Teacher Agency, Professional Development and School Improvement

At the heart of the book is a fresh perspective on schooling, in which teacher agency is considered fundamental to professional development and school improvement. Readers are invited to reconceptualise professional development, re-imagine school improvement and focus on enabling teacher agency as the foundation for change.

Highlighting the role of teachers in school change, Teacher Agency, Professional Development and School Improvement explores the important related issues of professional identity, teacher self-efficacy, leadership and autonomy in the context of contested improvement agendas.

Providing analytical frameworks and practical models, this book:

• Offers examples of projects, programmes and narratives to illustrate the role of teachers in school change

• Invites readers to reconceptualise professional development and re-imagine school improvement

• Focuses on enabling teacher agency as the foundation for improvement

• Emphasises the importance of human agency to influence environments, lives and learning

• Provides strategies for improvement with integrity amidst powerful accountability requirements and external forces for change.

At the heart of this book is a fresh perspective on schooling, in which teacher agency is considered a fundamental dimension of professional development and key to school improvement. This raises necessary and challenging questions about purposes and processes in education. With practical ideas and strategies that can be used to inform and evaluate practice and policy, Teacher Agency, Professional Development and School Improvement is essential reading for headteachers and teachers wishing to lead changes to improve their school and for teacher educators who support them.

Autorentext

Judy Durrant is Head of Postgraduate Programmes in the Faculty of Education, Canterbury Christ Church University, UK.

Klappentext

Highlighting the role of teachers in school change, Teacher Agency, Professional Development and School Improvement explores the important related issues of professional identity, teacher self-efficacy, leadership and autonomy in the context of contested improvement agendas. Providing analytical frameworks and practical models, this book: Offers examples of projects, programmes and narratives to illustrate the role of teachers in school change Invites readers to reconceptualise professional development and re-imagine school improvement Focuses on enabling teacher agency as the foundation for improvement Emphasises the importance of human agency to influence environments, lives and learning Provides strategies for improvement with integrity amidst powerful accountability requirements and external forces for change. At the heart of this book is a fresh perspective on schooling, in which teacher agency is considered a fundamental dimension of professional development and key to school improvement. This raises necessary and challenging questions about purposes and processes in education. With practical ideas and strategies that can be used to inform and evaluate practice and policy, Teacher Agency, Professional Development and School Improvement is essential reading for headteachers and teachers wishing to lead changes to improve their school and for teacher educators who support them.

Inhalt

List of illustrations

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1 "... a difference needs to be made"

Chapter 2 Improving Schools in Context

Chapter 3 Professional Development, Identity and Agency

Chapter 4 The Role of Teachers in Changing Schools

Chapter 5 Leading School Cultures to Support Teacher Agency **** Chapter 6 An Agentic Framework for Education

Chapter 7 Agency in Action: Participation and Voice

Chapter 8 Agency for Sustainable Futures

Index ****