The purpose of this narrative study is to trace the process whereby Israeli Academic College of Education principals lead Professional Learning Communities (PLC) for teacher educators. The focus is on the unique situation in which various different roles (administrator/facilitator/learner) are integrated during this process. Seven semi-structured…

Classroom videos can make instructional practice public, cultivating collaborative, critical teacher discussions. However, video-based learning also involves a risk--the risk of hurting one's own or a colleague's public image, or face. In this study, we investigate the role of face threat and face management in teacher professional learning in 16…

Empirical evidence supports the notion of special education teachers receiving limited pre-service training in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). This lack of training is not only evident in the United States but in other countries such as United Kingdom, India, and Israel. Yet the teaching demands for the use of AAC are increasing…

Purpose: Despite growing research on school aggression, significant gaps remain in the authors' knowledge of team aggression, since most studies have mainly explored aggression on the part of students. The purpose of this paper is to focus on understanding the phenomenon of workplace aggression in school teams. Specifically, the purpose of the…

The authors of this article describe an essential feature of inclusive educational practice: "non-abandonment". When students' needs and difficult behavior are overwhelming, teachers may abandon them emotionally as a defensive reaction to their own experience of emotional distress and helplessness. Non-abandonment represents a…

This study presents our emerging understanding of the meaning of collaborative self-study as one of the mechanisms that facilitates effective, productive collaboration. Stemming from our experience of collaborative professional life over eight years, we explore the crisis we confronted as a professional learning community, the tensions underlying…

Purpose: Although conflict has traditionally been considered destructive, recent studies have indicated that conflict management can contribute to effective teamwork. The present study explores conflict management as a team phenomenon in schools. The author examined how the contextual variables (task interdependence, goal interdependence) are…

Using an Israeli case study of an innovative secondary program to make female students more employable after graduation, this article explores barriers to and benefits of teacher/specialist teams in school reform, arguing that the team approach makes sense only if it is accompanied by a shift in thinking about teaching and school practice. (SM)