As inequities continue to be present for students of color, for English-language learners, for students from low-income households, for LGBTQ students and for students with disabilities, schools must find ways to increase achievement and high expectations for all students. Although not explored thoroughly in the research literature, teacher…

Charter schools--what was their original promise? They would enroll diverse groups of students. They would give teachers the room and power to innovate. They would be educational laboratories that would find new ways to reach students, and they would share those lessons with other public schools. But charter schools haven't lived up to their…

This dissertation addresses the dynamic interaction between policies aimed at urban education reform and teachers' role in advancing policy objectives. It examines teacher agency in the context of proposed community and school change by focusing on teacher involvement with policy implementation. It investigates teacher views of their individual…

Teacher leadership is about empowering teachers to take a more active role in school improvement. Current pathways to teacher leadership, namely the Teacher Leader Master (TLM) degree program and teacher-led professional development, mainly target in-service teachers. Less attention has been paid to teacher leadership training in current teacher…

While common philosophical foundations influence instruction and leadership in East Asian nations, variable historical factors also significantly impact education within these countries. The current study was designed to holistically examine educational systems in different Confucian contexts, so that contemporary issues and necessary reforms may…

Graphic novels offer an exciting new medium across the curriculum, but classroom research must be done. Anecdotal evidence is a start, but reform requires thoughtful study. Teachers are in the best place to do this research, as they have ready access, currency, and credibility. Teacher research on graphic novels, indeed all new media, is also…

This article reports upon research investigating the rapid rise to prominence of distributed leadership in schools in England. Distributed leadership is located within wider structural reforms of education in England as part of the New Public Management movement in public service delivery and the marked discursive shift to leadership which took…

Leaders new to academic departments that possess dysfunctional histories due to ineffective "management" face many difficulties in the transformation of department dynamics. Indeed, the challenge for transformational department leaders is fostering positive and proactive attitudes among faculty where previous management was hostile,…

Although best practices in student instruction and learning have evolved dramatically over the past couple of decades, new approaches to educator professional development have lagged behind considerably. The traditional whole group, one-size-fits-all strategy universally recognized as ineffective for teaching students, has too-long remained the…

This article looks at the role that teacher training can play in implementing curriculum reform, specifically in studies conducted in French-speaking Africa by researchers at the UNESCO Chair in Curriculum Development. After reviewing the effects that reform has on the school as an organization, it establishes a link between the concept of change…

Background: Facilitation within successful professional development (PD) requires individuals working with a cadre of teachers to examine and reframe their practices, navigating the complexities associated with educational reform initiatives. Although much has been written about the magnitude of the shift required of teachers within current…

This study reflects the voice of school leaders (principals) in a Norwegian school development project focusing on assessment for learning (AfL). The central role of the principal in school improvement is well documented, however, less is written about how the principals themselves see their roles. The voices presented belong to two experienced…

When speaking of educational leadership today there are many characteristics of leadership that are needed that perhaps were not necessary five, ten, or fifteen years ago. Technology's impact on how students learn and how teachers teach has had educational leadership think about more innovative ways in which to prepare, deliver, and assess…

This article provides a context for understanding how social networks among teachers support or constrain school improvement in terms of instructional practice, professional development, and educational reform. It comments on the articles in this special issue, summarizing their contributions to the field. This analysis reveals several important…

We report on a three-year study of teachers' experiences of a major reform of the science National Curriculum for 14- to 16-year-olds in England. Teachers' responses to this curriculum reform were guided by: "personal" aims and biography; "internal" features of their workplace such as departmental collegiality; and…