This paper reports on Phase Two of a small-scale qualitative research project. Phase One (2015-2016) focused on pre-service student teachers' perceptions of observation and feedback in relation to their developing identity as teachers. In Phase Two, two previous participants reflected on the research findings as qualified and beginning teachers.…

Neo-liberal educational policies that are being implemented globally work to foster competition among schools and teachers, as well as among children. In this situation, teachers must often come to accept the dominant representations of curricular policy developed by higher authorities. In this study, a case study design is used to describe how…

Purpose: The paper aims to examine, within the context of professional practice and learning, how designers collaboratively working in international teams experience practice-based learning and how such occasions contribute to professional development. Design/methodology/approach: The paper introduces the cooperation project between Tibro Training…

Students experience a wide array of special needs, from diagnosed disabilities to cultural and linguistic barriers to traumas. Schools around the world and across public and private sectors struggle to provide optimal opportunities to learn for students experiencing special needs. Moreover, schools typically engage in these efforts in isolation…

In order to be effective, professional development efforts are most promising if they are context specific and focus on supporting collaboration. Increasingly, schools initiate professional development with small groups of teachers, with the intention that the effects of the initiatives will spill over to other school personnel. This study follows…

This article deals with the implications of assessment for learning (AfL) in upper secondary physical education and health (PEH). Inspired by the research field that emanates from the concept of governmentality, the study is concerned with how AfL guides teachers' and students' actions in certain directions. Based on teachers' descriptions of how…

This article is based on a research and development project conducted in one upper secondary school in Norway. The participating teachers have been part of a three year longitudinal study, and the findings in the present study are from their third and final year of a professional development study. The aim of this study was to find out how…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to identify how PLCs influence the high school English teachers' practice in response to key instructional shifts within teaching standards in the Southwest United States. Legislation from the last two decades puts expectations in place that raise the bar for American students and their teachers…

Active and collaborative teaching methods increase student learning, and it is broadly accepted that almost any active or collaborative approach will improve learning outcomes as compared to lecture. Yet, large numbers of faculty have not embraced these methods. Thus, the challenge to encourage evidence-based change in teaching is not only how to…

The changes in academic identity a teacher may undergo, as they modify their teaching practice, will vary depending on their experiences and the support they receive. In this paper, we describe the shifts in academic identity of two lecturers, a mathematician and a mathematics educator, as they both made changes to their teaching practice by…

Collaborative practice is integral to effective inclusion. Within schools, teacher collaboration can foster communities of practice through a series of professional relationships that enhance the educational experience and learning outcomes of pupils with special educational needs (SEN). In Ireland, Learning Support Teachers (LSTs) and Resource…

Purpose: The use of data for instructional improvement is prevalent in today's educational landscape, yet policies calling for data use may result in significant variation at the school level. The purpose of this paper is to focus on tools and routines as mechanisms of principal influence on data-use professional learning communities (PLCs).…

This study to investigate how teachers develop their skills and knowledge to construct enthusiastic student learning and what part school principals play in that development was carried out in four primary schools serving disadvantaged communities in Beirut. In the absence of rich research in Lebanon on this topic, western literature was used to…

In every course, instructors expect students to learn; therefore, we attempt to be present for learners, and provide enriched learning environments which nurture this learning. However, in online courses developing such environments can be more difficult (or, at the very least, may come less naturally and require more conscious effort on the part…

Purpose: Although there has been increasing optimism about the potential for social media platforms such as Twitter to support educators' professional learning, it is yet unclear whether such promises hold true. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to explore school administrators' use of Twitter for professional learning.…