Equal opportunities in the context of education can be interpreted as ensuring equitable access to certain kinds of education (e.g. an academic track) or as equal opportunities to lead a fulfilling life regardless of the educational route followed (e.g. vocational or academic). These interpretations are in tension: the former implies a hierarchy…

Early career teachers (ECTs) are potential resources for educational innovation and development in schools. Innovative professional potential (IPP) emerges in interaction between ECTs and their school ecology. Using semi-structured timeline interviews, we explored 105 IPP experiences of 19 ECTs in the Netherlands, aiming to understand when and how…

Purpose: Schools struggle with sustaining their educational innovations (Cohen and Mehta, 2017; Askell-Williams and Koh, 2020) and may benefit from concrete and practical guidance (Askell-Williams and Koh, 2020). A dialogue between staff within schools can be a way to promote self-evaluation regarding the innovation. Therefore, a self-evaluation…

Despite the fact that innovative behaviour of teachers is important for the quality of teaching in our knowledge society, there is still little research into leadership and organizational factors that influence teachers' innovative behaviour. By combining self-concept leadership theory, social exchange theory and a hierarchical model of the…

To better align teacher learning with teachers' learning needs, teachers' sense-making of an innovation during which teachers experimented with differentiated instruction was studied during two school years. Using answers to a questionnaire, 15 teachers' sense-making processes were characterised by three types of search for meaning: assimilation,…

Although self-directed learning is considered important in both educational practice and theory as a 21st century skill and as a means to motivate students, most teachers find it difficult to integrate self-directed learning into their practice. An instrumental case study was conducted to investigate how teachers at four innovative Dutch secondary…

Students' learning environments often change during school career, due to school transitions and the introduction of educational innovations, causing discontinuity in teaching and learning. Success of students entering a new learning environment depends in part on their prior expectations of education, as these influence later perceptions.…

The twenty-first century labour market requires employees that proactively shape innovations and solve complex problems. Professionals in the education sector are expected to perform innovative behaviour that not only entails the generation, but also the realization and sustainable implementation of new ideas. In a sample of 458 employees in Dutch…

The importance of teaching twenty-first-century competencies has increasingly been emphasised. Little is known, however, about how schools actually approach teaching such competencies. We investigated (1) how innovative and innovating secondary schools in the Netherlands implement a focus on self-regulation, collaboration and creativity in their…

This analytical report was prepared by the OECD Higher Education Policy Team as part of the Education and Innovation Practice Community (EIPC), an action of the European Union's New European Innovation Agenda, flagship 4 on "Fostering, attracting and retaining deep tech talent". EIPC seeks to bring together peers from policy and practice…

When students have an unclear image of an occupation, it has negative effects on their career. To form a realistic picture of work, it is important that students have practical experiences and career-related guidance. A two-year project has yielded insight into collaboration between schools and work organisations. We present the results of a desk…

In recent years, the use of student data has become increasingly concerned with management of teacher performance. However, when teachers become aware of specific student data directly related to their approach of teaching, it could inform them about possible strengths, weaknesses or challenges. Unfortunately, teachers generally have little time…

Framed within achievement goal theory and self-determination theory, the aim of this study was to explore the experiences and motivational needs of students within secondary school Physical Education, attempting to identify their preferred motivational instructional strategies. Nine focus group interviews were conducted comprising 61 students (32…

In the Netherlands, between 1993 and 2002 the government introduced several reforms in secondary education. In one of these innovations, it was said that the student was at the centre of the teaching and learning process. Several Dutch educational researchers also advocated such approaches under the term "new learning". In this…

In recent years policy makers' interest in the professional development of school leaders has grown considerably. Although we know some aspect of formal educational programs for school leaders, little is known about school leaders' incidental and non-formal learning in the workplace. This study aims to grasp what workplace learning activities…