takes place through e.g., using the Internet, participating in conferences, trainings, courses, workshops, reading professional publications, etc. (Milton, 2007; Cherukunnath & Singh, 2022). Developing knowledge leads to its deepening and broadening, thanks to which the employee can meet the requirements set before him, effectively solve emerging problems and achieve the assumed goals. This process is implemented through: learning within the formal education system, working together with others, observing specialists at work, solving problems, studying professional literature, learning by trial and error, learning in a self-study group, learning "by the way", etc. (Figurska, 2012; Kvam, 2023, Kim, 2022).

Knowledge sharing consists in transferring it to other people using various means (conversation, training, lecture, joint work, etc.), tools (including ICT) and channels (formal and informal). Implementation of this process requires time, mutual trust and creating conditions enabling conversation, discussion and exchange of views. It is widely recognized that this is the most difficult knowledge management process to implement (Probst 2002; Zheng, 2017; Liu 2020; Yeboah, 2023).

The use of knowledge includes making rational decisions and actions based on the knowledge possessed and its externalization in the form of work effects, such as: products, services, procedures, standards, etc. Knowledge preservation is a process that enables people to benefit from past experiences. Its implementation requires a systematic selection of information and knowledge coming from the environment in terms of their usefulness for the individual, possibilities and ways of storing and updating them (Probst 2002; Carraway, 2011; Janah & Salim, 2018).

The described PKM processes are closely related. The degree of implementation of each of them separately affects the implementation of other processes and the effectiveness of personal knowledge management. Only effective personal knowledge management can contribute to the achievement of the individual's goals in the area of knowledge and professional development, and consequently to the success of the entire organization/institution. After all, personal knowledge becomes organizational knowledge in the course of operationalization and accumulation (Zhang, 2009).

The justification for personnel knowledge management are the benefits that the implementation of this concept brings to knowledge workers both in terms of their potential and the results of their work (Dalkir, 2005; Blaszczuk 2004; Pauleen, 2009; Cheong & Tsui, 2010; Jain, 2011; Figurska, 2015).

Personal knowledge management helps employees better cope with information overload, increases the efficiency of decision-making and actions, and facilitates problem solving.

It enables employees to constantly develop and contributes to the increase of their competences, facilitates their access to sources of knowledge, which saves time related to the acquisition of knowledge and increases the efficiency of their work. PKM has a positive effect on the creativity of individuals and their self-esteem, leads to selffulfillment and increases the joy of work, and also increases the competitiveness of people who skillfully manage their own knowledge on the labor market. A higher level of individual awareness resulting from the possession and management of knowledge also means a greater scope of individual freedom and capabilities.

Personal knowledge management enables people to actively and effectively participate in various markets (financial, real, labor), so they function better in society and the economy, and also reduces the level of uncertainty in risky ventures. For this reason, it can be said that PKM has a positive impact on the broadly understood safety of the individual, including the economic one.

Many factors determine the success of personal knowledge management. The most important ones include the awareness of the role of PKM for the competitiveness of an individual in a knowledge-based economy, as well as having knowledge about the concept of PKM. In particular, initiatives enabling effective and efficient implementation of personal knowledge management processes. Therefore, the subject of subsequent considerations in this article are PKM initiatives.

Personal knowledge management initiatives. Personal knowledge management initiatives are all actions taken by an individual aimed at achieving the goal(s) of personal knowledge management. They refer to any deliberate interventions intended to enhance the distinctive capability of the individual through a systematic approach of explicating, sharing and leveraging knowledge (Chua & Goh, 2008). PKM initiatives affect how personal knowledge is created, shared and embedded in the products of human labor. They are attempts to make practical use of knowledge, to accomplish objective of the individual through the unique connection of the man, technology and content (on the basis of: Davenport & Prusak, 1998). It can be said that PKM's initiatives include actions taken on knowledge and on the basis of possessed personal knowledge. Their analysis reveals a set of patterns of used solutions that can be adapted to solve new problems.

The aim of the research was to determine the level of initiative of teachers in terms of their degree of involvement in undertaking initiatives related to personal knowledge management, and then to check whether gender, age, seniority, type of educational institution, position held may significantly differentiate the level of initiative in the management of teachers' personal knowledge.

