Principals have a strong role to play in forming school cultures that encourage change. Changing a school's culture requires shared or distributed leadership and instructional leadership. A multiyear study found that three elements are necessary for a school culture that stimulates teachers to improve their instruction: 1) Teachers and…

Using survey responses from a national sample of US teachers, this paper provides insight into 2 questions: (1) Do 3 specific attributes of leadership behavior--the sharing of leadership with teachers, the development of trust relationships among professionals, and the provision of support for instructional improvement--affect teachers' work with…

In the National Institute of Education's Research and Development Utilization (RDU) program, individual linking agents assisted the schools participating in RDU projects to locate or generate information that would help improve their educational practices. To assess the training and support provided these field agents by the seven RDU projects,…

This paper attempts to blend the literature on professionalism with the literature of community, thus positing a framework for a school-based professional community. Sociologists have long distinguished between occupations--even high status ones--and professions. Among the key distinctions of professionalism are: a technical knowledge base shared…

Schools across the United States are creating teacher teams in ever-greater numbers. "Teaming" refers to assembling a group of teachers from different disciplines and/or grade levels who work together as a "core group" responsible for teaching a subset of the school's population. This brief examines some of the potential conflicts between teacher…

Linking agents, called "field agents," coordinated and provided educational improvement services to schools participating in the National Institute of Education's Research and Development Utilization (RDU) program. To assess the field agents' roles, attitudes, behaviors, and client relations, researchers surveyed and interviewed agents,…