scholarly journals The three roles of school leaders in maximizing the impact of Professional Learning Networks: A case study from England

2020 ◽  
Vol 99 ◽  
pp. 101516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Brown ◽  
Jane Flood
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Learning Networks ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Riding Out the Storm: Out-of-Field Teaching Practice in Indonesia

Humaniora ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 161
Author(s):  
Esti Rahayu ◽  
Shuki Osman
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Document Analysis ◽  
Classroom Observations ◽  
Extended Time ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Teaching Learning

As out-of-field teachers existence led to change in teachers, this research aimed to explore their commitment to learning and teaching, and how their schools supported them. Five Indonesian teachers who started teaching as out-of-field teachers and their school leaders were interviewed for this research. The qualitative case study was employed to explore the problem through interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis. The findings reveal that the initial commitment to teaching, learning, and growing is an investment for further actions throughout the teaching practice. The schools provide necessary assistance through the induction and during their in-service in the provided and requested professional learning, being trusted and acknowledged by school leaders, and having resourceful colleagues. From their schools’ support, the out-of-field teachers become more knowledgeable and remain as teachers for an extended time.

scholarly journals Using A Tiered Approach for Implementing Networked Learning Communities: A Case Study on Developing the Capacity of Leaders to Implement Systemwide Innovations within International Training and Development Programs

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-14
Author(s):  
James Anderson II ◽  
Eric Kaufman ◽  
Jama Coartney ◽  
Shreya Mitra ◽  
Caro l Cash
Keyword(s):  
Learning Communities ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Shared Leadership ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovations ◽  
Training And Development ◽  
Networked Learning ◽  
International Training ◽  
Tiered Approach ◽  
The Impact

This case study demonstrates how change agents can utilize networked learning communities (NLCs) with shared leadership to provide the structural supports for learning and influence the implementation of innovations within a social system. Our focus is the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), a large school system operating 164 accredited schools domestically and internationally. As part of their systemic priority of implementing innovations for educational improvement, DoDEA worked with extension specialists to create NLCs for instructional leaders using the Engelbart’s Organizational Learning and Improvement Schema. The schema is a three-tiered approach to non-formal learning that facilitates leader capacity building at the individual, team, and systemwide levels. To support these learning communities, DoDEA also created regional support teams or opinion leaders to assist with the implementation of systemwide educational technologies through non-formal professional learning. Focus group discussions provided insights on the impact of this model as a mechanism for diffusing educational innovations throughout the system. Findings suggest that implementation of this approach in other international training and development settings can yield positive impacts on the innovation-decision process. Keywords: Shared leadership; international training & development; social learning; systemic change; Diffusion of Innovations

scholarly journals The Impact of Leadership and Targeted Interventions to Close the Achievement Gap of Disadvantaged Pupils: A Case Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-108
Author(s):  
Feyisa Demie
Keyword(s):  
Achievement Gap ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Intervention Strategies ◽  
Effective School ◽  
Targeted Interventions ◽  
National Significance ◽  
The Impact

<p style="text-align: justify;">This research explores the impact of effective leadership and targeted interventions in closing the achievement gap of disadvantaged pupils in primary schools. Findings suggest that the case study schools use effective school leaders and a range of targeted interventions including early intervention, small group additional teaching, one-to-one tuition, peer tutoring, parental involvement, booster class, mastery learning, pastoral care, and enrichment programmes. Each of the above success factors and intervention strategies was explored in detail in the paper. The overall conclusions of this study are that the case study schools have closed the achievement gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers through providing effective school leaders and the use of a range of effective intervention strategies. We would suggest that the case study schools’ stories of how they have closed the achievement gap through providing strong school leaders and the use of targeted interventions are of local and national significance. Our research also suggests the possibilities for further research. The recommendations from the study are that there is a need to replicate and expand this research with a larger sample of the study, in order to explore in detail what works in schools.</p>

Feedback-based coaching towards school leaders’ professional development

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Nicolaidou ◽  
Yiasemina Karagiorgi ◽  
Alexandra Petridou
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Critical Conditions ◽  
Voluntary Participation ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Group Coaching ◽  
Online Leadership