The research was conducted among 169 teachers. 86.4% of the respondents were women and 13.6% men, which is a fairly accurate reflection of the sex ratio in the population of Polish teachers, the vast majority of whom are women. There is a predominance of participants from the age group defined in developmental psychology as middle adulthood (46 years and over: 53.3% of respondents), where, according to psychologists, cognitive development in this age group is characterized not only by the stabilization of achievements, but also by their development (Olejnik, 2020).

Tab. 1

Characteristics of the studied group

* The Polish education system is also made up of non-school institutions employing teachers. These include: pedagogical libraries, psychological and pedagogical counseling centres, school dormitories, youth hostels.

Source: authors' research

In order to collect the research material, the authors used a diagnostic poll method, with the Personal Knowledge Management Initiatives Questionnaire (PKMI) developed by th e authors.

The construction of the Questionnaire is based on the assumptions of the model of Probst, Raub and Romhardt (2002), in which six knowledge management processes were adopted: locating, acquiring, developing, sharing, using and preserving knowledge. The PKMI questionnaire consists of 27 statements allowing to determine the degree of the examined teacher in relation to individual PKM processes. Next to each statement, there is a scale from 1 to 5, which determines the frequency of using a given type of personal knowledge management initiatives (from definitely not to definitely yes). The research participant responds to each statement by ticking a self-selected number that most accurately describes the actions performed in real life. The overall score of the respondent is the sum of the points obtained from all diagnostic statements, which can take a value from 27 to 135 points.

Statistical analyses were conducted using the PSPP program, Gnu General Public License Version 3. Data was compiled using the ANOVA analysis of variance, which was preceded by the Levene test of variance homogeneity. A significance level of p<0,05 was adopted, which indicated the existence of statistically significant differences or dependencies .

Results

The Table 2 presents initiatives that teachers can take to improve the personal knowledge management process. The results indicate that the teachers participating in the research most often take part in trainings/workshops and look for information about projects in the area of their own interests. They least often cooperate with research centers and universities and conduct their own research.

Tab. 2

Teachers' indications regarding the frequency of PKM initiatives

Source: authors' research

The research results also allowed to distinguish three levels of teachers' initiative due to the degree of their involvement in undertaking personal knowledge management initiatives. For this purpose, the method of standard deviations was used. The entire sample was divided into groups with a low, average and high level of initiative, where the following criterion was used to distinguish them:

• the average level of initiative was considered to be the mean value plus/minus one standard deviation (M - 98,49; SD - 15,03);

• a low level of initiative was considered to be a value lower than the mean value by one standard deviation (<83,46);

* a high level of initiative was considered to be a value higher than the mean value by one standard deviation (>113,52).

The results are presented in Table 3.

Tab. 3

Descriptive statistics of teachers' levels of initiative in PKM

Source: authors' research

The first level of initiative indicates a low degree of involvement in undertaking PKM initiatives. In this group of teachers (N=27), the average number of points per initiative ranges from 2.04 to 3.07. This indicates that most initiatives are not applied by them. It is worth noting that the use of some of the PKM initiatives included in the study is part of the teacher's work and is part of the professional duties (participation in meetings or training). Therefore, the achieved low score indicates a lack of or low involvement in the application of other initiatives. On the one hand, a low level of initiative allows teachers to perform their work at an acceptable level, but on the other hand, it does not indicate a willingness to develop.

The second level of initiative is the average degree of involvement in undertaking PKM initiatives. This level is represented by the largest group of respondents - 111 people. Among the teachers included in this group, the average number of points per PKM initiative ranges from 3.11 to 4.19. This level of initiative indicates that teachers use initiatives not only required by regulations and duties, but also, to a greater or lesser extent, other initiatives. The average level of initiative allows teachers to do their job well, but it does not significantly increase their competitiveness on the labour market.

The third level of initiative means a high degree of involvement in undertaking PKM initiatives. This level is represented by the 31 teachers participating in the study. The average number of points per PKM initiative among the respondents included in this group ranges from 4.22 to 4.78. This proves that teachers use many different initiatives that enable the effective implementation of PKM processes. A proactive attitude in using PKM initiatives gives teachers the opportunity to work at a level that goes beyond the applicable standards, building their high competitiveness on the labour market. The high level of initiative of such teachers makes them perceived as "teachers with passion".

