In Massachusetts public elementary schools, teaching and leadership roles are perceived as mutually exclusive rather than interwoven. Despite credentials that would recognize Massachusetts public elementary school teachers as leaders beyond their classrooms, the leadership frame of reference attests that those who have the position, power and…

Family separation policies' impacts on children's education are one of the critical issues of our time. In this article, I draw on ethnographic data collected over two years in one Northeastern town in the United States. More than fifty im/migrant children were observed inside kindergarten, first and second grade classrooms. For this article, I…

This qualitative study introduces a new framework for describing teachers who act innovatively in public schools--teachers as "hackers." It examines the characteristics and conditions under which teachers "hack" their classroom pedagogy to create disruptive innovation in the public education system and identify implications for…

Framed by the importance of language, and the ways that knowledge is embodied, this study explores the "coaching side" of literacy coaching, providing tips to educators. Phyllis, an experienced coach nearing retirement, wanted to provide insights to incoming teachers as she reflected on the question "Why 'do' we teach, anyway?"…

William Taylor, 29, a third generation Washington, D.C. resident stands out for a number of reasons. For one, he is an African American man who taught math at an elementary school for many years. Taylor excelled in the role, so much so that he now coaches his fellow math teachers at Aiton Elementary School, which is located in a high-poverty…

The data presented in this paper were collected from 73 early childhood, elementary, and middle school teachers who were among the first teachers to prepare for formal mentor teacher leadership roles in Massachusetts. These teachers were enrolled in a graduate mentor teacher preparation course at Wheelock College (Massachusetts). The Inventory is…

This study explored two mothers' and two teachers' beliefs about who was responsible for children's teaching and learning. Participants were two teachers at Adams Elementary, a public school in middle-class suburban Boston (Massachusetts), and the mothers of two kindergartners there. The children were a boy and a girl, both firstborn and…

In 1981, TDR Associates, a private, independent research organization in Newton, Massachusetts, began a two and one-half year study of "Knowledge Utilization and School Improvement Through Staff Initiated Inservice Programs." This study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Education and conducted under an arrangement with…

In school reform studies little attention has been paid to context, i.e., the structures, standards, norms, and practices that enable and encourage teachers to do their best work. In contrast, this study concentrates on the workplace (the school) as it is experienced by teachers: physical setting and resources; organizational structures;…