1st Edition

Teachers Leading Educational Reform The Power of Professional Learning Communities

Edited By Alma Harris, Michelle Jones, Jane B. Huffman Copyright 2018
    256 Pages 14 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    256 Pages 14 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Teachers Leading Educational Reform explores the ways in which teachers across the world are currently working together in professional learning communities (PLCs) to generate meaningful change and innovation in order to transform pedagogy and practice. By discussing how teachers can work collectively and collaboratively on the issues of learning and teaching that matter to them, it argues that through collective action and collaborative agency, teachers are leading educational reform.

    By offering contemporary examples and perspectives on the practice, impact and sustainability of PLCs, this book takes a global, comparative view showing categorically that those educational systems that are performing well, and seek to perform well, are using PLCs as the infrastructure to support teacher-led improvement.

    Split into three sections that look at the macro, meso and micro aspects of how far professional collaboration is building the capacity and capability for school and system improvement, this text asks the questions:

      • Is the PLC work authentic?
      • Is the PLC work being implemented at a superficial or deep level?
      • Is there evidence of a positive impact on students/teachers at the school/district/system level?
      • Is provision in place for sustaining the PLC work?

    Teachers Leading Educational Reform illustrates how focused and purposeful professional collaboration is contributing to change and reform across the globe. It reinforces why teachers must be at the heart of the school reform processes as the drivers and architects of school transformation and change.

    Introduction

    SECTION 1 - TEACHERS LEADING EDUCATIONAL REFORM WITHIN AND ACROSS SYSTEMS

    Introduction to Section 1

    Chapter 1 - Taking the lead: Teachers leading educational reform through Collaborative Enquiry in Scotland

    Christopher Chapman, Hannah Chestnutt, Niamh Friel, Stuart Hall and Kevin Lowden

    Chapter 2 –Teachers Leading Reform Through Inquiry Learning Networks: A View from British Columbia

    Linda Kaser & Judy Halbert

    Chapter 3 - Teacher leadership within and across professional learning communities in England

    Louise Stoll, Chris Brown, Karen Spence-Thomas and Carol Taylor

    Chapter 4 Teacher-Led Professional Collaboration and Systemic Capacity Building: Developing Communities of Professional Learners in Ontario

    Carol Campbell, Ann Lieberman and Anna Yashkina

    Chapter 5 - Teacher Leaders in Professional Learning Communities in Singapore: Challenges and Opportunities

    Salleh Hairon & Goh W.P. Jonathan

    SECTION 2 – TEACHERS LEADING EDUCATIONAL REFORM WITHIN AND ACROSS DISTRICTS AND SCHOOLS

    Introduction to Section 2

    Chapter 6 - Teachers at the Forefront: A Comprehensive, Systematic Process for Creating and Sustaining a District-Wide Culture of Learning

    Kristine Kiefer Hipp and Anthony E. Brazouski

    Chapter 7 - From PLC Implementation to PLC Sustainability: The Pivotal Role of District Support

    Dianne F. Olivier, Patrice B. Pujol, Steve V. Westbrook,

    Jennifer G. Tuttleton

    Chapter 8 - District Efforts to Support the Professional Learning Community Framework in Schools: Transformation of Learning

    Jane B. Huffman, James K. Wilson, Mike Mattingly

    Chapter 9 - Creating a network for teacher-led reform and pedagogical innovation in Taiwan

    Peiying Chen,

    SECTION 3 – TEACHERS LEADING EDUCATIONAL REFORM WITHIN AND ACROSS SCHOOLS

    Introduction to Section 3

    Chapter 10 - Developing adaptive expertise through professional learning communities in New Zealand

    Helen Timperley, Fiona Ell, Deidre Le Fevre

    Chapter 11 Professional Learning Communities in Chinese Senior Secondary Schools

    Sally M. Thomas, Wen-Jung Peng and Pat Triggs

    Chapter 12 - Decentralisation, localism and the role of Professional Learning Communities in supporting school collaborations in Wales

    Mark Hadfield

    Conclusion

    Biography

    Alma Harris is Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Malaya, Malaysia. 

    Michelle Jones is Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Bath, UK.

    Jane B. Huffman is Emeritus Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of North Texas, USA. 

    ‘Finally, a thought-provoking book from well-known and inspiring educators that substantiates the critical importance of teacher-led research and voice, through structured collaboration in PLCs, on "practice that works". A must-read for every teacher and leader looking for compelling evidence, from across the globe, that purposeful collaboration makes a difference to increasing all students’ achievement.’ - Dr. Lyn Sharratt, Practitioner, Author, Researcher, International Consultant at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada. @LynSharratt