This article utilises complexity thinking to further develop a heuristic model for teacher professional growth as a continuous, recursive and adaptive process. Conversations with six case teachers are drawn upon in a phenomenographic study, seeking variation in ways of experiencing learning and development, together comprising professional growth.…

There is a growing global concern about providing effective continuing education and training (CET) to support and sustain the employability of working-age populations. More than enhancing workplace viability and employability, CET also assists in achieving governments' economic and social goals. Educational institutions organise CET provisions…

Teaching assistants (TAs) have a notable role in supporting individual students, groups, and classes in learning and in daily practices, both in mainstream and special education at the primary and secondary school levels. To enhance teaching assistants' learning, they should be integrated members of schools' professional learning communities.…

Evaluating courses' impact on diverse stakeholders can be immensely valuable as a means of identifying ways in which curriculum can better support learners' personal and professional development and achieve wider societal aims. Yet, few empirical evaluation studies exist exploring the impact of microcredentials. This article reports a study…

There are reports about school improvement initiatives that have been successfully implemented and evaluated within relatively brief time scales. However, many initiatives do not survive over longer terms. Our purpose in this study was to identify successful strategies for achieving long-term school improvement. We interviewed 12 leaders at four…

The emergence of remote and for-profit universities has provided increased opportunities for adult learners to obtain higher education degrees in a technologically-dependent teaching-learning environment. During the pandemic, for-profit online learning institutions experienced increases in enrollment while face-to-face institutions experienced a…

Public higher education leaders have entered 2024 aided by tailwinds of fiscal stability in many states and a strong national economy, but some challenges of the post-pandemic era remain, including strengthening the value proposition of higher education, building public trust, and meeting changing economic and workforce needs. This paper presents…

The purpose of this case study was to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that support combat student veterans in a private institution of higher education. The theory guiding this study was Astin's developmental theory of student involvement for higher education. The conceptual framework guiding the study was Vacchi's model of student…

This paper proposes a unique framework for comparative analysis of different Adult Higher Education (AHE) systems. The framework combines, a conceptualisation of how students' outcomes are shaped by the way that they and their degree courses are positioned in stratified higher education systems with, insights about the effects of institutional…

Recent governmental education reform measures have emphasized school improvement by requiring schools and districts to improve school performance, including student achievement, through many avenues including professional development. Professional development is no longer concentrated solely on teachers; it now includes administrators the…

A principal's job is complex, demanding, and multi-faceted. Effective principals shape a school's academic vision and foster a climate for learning. In addition, they develop leadership capacity in teachers and staff, promote sound instructional practices, and use resources and data to drive school improvement (Mendels, 2012). Given these…

The main aim of the study was to examine whether headteachers in Malaysian primary schools were equipped with the relevant competencies to execute school change, in the light of increasing demands for educational excellence and ensuing school reforms. A comparison was made between the National School (NS) and National-Type Chinese School (NTCS).…

This report describes some surprising shifts in regional achievement patterns in Illinois public schools under NCLB. These shifts show worrisome declines in many communities that were not the original focus of NCLB, and promising growth in some communities where evidence presented shows changes in school effectiveness. What schools and districts…

Background: UK government policy views collaboration with outstanding schools as a way of helping apparently less successful schools to close the attainment gap. However, there has been little debate about criteria for defining a school's success or failure. Moreover it is unclear which aspects of outstanding schools could readily transfer to…

The continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers has increasingly come to be considered an important component of teacher policy reforms throughout much of the world. As part of its comprehensive school improvement and teacher development programmes, Ethiopia has recently developed a national policy framework on CPD for teachers. Arguing…