Leading practice development: voices from the middle

Grootenboer, Peter; Edwards‐Groves, Christine; Rönnerman, Karin

doi:10.1080/19415257.2014.924985

Cited by 106 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…This provided me with feedback about the dangers of lumping together all ‘hard to reach parents’. I also became mindful of the structure provided by Mrs Magpie—creating ‘hospitable conditions’ that both enabled and in some ways, constrained, sometimes guided, the practices of her two early career teachers, now acting essentially as middle leaders (Grootenboer et al., , p. 518).…”

Section: Level 3: Organisational Support and Changementioning

confidence: 99%

‘Are we there yet?’: A multimethod study of the Oxford University Press Pathways to school improvement

Davis

Sammons

2018

Review of Education

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This article presents one substantive and illustrative school case study to explore in depth practitioners’ engagement with Pathways—an online school improvement resource provided by the Oxford University Press (OUP). Launched in 2013, the ‘four‐step system’ comprises the following phases: ‘audit’, ‘strategic planning’, ‘take action’ and ‘evaluate impact’ and aims to support primary schools through a range of whole school improvement and teaching and learning tasks. The wider research project studied primary school practitioner perceptions and attitudes towards Pathways and both collective and individual improvement practice via an embedded multimethod case study comprising a purposive sample of five primary schools that signed up to use Pathways. It followed the evolution of Pathways using a ‘design‐based research’ (DBR) framework that focuses on bridging the realms of academia and more practical contexts, and promoting research impact through user engagement and active participation. The growth and use of Pathways by schools was investigated through the theoretical lenses of the Dynamic Approach to School Improvement (DASI) and Guskey's five‐level model of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) evaluation (2002). The Pathways research and case study in this article focus uniquely on how teaching practitioners engage with and perceive technology in their school improvement practice and professional development experiences in one particular school context. Pathways tools seemed to offer opportunities for teachers to work collaboratively, individually and autonomously—with their work being partially ‘mediated’ by Pathways itself, and specific ‘hospitable conditions’ cultivated by senior leadership such as professional support and trust.

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Section: Level 3: Organisational Support and Changementioning

confidence: 99%

‘Are we there yet?’: A multimethod study of the Oxford University Press Pathways to school improvement

Davis

Sammons

2018

Review of Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…278), and that their leading is practised 'below' the positional head (e.g. principal) and simultaneously 'above' and 'among' the teaching staff (Grootenboer et al 2015a). The notion of acknowledgement is crucial for teachers engaged in development work, as for some middle leaders, their work is not always a paid position in the hierarchical structure of the school; but it is work acknowledged by their teacher peers.…”

Section: Leading In Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The practice architectures of middle leading in early childhood education

Rönnerman

Grootenboer

Edwards‐Groves

2017

ICEP

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BackgroundAcross the globe, public sector leadership is generally organised in a hierarchical and linear way with decisions distributed to an appointed leader at each level in the organisation; this structure is particularly evident in the Swedish school system. Principals at each school are responsible to a director of education, and teachers are directly responsible to their principal. In this climate, a new kind of leadership is evolving with the specific purpose of facilitating collegial professional learning and the development of quality student learning in schools and preschools. Leaders in these roles generally have a recognised and often appointed role in supporting the professional development of their colleagues, but seldom this role is taken to be a more formal paid position in the linear or hierarchical formation of organisation. In Sweden, these leading roles are recognised as utvecklingsledare, handledare, förstelärare (development teacher, facilitator, first teacher) or curriculum coordinators. Moreover, these leaders are teachers whose work is mostly that of a classroom teacher. Their leading role has often been generated AbstractThe development of Early Childhood Education in Sweden is a central concern for national and local government, and for school districts and preschools. While principals have the responsibility for, and a particular role in, leading education in the preschools, they are somewhat removed from the core work of teachers. In this article, we argue that it is 'middle leaders' who are the critical professionals for developing quality in education. The argument is made through examining the leading practices of middle leaders using a practice theory framework. We specifically draw on the theory of practice architectures to explore and understand the arrangements and conditions that enable and constrain the practices of these leaders in their work. The study draws on survey data and recorded professional Learning Dialogues among participants. Responses revealed a number of enabling and constraining conditions relating to particular cultural-discursive, material-economic and social-political conditions that influenced what was possible in their leading practices. Results further show how the practices of middle leaders were crucial in not only developing but sustaining quality in Early Childhood Education as they coordinate between the educational practices within the preschool and across the city district.

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“…Teachers' involvement in action research also helps to generate practices of leadership on the part of these teachers (Edwards-Groves and Rönnerman, 2013) -often expressed in practices of facilitating peers during collective reflective practices. In recent studies, Grootenboer et al (2015) have identified how such middle leading practices, involving teachers leading their colleagues' pedagogical change, begin with critical reflections on their practices and require a capacity to enable teachers' voices and agency for developing their own practices.…”

Section: The Nature Of Action Research: Personal Professional and Pomentioning

confidence: 99%

Transforming professional learning: Educational action research in practice

Hardy

Rönnerman

Edwards‐Groves

2017

European Educational Research Journal

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This article seeks to extend current understandings of educational action research, particularly how teachers' actions, talk and ongoing relatings can serve as a vehicle for transforming their learning, including under current global conditions of more performative accountability. The research is grounded in Noffke's (2009) understandings of the nature of the personal, professional and political dimensions that characterize action research. While validating Noffke's (2009) dimensions, we also argue that specific instances of action research help provide insights into not just how action research might be currently understood, but details about how it has actually transformed teachers' learning practices. To do so, we draw upon recent theorizing into the nature of educational practice, and an example of action research in one school in Australia. Specifically, and drawing upon Kemmis et al. (2014), we reveal the particular 'doings' (actions), 'sayings' (talk) and 'relatings' (relationships) that characterize specific instances of teachers' learning during part of an action research cycle in this school, under current policy conditions. By indicating how this learning came about, we reveal how the personal, professional and political dimensions (Noffke, 2009) in action research settings are enacted, leading to transformed practice through specific doings, sayings and relatings under current conditions.

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Leading practice development: voices from the middle

Cited by 106 publications

References 23 publications

‘Are we there yet?’: A multimethod study of the Oxford University Press Pathways to school improvement

‘Are we there yet?’: A multimethod study of the Oxford University Press Pathways to school improvement

The practice architectures of middle leading in early childhood education

Transforming professional learning: Educational action research in practice

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