This article introduces an alternative qualitative research tool: metaphor and drawing, as projections of personality features, to explore underlying concepts and values, thoughts and beliefs, fears and hesitations, aspirations and ambitions of the research subjects. These two projective tools are used to explore Greek state kindergarten head…

This study examined the professional and personal transition undergone by eight experienced early childhood (EC) teachers after completing their graduate studies. The data were collected through interviews and online communication. Three main categories arose in the qualitative content analysis of the text: (1) personal process of change; (2)…

Leadership has long been acknowledged as a significant dimension in effective school functioning and, indeed, school leaders can play a substantial role in professional development of staff. Here we have centred on the "practices of leading" as opposed to the qualities or characteristics of leaders, and this is emphasised by our use of…

This article highlights the practices of administrators and master teachers who are trying to balance the needs for accountability, prescribed curriculum, and learning standards with a broader view of education that gives equal importance to skills not so easily quantified by standardized tests. The author makes a case for the use of careful…

In this paper, we report on a longitudinal case study exploring Grade 3 teachers' implementation of iPads in the Language Arts classroom. A school-university partnership was formed based on a collaborative teacher inquiry model. We examined factors that shaped our collaboration. The project resulted in greater teacher sharing of iPad…

The Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) AISD Survey gathers information about school conditions from the educators working in schools. TELL obtains perceptions on a variety of issues related to student achievement and staff retention. In 2016, 5,309 AISD teachers (91%) and 3,092 other campus employees completed the survey. This full…

This paper draws upon empirical research to provide insights into current teacher learning practices under broader neoliberal conditions, and how the latter might be resisted. The paper contrasts neoliberal approaches to teachers' learning with the Nordic tradition of educational action research and "Bildung" as alternative resources to…

This study investigated the instructional practices of three teacher leaders employed in a diverse, elementary school in the USA. Through extended observations, it was found that learning centres occupied a central role in the organisation and learning in each of the classrooms. Bernstein's theory of classification and framing was used to analyse…

In England, the overwhelming majority (78%) of under fives' nursery places, remains in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector where there is no requirement to employ a qualified teacher. Compared to the maintained state sector early years workforce, this dominant PVI sector tends to be staffed by a poorly qualified workforce. From…

California Lutheran University is a regional site for the California Reading and Literature Project (CRLP). In 2010, CRLP began a two-year longitudinal study to examine the effects of participating in an institute called Reframing Teacher Leadership: Action Research Study Group had on PreK-12 teachers' attitudes and perceptions. The foundation…

This paper examines teacher accountability and authority in early childhood policy. It reports on data from a study that investigated the influences affecting early childhood teacher decision-making at the preschool level in Victoria, Australia. Using a question raised by Ball "Where are the teachers in all this [policy]?" provided a…

The purpose of this article is to present the findings of a quantitative study focused on primary mathematics teachers who participated in an intensive professional development program and then had leadership responsibility for the implementation of a new primary mathematics curriculum in their district. The study examines the effect of the…

Schooling has become increasingly complex in purpose and structure and therefore requires appropriate forms of leadership to address this challenge. One current leadership approach that is receiving national and global attention is distributive leadership. A qualitative approach was employed to investigate teachers' experiences and perceptions of…

This report describes the Achieve 180 Program in Year 2. The 53 participating schools received Texas Education Agency campus accountability ratings of "Improvement Required" (IR), "Not Rated," or "Former Improvement Required" at the end of the 2017-2018 school year. The 2018-2019 Achieve 180 Program's centralized…

In this article, the authors use an explanatory narrative of participation and transformation across two consecutive early childhood communities of practice to chronicle the evolution of a teacher leader, Michelle. This narrative illustrates how the continuity of experience spawned her development from apprentice toward an agentic teacher leader,…