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss feedback-based group coaching as a strategy towards school leaders’ development. On the basis of data collected within the framework of the project “Professional Learning through Feedback and Reflection” (PROFLEC), this case study explores the Cypriot school leaders’ views about feedback and coaching as developmental tools. The PROFLEC project was implemented in participating countries during 2013-2015 and involved completing an online leadership self-assessment inventory, training as well as coaching sessions. Design/methodology/approach – Observations and interviews with coachees and coaches illustrate participants’ views on feedback-based group coaching, the critical conditions of its implementation and the perceived value of the particular model. Findings – The study concludes that feedback-based group coaching can enhance school leaders’ organisational socialisation and learning; yet, certain aspects, such as the nature of the feedback, the role of the coaches, the establishment of trust as well as voluntary participation are required to enhance reflection towards action for school leaders. Originality/value – This paper supports the importance of feedback-based group coaching as a developmental strategy for school leaders.

Identifying coaching approaches that enable teachers' moral learning in professional learning communities

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-392
Author(s):  
Helma De Keijzer ◽  
Gaby Jacobs ◽  
Jacqueline Van Swet ◽  
Wiel Veugelers
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Safe Environment ◽  
Moral Learning ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis study sought to identify those approaches used by coaches that enable teachers' moral learning in professional learning communities (PLCs). Coaches who support moral learning focus on questioning values, beliefs and bias, which is in contrast with learning only (new) knowledge or skills.Design/methodology/approachThis was an exploratory case study. Eleven meetings of three PLCs were observed; each PLC consisted of four teachers and one teacher–coach. Semi-structured interviews with the coaches were conducted to gain information about their approaches. Data were analysed using supportive coaching approaches derived from educational literature.FindingsIn total, 14 specific approaches regarding the support given by coaches for teachers' moral learning were identified. Four characteristics of coaches' attitudes that guided their approaches and seemed valuable in supporting moral learning were also identified. The findings showed the tensions the coaches encountered – for example, when balancing between offering a safe environment and encouraging critical reflection.Practical implicationsWith coaches' support, teachers can develop a more thoughtful understanding of the meaning of values, beliefs and bias for their actions in teaching practice.Social implicationsMaking explicit, and exploring precisely, what coaches do to support teachers' moral learning are useful for designing and improving professional development programmes that promote moral learning.Originality/valueThe research reported in this paper outlines how coaches can encourage teachers' awareness of the impact of their actions on pupils, which, in turn, helps teachers to meet the complex moral challenges of their practice.

scholarly journals A case study of secondary school leaders' perceptions of attendance policies and procedures used to increase attendance

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Mark A. Bullimore
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Accountability Standards ◽  
Community Awareness ◽  
Awareness Programs ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Attendance Policies

Nationwide, pressures from outside influences such as politicians and educational policy makers are placing schools in precarious situations to make drastic changes in attendance policies to meet state accountability standards. The researcher used interviews and a focus group with school leaders, and archival data to find common themes which were then viewed through the conceptual underpinning of accountability. This case study adds to the field of education a deeper understanding of school leaders' perspectives on the impact attendance accountability standards have on the overall effectiveness of school improvement. The findings suggest: the new proportional attendance policy is detrimental to a school leaders' ability to focus on other school improvement practices while creating negative unintended consequences for schools and students; incentives and punitive consequences have short-term success while decaying school-family relationships; and district-wide and community awareness programs seemed to have the greatest impact on long term attendance improvement. Based on these findings, the following three practices should be implemented by districts: Systematic monitoring of attendance data, the use of low cost incentives and simple rewards, and the implementation of district-wide engagement and education of family and community awareness programs.

