This paper takes a 'networking of theories' approach to understand the complexity of the phenomenon of agency. We examine an episode, where a kindergarten teacher and nine children work on an addition problem, from three different perspectives: Valsiner's zone theory; Radford's theory of objectification; and Pickering's dance of agency. Our…

The aims of this study were to establish a Research Network of Early Childhood Professionals and to identity network members' top research priorities and preferred research methods. Australian early childhood education (ECE) professionals were invited to participate in a Delphi-style survey. In Stage 1, participants were asked to describe the most…

Supporting students with complex communication needs requires collaboration within and beyond the school system. Through a state-wide survey, this quantitative descriptive study used social network analysis to examine the professional networks and collaboration patterns of 325 special education teachers and 189 speech-language pathologists who…

The problem explored in this study was principals' low self-efficacy, which negatively affected school outcomes and could lead principals to set weaker goals and be less resilient. The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to identify strategies that principals believed would foster better self-efficacy. The theoretical framework…

Over the past few decades, scholars have paid attention to how PI (parental involvement) impacts children's performance at school. Hence, PI is often reduced to school-centric involvement. Moreover, several studies have shown social class differences in PI, but relatively little attention has been paid to social class differences in culturally…

An estimated 10 out of every 1,000 children in preschool are expelled from childcare programs. The purpose of this qualitative instrumental multiple case study was to explore the experiences of childcare directors with preschool expulsion and their perceptions regarding the why and how the phenomenon and the nature of their role in supporting…

Educators have increasingly turned to social media for their instructional, social, and emotional needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to see where support and professional development would be needed and how the educational community interacted online, we sought to use existing Twitter data to examine potential educators' networking and…

A self-avoiding walk (SAW) is a sequence of moves on a grid that does not visit the same point more than once. SAWs are used to study how networks form, including social networks, biological networks and computer networks, and have provided inspiration to scientists, artists and designers. Here we describe a collaborative project which aims to…

Effective instructional coaching has long demonstrated positive impacts on teacher practices and early learning outcomes. Providing effective instructional coaching at scale is a challenge that many state and local systems tackle. This case study report highlights four systems (Alabama, AppleTree, Maine, and Washington) that are uniquely…

Research on classroom peer effects has focused nearly exclusively on high-income countries and on academic skills. Little is known about peer effects in low-income countries and whether effects differ under different educational environments (e.g., teacher-directed versus child-centered, conditions of concentrated advantage or disadvantage). Based…

Human observations can only capture a portion of ongoing classroom social activity, and are not ideal for understanding how children's interactions are spatially structured. Here we demonstrate how social interaction can be investigated by modeling automated continuous measurements of children's location and movement using a commercial system…

Tamim is an organization designed as a school network, much like those found in the charter school sector, among innovative public schools, and in smaller numbers in other corners of the private school sector. Tamim is built on the notion of expanding existing prekindergarten programs associated with local Chabad Jewish centers into full…

In this study, we present the experiences of three educational projects with over thirty years of pedagogical innovation in the Basque Country: 'The Amara Berri System', 'Eskola Txikiak' and 'The Antzuola Project'. These include innovations with an inclusive focus as well as practices that affect the curriculum and school organisation for the…

This paper charts the recent history of the STEM Learning UK contracts with local Science Learning Partnerships (SLPs) and identifies what leadership has been made available to support the Early Years and Primary school sector. A case study approach is taken using 'Super SLP' hubs in England. Curriculum Hubs exist in core subject areas such as…

A burgeoning set of education-related organizations join networks each year, reflecting a shared belief that problems in education are too complex for any one educator or organization to solve on their own and that collaboration can support educational improvement. The goal of this paper is to describe how networked improvement communities (NICs)…