Tab. 4

The analysis of the results obtained by the respondents by gender (Table 4) shows that women (N=164) compared to the group of men (N=23; M=92.22; SD=16.90) achieved a higher level of initiative in PKM (M=99.48; SD=14.53)

Tab. 5

Teachers' initiative in PKM by age

Source: authors' research

The results presented in Table 5 indicate that the group most often using initiatives in their personal knowledge management strategies (PKM) are teachers aged 46 and over (N=90; M=101.56; SD=14.82). Statistically significant differences concerned the results obtained by teachers from the oldest group and teachers from the 36-45 age group (N=53; M=95.68, SD=15.50) and the group in the 25-35 age group (N=21; M=93.24, SD=11.82)

Tab. 6

Teachers' initiative in PKM by seniority

Source: authors' research

Seniority is a factor that significantly differentiates teachers' initiative in managing personal knowledge (Table 6). The analysis of averages indicates the highest frequency of taking initiatives among teachers with the highest seniority, exceeding 16 years of activity in the profession (N=116; M=101.01, SD=14.51) and significantly lower among teachers indicating seniority in between 11 and 15 years (N=22; M=93.73, SD=17.37) and between 6 and 10 years of service (N=15; M=90.47, SD=10.16).

Tab. 7

Teachers' initiative in PKM by type of educational institution

Source: authors' research

The results presented in Table 7 indicate that teachers working in kindergartens (N=13; M=107.23, SD=10.70) and in non-school institutions - pedagogical libraries, psychological and pedagogical counseling centres, school dormitories, youth hostels (N=11; M=107.00, SD=15.00) - are characterized by greater PKM initiative in comparison with primary and secondary school teachers.

Tab. 8

Teachers' initiative in PKM by position

Source: authors' research

The analysis of the results (Table 8) shows a statistically significant dependence. Hence, it can be assumed that performing managerial functions may contribute to a higher level of initiative of personal knowledge management (N=31; M=110.10; SD=12.16) compared to employees who do not perform such functions (N=138; M=95.88; SD=14.40).

Discussion

The research conducted among 169 professionally active teachers shows that teachers more often undertake initiatives related to the performance of their duties and resulting from the specificity of their work (imposed from the outside) than initiatives resulting from independent decisions regarding their own development. The PKM initiatives most often undertaken by teachers are: participation in trainings and workshops, updating knowledge (searching for information on undertakings related to the area of interest) and participation in meetings, conferences and seminars.

The largest group among the surveyed teachers (N=111) presents an average level of initiative in the field of personal knowledge management, which allows them to perform their professional duties well, but without increasing their competitiveness on the labor market.

It should be noted that the management of personal knowledge by teachers is not a new issue, but still insufficiently researched. Different approaches to this concept and different areas of research can be found in scientific publications.

Sudibjo and colleagues (2022) raised the issue of empowering personal knowledge management among teachers in Indonesia. They noticed that there i s a gap in knowledge regarding the contribution of PKM at the individual level within organization. To address the gap mentioned authors investigated the combined effects of transformational leadership, information and communications technology (ICT) literacy, and organizational learning toward teachers' PKM in the context of school in Indonesia. Their research confirmed that ICT literacy, transformational leadership, and organizational learning culture positively affect PKM. This is also confirmed by Tippins (2003), who emphasized that more and more teachers (researchers) became aware of the need to adopt a culture based on continuous learning, so that teaching programs could be periodically updated to meet changing demands.

Cheng and colleagues (2015), emphasizing that supporting the sustainable development of teachers as professionals is a critical issue in teacher education, proposed a curriculum framework in pre -service teachers training program to develop teachers' personal knowledge management compete ncy. Mentioned above framework "provides pre-service teachers with different degree of opportunities to carry out instructional design, lesson implementation and reflection through e-learning and collaborative action research activities".

Alamen & Tasir (2015), investigating to what level secondary school teachers manage their knowledge in Malaysia, found that they most often use practices related to retrieving information while the least frequently use practices related to presenting information. Mentioned authors concluded that teachers spend more time in collecting information than in sharing this information.