Exploring the potential of collaborative teaching nested within professional learning networks

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leyton Schnellert ◽  
Deborah L. Butler
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Collaborative Inquiry ◽  
Knowledge Mobilization ◽  
Learning Networks ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Contexts ◽  
Professional Learning Network ◽  
Practice Development

PurposeThis research investigated whether structuring an inquiry-oriented professional learning network to include school-based co-teaching partners would amplify educators' success in taking up and adapting evidence-based understandings and practices as meaningful in their contexts. Our research questions were: (1) What conditions did educators identify in the PLN overall that supported their co-construction of knowledge and practice development together? and (2) How did including co-teaching partners in the PLN help participants to mobilize knowledge and/or practices in the contexts where they were working?Design/methodology/approachA qualitative case study design was used because of its potential to examine how and why questions about complex processes as situated in context (Butler, 2011; Yin, 2014). A case study methodology allowed us to collect and coordinate multiple forms of evidence (i.e. interviews, teacher reflective writing, classroom artifacts, field notes) to examine both how conditions created within the PLN supported learning and how co-teaching partners were mobilizing what they were learning in their school contexts. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and data was analyzed abductively through an iterative and recursive process (Braun et al., 2018).FindingsConditions within the PLN overall that participants identified as supportive to their knowledge mobilization and practice development included: having a shared focus, feeling accountability to the group, collaborative enactment of practices within the PLN, large group sharing and debriefing, sustained cycles of collaborative inquiry, affective support, valuing diversity and drawing from expert others as resources. Participants also identified the benefits that accrued specifically from working with co-teaching partners. In addition, findings showed how the degree to which partners engaged in rich forms of collaborative inquiry could be related to their learning and situated practice development.Originality/valueFindings show the generative potential of inviting co-teaching partners into a PLN to engage in collaborative inquiry with others. PLNs offer the benefit of engaging with educators from outside of one's practice context, which enables pushing their thinking in new directions. Our findings add to the literature by revealing how in situ knowledge mobilization can be amplified when educators participating within a PLN are also working through cycles of inquiry with a co-teaching partner. Overall, this study offers a PLN model where teachers have built-in support for knowledge co-creation and mobilization both within and outside of their school contexts.

Preparing teachers to mentor beginning teachers: an Australian case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 164-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Beutel ◽  
Leanne Crosswell ◽  
Jill Willis ◽  
Rebecca Spooner-Lane ◽  
Elizabeth Curtis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Beginning Teachers ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Collaborative Inquiry ◽  
Mentor Teachers ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
Preparation Program ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to present an Australian mentor preparation program designed to prepare experienced teachers to mentor beginning teachers and second, to identify and discuss mentor teachers’ personal and professional outcomes and the wider contextual implications emerging from the Mentoring Beginning Teachers (MBT) mentor preparation program. Design/methodology/approach This case study, situated within Queensland, Australia, draws on qualitative data collected via interviews and focus groups with mentor teachers who participated in a large-scale systemic mentor preparation program. The program positions mentoring as supportive, based on a process of collaborative inquiry and encouraging critically reflexive praxis with the mentor professional learning focusing on reflection, dialog and criticality. Findings Initial findings show the outcomes of the mentor preparation program include building a common language and shared understanding around the role of mentor, consolidating a collaborative inquiry approach to mentoring and providing opportunity for self-reflection and critique around mentoring approaches and practices. Some findings, such as a greater self-awareness and validation of mentors’ own teaching performance, have confirmed previous research. However, the originality of this research lies in the personal and professional impacts for mentor teachers and the wider contextual impacts that have emerged from the study. Practical implications The study highlights the impact of the mentor preparation program on the professional learning of teacher-mentors and contributes to the current lack of empirical research that identifies the personal and professional impacts for mentors and the wider contextual factors that impact effective mentoring in schools. Originality/value The originality of this research lies in the personal and professional impacts for mentor teachers and the wider contextual impacts more broadly that have emerged from the study.

Malaysian Registered Nurses' Professional Learning

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee H Chiu
Keyword(s):  
Registered Nurses ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Self Confidence ◽  
Life Long Learning ◽  
Group Interviews ◽  
Interest In Research ◽  
The Impact

Findings of a study of the impact of professional learning on Malaysian registered nurses are reported. The offshore delivery post-registration nursing degree programme is a formal aspect of professional learning, which enables Malaysian registered nurses to upgrade their hospital-based training or diploma of nursing qualification to a degree. Using a qualitative case study approach, data were collected from twelve programme graduates, through individual and focus group interviews. The programme promoted their personal professional growth and enhanced their professional development. It increased self-confidence, knowledge, self-fulfillment, critical thinking ability, interpersonal skills, interest in research and research utilisation, and life-long learning. There was evidence of career mobility and a raised awareness of their professional role and responsibility.

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