Teacher Leadership and Collegial Relationships

The authors assert that P-12 classroom teachers are and should be leaders in the teaching and learning of children. The strongest teacher leadership is shaped by co-constructed knowledge and collaborative practices. The change that is required to help classroom teachers be better advocates for antiracist education can come from the leadership of teachers themselves, with the support of administrators and professional development designers. The authors examined teacher reflections on a variety of teacher leadership experiences and efforts to engage in equity-based initiatives at the school or district level to create antiracist policies and practices. The examination included an anonymous survey of school- or district-based equity initiatives, and how the goals are defined, what teachers perceive to be the impact (on students, teacher colleagues, their school, their district), and whether and how teachers are taking leadership in the initiatives.

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Meyer ◽  
Lydia Abel

In the area of teacher professional development, South African education administrators face the challenge of reconciling two imperatives that have entirely different implications for programme time frames and budgets. On the one hand, there is an urgent need to improve the pedagogic content knowledge of many teachers to improve the overall standard of teaching and learning in the public school system. Considering the scale and urgency of the matter, centralised course-based in-service training seems to be the only affordable alternative. On the other hand, researchers have long warned that once-off course-based training on its own has limited impact on teachers’ practice, and has to be accompanied by further professional support in the school and classroom, or be abandoned in favour of more enduring professional learning communities. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has grappled with this dilemma in the Department’s various professional development initiatives for teachers, a mainstay of which is the training offered by the Cape Teaching and Leadership Institute (CTLI). This paper presents some of the data and findings from an external evaluation that ORT SA CAPE conducted in 2011–2012 of courses offered by the WCED at the CTLI. The hierarchy of INSET outcomes proposed by Harland and Kinder (1997) was applied to record changes in the practice of 18 teachers at eight schools. The progress of five of the teachers is discussed to illustrate the interplay between school-level factors and the experiences of individual teachers which influenced the impact of CTLI training on their teaching.


2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wesley D. Hickey ◽  
Sandra Harris

Research suggests the need to provide leadership opportunities for teachers within school settings in order to increase professional collaboration and community. This research explored one rural district’s professional development model, which was evaluated to determine its potential in developing teacher leaders. This district’s professional development model utilized their exemplary teachers to develop other teachers through formal presentations that were traditionally taught by non-district experts. This study utilized a practitioner research methodology to determine effectiveness of using teachers as leaders. Data were collected to determine the impact on the teacher leaders and the effectiveness of the presentations as perceived by the overall teaching faculty. The results suggest an overall positive experience for teachers, as well as an increase in collaboration. In addition, teacher presenters believed their participation in staff development increased faculty effectiveness and increased the perception of the teacher presenters as leaders within the district.  


Author(s):  
Alev Elçi ◽  
Hüseyin Yaratan ◽  
A. Mohammed Abubakar

Higher educational institutions exert great effort to improve educational quality and effectiveness to cope with digital challenges in education. The impact of COVID-19 on education highlighted the importance of the achievement of sustainability in higher education. To overcome many of these challenges, faculty members need sustained professional development infrastructure embracing individual and institutional dimensions for enhancing educational qualifications. In this study, a quantitative method was employed to explore goals, individual needs, and institutional expectations of faculty in an international university in a developing country. The obtained survey data were analyzed using descriptive and non-parametric statistics (i.e., Kendall's coefficient of concordance, Kruskal–Wallis test, and Mann–Whitney U test). The findings demonstrate that the preferred goals of the faculty are found as developing skills in disciplinary knowledge, teaching and learning, and research. To achieve these goals, they favor certain capacity building activities and support services. Findings reflect the faculty's positive attitude towards multidimensional development, thus opening up to the global knowledge-based community. This study contributes to the existing literature as a pilot study to identify that faculty professional development needs are in line with student academic support.


2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona King

A prominent feature of education discourse relating to teachers' practice has been the call for increased emphasis on professional development (PD). This paper is part of a wider project which explored the impact of a collaborative PD initiative on teachers' teaching and learning in five urban disadvantaged schools in Ireland. It focused on the impact of PD and critically on sustainability from which emerged important issues of leadership. This article focuses on the specific contribution that leadership made to the sustainability of the practices in the schools. It aims to identify three key features of how principals contribute to sustaining PD practices.


2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 353-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Swan ◽  
Annette Kratcoski ◽  
Pat Mazzer ◽  
Jason Schenker

This article describes an ongoing situated professional development program in which teachers bring their intact classes for an extended stay in a ubiquitous computing environment equipped with a variety of state-of-the-art computing devices. The experience is unique in that it not only situates teacher learning about technology integration in their regular practice, but also gives them the opportunity to explore the full possibilities afforded by a variety of technologies and 1:1 computing opportunities. The program provides an important alternative model for professional development that has been highly successful, not only in increasing teachers' knowledge and confidence in technology integration but also in changing the ways in which teachers think about and use a variety of technologies in their classrooms. Findings also suggest that ubiquitous computing environments afford unique teaching and learning opportunities upon which ordinary classroom teachers can capitalize to a greater or lesser degree.


2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 420-427
Author(s):  
Richard M. Duffy ◽  
Marian Henry

SummaryThe use of PowerPoint has become nearly ubiquitous in medical education and continuing professional development; however, many alternatives are emerging that can be used in its place. These may confer some advantages, but they also have potential drawbacks. It is helpful that educators are aware of these new presentation options and their pros and cons, including any financial implications and issues of data protection. This article considers the role of technology in teaching and learning, identifying underlying assumptions that are often made. It identifies and appraises technology that can be used with or instead of PowerPoint to best facilitate deep learning. The potential pedagogical benefits and practical limitations of these technologies are considered, and strategies are highlighted to maximise the impact of PowerPoint where it is the software of choice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  

Formal Education in the 21st Century is focused on the development of learners’ skills and competencies essential to navigate the complexities and uncertainties of the age. Effective acquisition of these skills in the school is predicated on adequate provision of technological resources, adequate school infrastructure and continuous professional development of teachers for innovative instructional delivery. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the extent to which infrastructural provisions and continuous professional development of teachers in secondary schools in Nigeria support the development and acquisition of 21st Century teaching and learning skills. The study which adopted the impact of school infrastructure on learning by Barrett et al.as a conceptual framework, used descriptive survey design. Two self-constructed instruments were used to collect data from (20) selected secondary schools, (50) teachers and (200) students. Data were analysed using frequency count, percentage score, mean, and standard deviation. Findings showed that the schools visited lack infrastructural provisions, the teachers do not have the requisite skills and the students are not aware of any other means of learning different from the conventional styles offered by their teachers. Therefore, this study offered a two-prong approach of immediate provision of technological infrastructure for schools and the development of teachers’ professional skills through focused training targeted at enhancing their technological instructional delivery skills.


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