Teacher Agency Professional Development And School Improvement

Highlighting the role of teachers in school change, Teacher Agency, Professional Development and School Improvement explores the important related issues of professional identity, teacher self-efficacy, leadership and autonomy in the context of contested improvement agendas. Providing analytical frameworks and practical models, this book: Offers examples of projects, programmes and narratives to illustrate the role of teachers in school change Invites readers to reconceptualise professional development and re-imagine school improvement Focuses on enabling teacher agency as the foundation for improvement Emphasises the importance of human agency to influence environments, lives and learning Provides strategies for improvement with integrity amidst powerful accountability requirements and external forces for change. At the heart of this book is a fresh perspective on schooling, in which teacher agency is considered a fundamental dimension of professional development and key to school improvement. This raises necessary and challenging questions about purposes and processes in education. With practical ideas and strategies that can be used to inform and evaluate practice and policy, Teacher Agency, Professional Development and School Improvement is essential reading for headteachers and teachers wishing to lead changes to improve their school and for teacher educators who support them.

Recent worldwide education policy has reinvented teachers as agents of change and professional developers of the school curriculum. Academic literature has analyzed changes in how teacher professionalism is conceived in policy and in practice but Teacher Agency provides a fresh perspective on this issue, drawing upon an ecological theory of agency. Using this model for understanding agency, Mark Priestley, Gert Biesta and Sarah Robinson explore empirical findings from the 'Teacher Agency and Curriculum Change' project, funded by the UK-based Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Drawing together this research with the authors' international experiences and perspectives, Teacher Agency addresses theoretical and practical issues of international significance. The authors illustrate how teacher agency should be understood not only in terms of individual capacity of teachers, but also in respect of the cultures and structures of schooling.

This book examines the powerful concept of implementation - or what actually happens in practice when innovations or reforms are attempted - by demonstrating its uses in a variety of policy and programme applications.

"Among the greatest unresolved issues within schools is developing great models of implementation: Sprints is certainly one of the breakthroughs. This book can make major improvements in schools and classrooms, ironically by focusing on tiny shifts." John Hattie, Laureate Professor Melbourne Graduate School of Education Melbourne, Australia "Once in a while you come across a book that really cuts through the complexity of issues and provides a refreshing and practical approach to improving what happens in schools. This is such a book. Evidence-based, easy to read and full of down-to-earth ideas that busy teachers can implement. I love it." Steve Munby, Visiting Professor University College London Former CEO, National College for School Leadership London, UK Enhance teachers’ expertise – in every term, every school year. With all of the everyday demands of teaching, the job of improving classroom practice is a challenge for teachers and school leaders. Grounded by research and field-tested around the world, Teaching Sprints offers a professional improvement process that works in theory and practice. Including insights from the field, and practical protocols, this book outlines a simple model for engaging in short bursts of evidence-informed improvement work. Using Teaching Sprints, teams of teachers can enhance their expertise together, in a way that is sustainable on the ground. In Teaching Sprints, readers will find: • three big ideas about practice improvement • a detailed description of a simple improvement process • advice on how to establish a routine for continual improvement Whether you’re a classroom teacher thinking about your own practice, an instructional leader supporting colleagues to teach better tomorrow, or a school leader interested in enhancing your program for professional learning, Teaching Sprints is a must-read for you.

This work traces the link between teacher development and educational change. Each chapter expands on some aspect of teacher development and points to directions for reform and the improvement of practice. They draw upon work carried out in Canada, England and the United States.

The role of teachers in bringing about educational improvement in the American schools is described in this guidebook. Based on a model of school improvement that incorporates several bodies of educational research, the central thesis is that teacher empowerment begins with teacher knowledge. Following the introduction, chapter 2 describes the essential element of the school improvement model--effective classrooms. The supportive elements, those that directly affect classrooms, are discussed in chapters 3-5: an interactive curriculum process, professional development programs, and student motivation. The facilitative elements--supportive home/community/school relationships, a learning-centered schedule, and a valid and comprehensive assessment system--are examined in chapters 6-8. Chapters 9-11 analyze the contextual elements, which include foundation elements (school culture), collegial leadership, and systematic planning for school improvement. Collaboration is advocated for implementation of the model between administrators and teachers, between school and home, and among teachers in instructional teams. References accompany each chapter. (LMI)

Teacher-Centered Professional Development is a hands-on guide to collaborative skill building for educators. It introduces the Teacher's Choice Framework, a model that empowers teachers by helping them choose and initiate professional growth activities according to their schedules, strengths, and needs. The book describes a wide variety of professional development strategies, including mentoring, journal writing, peer-to-peer coaching, and seminars. For each strategy, the author provides: * A brief history of the research base * A step-by-step guide to implementing the strategy * Sample handouts and assessment forms * Examples from the field of the strategy in practice With this book, teachers at all levels can quickly learn how to set up development teams, conduct action research, and engage in other activities to further their skills. In addition, the Teacher's Choice Framework helps educators prioritize their needs and choose the strategies that best suit those needs. Teacher-Centered Professional Development offers both a perfect introduction to staff development options and a commonsense method for choosing among them.