Kappan's editor-in-chief talks with renowned scholar Susan Moore Johnson about her extensive research into the professional lives of public school teachers. For decades, studies have shown that teaching tends to be isolating work, with few opportunities for teachers to collaborate with and learn from each other or to play meaningful roles in…

The purpose of this hermeneutical phenomenological study was to explore the attributes associated with the leadership of women superintendents and how they overcome isolation in a predominantly male-dominated field. Through a feminist lens, I explored the manner in which women serve as superintendents, particularly, the manner in which they…

This was a study conducted with four first-year educational leaders who were interviewed to determine whether they experienced feelings of isolation and disengagement from individuals who had been peers in the work-place. Each respondent was promoted from within their educational organization to a leadership position and was interviewed to…

Children today spend an increasing amount of time indoors, depriving them of the benefits of a more active outdoor life. In Scandinavia, regularly performed teaching outside the classroom, known as "udeskole", is growing in prevalence. This paper examines experienced teachers' perceptions of "udeskole", with the aim of…

The global educational landscape continues to change in response to three forces: a new paradigm of curriculum approaches that has shifted from teaching to learning; public demand for evidence of this learning; and decentralization of public schools (Sahlberg in "Journal of Educational Change," 12(2):173-185, 2011). These changes have…

Principals are isolated in their work and suffer from low morale. The role of the principal has become increasingly complex and demanding especially within the current accountability model with the public nature of school report cards. This is a problem in Rocky Top Public Schools and in school districts across the country. The purpose of this…

Purpose: Organizational silos that build on the existing organizational structures are often considered to have negative effects in the form of focus on private narrow objectives and organizational fragmentation. To avoid such harmful outcomes, competence management is called for, and in this, the human resources (HR) function takes a key role.…

Most studies in headship focus on the elements of training and head teachers' capabilities in leading schools. The concept of isolation experienced by head teachers during the early years of their headship is, however, overlooked. This article attempts to explore the neglected aspect of headships' experiences with isolation that later contributes…

For the last 10 years, the California Department of Education has reported that female teachers in California outnumbered male teachers two to one. The imbalance in teacher gender is a problem that affects elementary-age students and teaching staffs because the educated and caring male teachers who could be role models are largely absent from…

Although research on teacher alienation and isolation has demonstrated the importance of developing collegial relationships, mentoring, and induction programs, there is limited research examining the ways to support critical educators with combatting their feelings of alienation and isolation as it relates to the larger sociopolitical dynamics…

Purpose: Given the significant challenges facing today's physical educators, the purpose of this study was to examine the expectations of induction teachers and identify the factors in both their personal and organizational environments enhanced or constrained their assimilation into the field during their 1st year. Method: Using occupational…

This article explores the Histories of Education Summer School Conference for Postgraduate Students, 2010-2015, with regard to its impact on networking and identification with the field of the history of education. It is concluded that the impact of the Summer School is transformative on the social level. The structure in which the Summer School…

The purpose of this study is to elaborate on the emotional problems faced by Turkish early childhood teachers in their interaction with students, parents, administrators and colleagues in the first three years of their professional lives. Data for this research consists of in-depth interviews with Turkish kindergarten teachers, where these…

Despite evidence of promise, the adoption of culturally relevant educational (CRE) approaches to teaching and learning remains sporadic and underwhelming. In this chapter, we question this state of affairs by investigating teacher resistance to CRE. Through our examination of the literature, we have come to understand teacher resistance to CRE as…

Research demonstrates that many teachers of Color enter schools committed to challenging injustice, yet often face barriers to accomplishing this goal. This article presents emergent themes from a qualitative study with 218 self-identified, racial justice-oriented teachers of Color. Using Wilson's (2008) indigenous cultural framework of…