Yang and colleagues (2018), based on the four knowledge transformation modes of the SECI model and PKM's processes, proposed teachers' personal knowledge management tools and application strategies. On the other hand, Cui and colleagues (2019) indicated that in the era of big data, teachers should continuously transform knowledge into the ability of self-sustainable development, constantly improve ourselves, and build up personalized knowledge.

In another article (Wang 2018) an evaluation index system for college teachers' knowledge management was put forward, thanks to which the levels of KM presented by them were evaluated. The results of the study showed that academic teachers achieved the highest level in the area of knowledge acquisition, the average level - in the area of knowledge organization and its development, and the lowest level - in the area of knowledge innovation.

Mohammadi Gheshlsgh and Seyed Abbaszadeh (2022) provided a model for promoting the abilities of personal knowledge management in teachers, in which the m ain components of PKM include: "creating communication and retrieval skills in oneself" and "the ability to analyze and present the information". Mentioned authors emphasized the importance of the main components and identified dimensions of teachers' PKM for the application of learning skills in acquiring knowledge. Therefore, these factors should be included in teachers' educational program in order to promote their abilities in the field of personal knowledge management.

Abdullah and Talib (2012) examined the possibility of enhancing teaching and management performance based on personal knowledge management techniques. They found that PKM skills were related to individual-level knowledge acquisition, storage, dissemination and application, as well as collective-level teaching cooperation and knowledge sharing. Research conducted by the aforementioned authors also showed that te achers' pedagogical knowledge was not well managed because their PKM skills were affected by time-wasting.

Cheng (2015) emphasized the importance of empirical studies on PKM as they "provide frameworks for teacher educators to articulate how pre-service teachers exercise their PKM competencies to organize retrieved information, and internalize them into their pedagogical knowledge via analysis or collaboration".

It seems that the issue of personal knowledge management among teachers analyzed by other authors proves that our project fits well into this research area, filling a certain gap that we discovered. Of course, this is a kind of contribution to further in-depth discussion, research, and comparative analysis that would include a larger sample of teachers, not only from Poland, but also from other countries.

Conclusions and recommendations

Reflections from the conducted research among professionally active teachers give rise to the development of several practical recommendations regarding the initiative of the mentioned professional group. First of all, the fact that seniority is positively correlated with the level of initiative of teachers indicates that initiative increases with the development of teachers' knowledge and experience. Therefore, it is worth promoting mentoring among teachers based on partnership between more and less experienced teachers. Mentoring enables knowledge sharing (e.g., about PKM initiatives), which leads to the development of knowledge and experience of the mentored person . It is also proposed to organize workshops for teachers in the field of personal knowledge management and self -management in time. As a result, the possibilities of practical application of rationally selected PKM initiatives may increase, which will undoubtedly be beneficial for teachers, school (as an institution, organization), students and other stakeholders. management teacher polish personal knowledge

It also seems reasonable to design a course during pedagogical studies in which students learn the essence of personal knowledge management in the theoretical and practical dimension (Piekarski, 2016).

The study shows that teachers (to a greater or lesser extent) use PKM initiatives - even if they are not aware that the actions taken are part of personal knowledge management. However, this concept requires a comprehensive approach. From comprehensive knowledge about PKM, identification of goals to be achieved, through knowledge of PKM initiatives, the ability to determine the degree of usefulness of initiatives, to monitoring the effects of using initiatives, and in the case of unsatisfactory results - identifying obstacles and barriers in order to eliminate them. In addition, a comprehensive approach to PKM requires the teacher to take into account the conditions of the broadly understood environmen t, including the needs of the institution and its stakeholders, actions taken by other teachers, family situation, legal regulations, and many other factors.

Personal knowledge management is a process that never ends for a teacher as a knowledge worker. Therefore, achieving the assumed goal of PKM becomes the starting point for identifying further goals that the teacher wants to achieve in the area of knowledge and knowledge management .

Limitations and future directions of research. The main limitation of the conducted study is the size of the research sample, hence the transfer of the obtained results to the entire population of teachers may be subject to error. Therefore, further research on the initiative of teachers in the area of personal knowledge management on a larger group of participants is planned. It is also planned to conduct a series of interviews with teachers in order to deepen the knowledge on the determinants of teachers' initiative.

References

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