Professional school cultures, which can be characterized by teachers who take an inquiry stance and in which exchanging knowledge and collaboratively developing classroom material is common practice, receive increasing attention. However, teachers in many schools still often work in isolation and generally do not critically examine their…

This article explores how three early childhood teachers working in grant-funded preschools within a public school context construct and negotiate their professional identities. Teachers share narratives that contribute to an understanding of how their beliefs, knowledge, and practice are marginalized by the context in which they work. The…

Breman Vance's paper, in keeping with the theme of the College English Association's 2017 conference, Islands, is focused on how teachers need to build bridges, explore new territory, and avoid professional isolation--especially in regard to modern, multimodal literacies, a source of unending questions and frustrations.

The aim of this article is to shed light on the complex role of drama teaching and drama teachers' learning trajectories. Within a socio-cultural framework of understanding, an ethnographic study was conducted on the culture and context of drama implementation in schools. The theory of practice architectures by Stephen Kemmis and Peter Grootenboer…

This article presents findings from a study into the reality of beginning as a principal in a New Zealand secondary school. The views of beginning, experienced and former principals are presented and discussed drawing on the literature of organisational sensemaking. The findings suggest that the challenges of unexpected occurrences, relationship…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test the model first presented by Federici and Skaalvik (2012) involving the relationships among four attributes of principals' work--self-efficacy, burnout, job satisfaction, and intention to leave (persistence). The model is then extended to test the role of isolation as a precursor.…

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between the organizational alienation and the organizational citizenship behaviors of primary school teachers. The research population consists of 700 teachers from 90 primary schools in the central district of Mardin/Turkey in the academic year of 2015-2016. The research sample consists of…

This case study explored chemistry teacher isolation through the compilation and analysis of contextual characteristics and student performance data of 895 public schools and 2321 chemistry teachers in New York State in 2011-12. Data on the teachers' qualifications along with school characteristics were collected from several independent, publicly…

Purpose: This study sought to develop a quantitative understanding of factors that reduce perceived isolation and marginalization among physical educators. A conceptual model for the relationships among study variables was developed. Method: Data were collected through an online survey completed by 419 inservice physical educators (210 females,…

High school physics teachers in the United States are often in a position of isolation, particularly in urban schools where access to physics is relatively limited. This study explored the issue of professional isolation and how it impacted 2 novice urban physics teachers. The a priori framework incorporated aspects of socialization and the…

Research Focus: The purpose of this study was to explore the role that mentoring played in the professional development of minority faculty in the Texas State higher education system. Research Methods: A phenomenological qualitative research design was employed for this study. Data was collected using open ended in-depth interviews with eight…

In 2013 the Iowa Teacher Leadership and Compensation planning grant (TLC) committed to providing 150 million dollars annually toward rewarding effective teachers with leadership opportunities and higher pay, attracting promising new teachers with competitive starting salaries, and fostering greater collaboration for all teachers to learn from one…

COVID-19 forced a rapid shift from in-person to online learning in both K-12 and postsecondary schools. Some teachers and students adapted well to the shift while others continue to struggle. Common complaints from teachers who struggle in the new distance learning environment are feelings of isolation and burnout. One of the most significant…

This article draws on interviews undertaken with 20 teachers as part of a larger study on the impact of COVID-19 on schools. Although the schools varied by location, level, and socio-economic status, teachers' experiences were remarkably similar. Teachers found the sudden move to on-line learning stressful, and the constant demands of delivering a…

This article explores how a group of teaching-oriented academics--College English (CE) teachers in China--negotiate their collective identity at the workplace amid research discourse. Drawing on an integrated theoretical framework focusing on the interrelationship between discourse, practice, and social networks, the study reveals the field of…