While coaches can have a positive impact on teachers' practice and students' learning, in many school districts teachers have the autonomy to decide whether and when to work with a coach. Coaches then must work to gain access to teachers' classrooms. In a recent study of 28 content-focused coaches, researchers Jen Munson and Evthokia Stephanie…

In predominantly white and affluent communities, it is a common belief that race and racism are irrelevant because there is little to no racial diversity in these communities. Elyse Hambacher and Denise Desrosiers describe how a New Hampshire school district in a mostly white community navigates teaching and leading for social justice despite…

Most teachers have limited flexibility in terms of their schedules, their opportunities for professional learning and collaboration, and how they use their time. However, recent data suggests that rethinking teacher time could be important to improving teacher recruitment and retention. How can districts and schools provide teachers more…

This book addressed teachers' necessity to be able to respond to the new needs and demands caused by an ever-evolving educational system, as recognized in the national and international policy and research literature. The book proposes an analysis of the features that shape the journey of the teacher profession and professionalism, a journey which…

This article sets out an original conceptual framework for place-based professional learning by teachers and schools in decentralised education systems. High quality Continuing Professional Development and Learning by teachers is associated with improvements in children's outcomes. Most research in this area focuses on evaluating formal…

According to the 2019 Biannual Teacher Supply and Demand Report, approximately 25% of teachers in Minnesota left the teaching profession for personal reasons. A trend of teacher instability-- particularly amongst teachers of color--is high and is shown to be influenced by working conditions. A lack of teacher classroom autonomy, administrative…

This article presents an ecological frame for reflection on teaching at university. It is suggested here that the process of professional reflection on practice can be better aligned with processes of institutional development by applying the adaptive cycle. This heuristic emerged from the scientific literature on ecosystem maintenance and has…

Curriculum-based professional learning is not just having teachers read curriculum materials, but rather includes carefully crafted experiences to support their sensemaking, deep understanding of the curriculum and its pedagogy, and ability to transfer that knowledge into practice. This instructional model requires that teachers be responsive to…

School principals are currently looking for ways to enhance their effectiveness as leaders by improving their instructional leadership. As the duties of principals expand, they are no longer the expert on what happens in the classroom and must find new ways to help their teachers grow and improve student learning. Instructional leadership includes…

Guskey reviews how the concept of teacher efficacy has evolved in research, from roots in attribution theory to a 1977 study that showed teacher efficacy as a key element of successful school improvement, to today. He shows what school leaders should do to improve teacher efficacy: 1) arrange professional learning experiences focused on…

In this "MJE" Forum, the author invites conversation on what it means to be a teacher in Quebec's unique Cegep system. Cegep, positioned between the more structured secondary program and the more autonomous university experience, requires that its teachers grapple with what it means to be a Cegep teacher. Her own piece focuses on…

Claims about teachers' potential to influence change tend to overlook that educational outcomes arise from complex, situated practices of many actors including teachers. This article introduces a tool for Teachers' Reflection on their Agency for Change (TRAC) for empirical analysis of teaching as a collective activity designed to 'track' the…

When school administrators support instructional coaching, it is more likely to be effective in improving teacher practice. Building teacher buy-in, promoting awareness of the coach's non-evaluative role, ensuring coaches have adequate time to provide classroom support, meeting consistently with the coach, and trusting the coach to make decisions…

Early childhood pedagogical leadership has been found to enhance program quality by assisting educators to reach deeper understanding of pedagogical practices. In the early years of school where pedagogical tension resides, research on early childhood pedagogical leadership is scarce. Furthermore, there are few models of early childhood…

In research on teacher professional development and school reform attention for the role of teacher agency has been growing significantly during the last decade. The objective of this study is to create a model with the potential to view professional development and school reform from a teacher agency perspective at multiple levels. The model of…