The Region 5 Comprehensive Center worked in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Education to develop a professional learning framework and toolkit. Although they were developed to meet the needs of education staff in Tennessee, the guidance can benefit other state education stakeholders in their efforts to ensure all professional learning…

Competent adult learning facilitators play a vital role in improving the quality of adult learning programmes. This article thus explores common and core competences of adult learning facilitators from the perspective of key stakeholders, such as facilitators, adult learners and administrators. By synthesising previous international studies, we…

Children living in areas affected by violent conflict and disasters are especially at risk of being denied their right to learn. Efforts to provide education in these contexts are termed "Education in Emergencies." Teachers in Education in Emergencies may benefit from teacher professional development; however, there is a lack of…

Eleanor Drago-Severson's research, writing, teaching, and coaching has helped show that supporting adult learning and professional development improves outcomes for students. Given the mounting adaptive challenges educators face in education today, teachers and school leaders must continuously learn and grow as they manage these tremendously…

The purpose of this research was to determine how teachers and administrators in a successful North Carolina district perceived the purpose and value of required individual growth plans (IGPs). The IGP is the foundation of required school improvement, and the perceptions of the purpose and value of the IGP largely determine its success. This…

For the thirty-eighth time, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

Seven elements found in professional development research are necessary for successful professional development programs. High-quality professional learning must be sustained, job-embedded, collegial, interactive, integrative, practical, and results-oriented.

In recent years, educators have noted the critical role district leadership plays in school improvement efforts. While district leadership is a critical factor in all areas of schooling, it is particularly important in adult learning. Simply put, student learning is positively affected by the quality of adult professional learning, and the quality…

Despite the key role that principals play in leading schoolwide change, districts' efforts to support principals are often limited, particularly in rural settings. In this article, we report the preliminary findings of a cross-district mentoring program for nine midcareer rural school principals. The collaboratively developed human resource…

Many educators agree that we already know how to foster student success, so what is keeping common sense from becoming common practice? The author provides step-by-step guidance for overcoming the barriers to adopting the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and achieving equity and excellence for all students. As an experienced teacher and…

Never before has the need been so great for classroom teachers to become agents of change and position themselves as problem solvers at the school building level. Teachers are uniquely positioned to assume leadership roles on a variety of tasks that could transform schools from more traditional workplaces into professional learning communities.…

People are used to hearing about the rapid pace of technological and organisational change and the fact that there is no longer such a thing as a job for life. It is not so long ago that the main, if not the sole, focus of a person's career was on initial education and training. Too many professionals were lulled into believing that their first…

For some years now, teachers in the post compulsory sector have been lambasted in educational circles for what some perceive as the poor quality of teaching and learning in classrooms. Such criticisms have tended to emanate from those responsible for inspecting the sector's provision. In fact, when Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education) and…

Drawing on research and development work in school effectiveness/improvement, this article argues that internal capacity is vital in developing and sustaining the teacher and organizational learning necessary to promote and enhance student learning. Organizational and external influences on internal capacity are discussed, along with…

This is the culminating report of a three-year study of seven small schools in Washington State. It examines adult learning in the context of school redesign and highlights three schools where teachers are beginning to capitalize on adult learning opportunities to turn the corner to instructional change. In our view, effective adult learning…