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Article
Publication date: 3 May 2022

Andy Hargreaves

The purpose of this essay is to honor, position and reflect on key themes related to high school reform within the careerlong scholarship of Karen Seashore Louis. It is presented…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this essay is to honor, position and reflect on key themes related to high school reform within the careerlong scholarship of Karen Seashore Louis. It is presented in relation to my own and others' key studies and book-length arguments regarding educational change, knowledge utilization, professional communities and innovation, over the past 30 years and up to the present time.

Design/methodology/approach

The article examines and interprets major works by Karen Seashore Louis and other educational change theorists that address repeated systemic failures, and episodic outlier efforts, at transformational change in high schools.

Findings

High school change has only failed if it is judged by the overarching criterion of system-wide transformation. Fair assessments of high school change must also examine accumulated incremental innovations. In light of the need for transformational aspirations in schools to mesh with transformational directions in society, the global pandemic and its aftermath may provide five key opportunities for long-awaited transformation.

Originality/value

There are different levels and degrees of innovation. Incremental innovation is as important as wholesale transformation. The growing number of networked outliers of innovation raises questions about the false equation of whole system change with bureaucratic state reform. Although the influential literature on whole system change is rooted in a small number of English-speaking countries, transformational change on a system-wide basis already exists in Northern Europe and parts of the Global South. Last, the pandemic and other major disruptions to the global social order have produced conditions that are highly favorable to transformational change in the future.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 60 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

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Article
Publication date: 27 July 2020

Andy Hargreaves and Michael Fullan

This article revisits three classic findings from Dan Lortie's 1975 book Schoolteacher, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and its possible aftermaths. These findings are…

9410

Abstract

Purpose

This article revisits three classic findings from Dan Lortie's 1975 book Schoolteacher, in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and its possible aftermaths. These findings are that teachers and others base their ideas about teaching on the long apprenticeship of observation as students; they derive their satisfaction from the psychic rewards of teaching – the emotional satisfaction and feedback that teachers got from students; and they work in conservative cultures of individualism.

Design/methodology/approach

The article appraises Lortie's foundational text in relation to contemporary public domain surveys and op-ed articles about the impact of the pandemic on teaching and learning.

Findings

COVID-19 created conditions that undermined traditional psychic rewards, weakened the tenuous student–teacher relationship as more students found schooling less engaging, began to give parents distorted observations of teaching online and made teacher collaboration more difficult.

Research limitations/implications

Due to the current nature of the pandemic and the shortage of just-in-time original data, the research relies on rapid responses and op-ed perceptions rather than on an established body of literature and database.

Practical implications

The postpandemic agenda holds out three ways to modernize Lortie's agenda in ways that advance the presence and impact of professional capital. These ways comprise new psychic rewards for students and not just teachers, a more open professionalism that is actively inclusive of parents and collaborative professionalism that has greater strength and depth.

Social implications

Educational reform in the postpandemic age must be transformational and not seek to return to normal.

Originality/value

The paper gives new meaning to Lortie's original ideas on COVID-19 circumstances

Details

Journal of Professional Capital and Community, vol. 5 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-9548

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Article
Publication date: 15 January 2020

Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley

The purpose of this paper is to cover a 10-year period in ten of Ontario’s 72 school districts on the nature, origins and importance of “leading from the middle” (LfM) within and…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to cover a 10-year period in ten of Ontario’s 72 school districts on the nature, origins and importance of “leading from the middle” (LfM) within and across the districts.

Design/methodology/approach

The research uses a self-selected but also representative sample of ten Ontario school districts. It undertook three-day site visits in each of the districts, transcribed all the interviews and compiled an analysis into detailed case studies.

Findings

LfM is defined by a philosophy, structure and culture that promotes collaboration, initiative and responsiveness to the needs of each district along with collective responsibility for all students’ success.

Research limitations/implications

To be sustainable in Ontario, LfM needs support and resourcing from the top. The current environment of economic austerity therefore threatens sustainability. Globally, examples of LfM are emerging in at least three other systems. The analysis does not have identical questions or respondents in phases 1 and 2. Ontario’s version of LfM may differ from others. The collaborative design may downplay criticisms of LfM.

Practical implications

LfM provides a clear design for leading in complex times. Compared to top-down leadership the whole system can address the whole of students’ learning and well-being. LfM is suited to systems and cultures that support local democracy, community responsiveness and professional empowerment and engagement.

Originality/value

LfM is an inclusive, democratic and professionally empowering and responsive process that differs from other middle level strategies which treat the middle merely as a way of connecting the top and bottom to get government policies implemented more efficiently and coherently.

Details

Journal of Professional Capital and Community, vol. 5 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-9548

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Article
Publication date: 19 April 2017

Andy Hargreaves and Michael T. O’Connor

This Commentary is a review and critique of arguments that oppose the desirability and impact of professional collaboration in education. The purpose of this paper is to analyze…

4839

Abstract

Purpose

This Commentary is a review and critique of arguments that oppose the desirability and impact of professional collaboration in education. The purpose of this paper is to analyze two recent high-profile reviews of professional development and collaboration. The analysis is informed by a historical typology of five phases of professional collaboration in theory and practice.

Design/methodology/approach

The Commentary reviews and summarizes selected key texts that represent different phases in the development of advocacy for and research concerning the emergence of professional collaboration. It then critiques the methodology, findings, and recommendations of two key critiques of professional collaboration and development that have been widely disseminated for educators and policymakers.

Findings

Contrary to the views of its opponents, professional collaboration as a whole has a record of indirect, long term, yet clear and positive effects on teachers and students. Particular kinds of professional collaboration can vary a great deal in quality and impact, however. Short-term collaborative interventions, such as data teams, are often dependent for their success on the prior existence of deeper cultures and processes. These processes and cultures characterize high-performing systems globally. Advocacy for competitive alternatives is based on insufficient evidence.

Originality/value

Although advocacy for more competition in public school systems is common, high-profile critiques of professional collaboration are relatively new. This paper engages with these critiques from a broader historical perspective, and finds they have serious flaws of reasoning and methodology. Thus far, the critiques provide insufficient warrant for moves toward more competitive systems of schooling and teaching.

Details

Journal of Professional Capital and Community, vol. 2 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-9548

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Article
Publication date: 11 April 2016

Mel Ainscow

The paper reflects on the findings of a program of research, which, over many years, has explored ways of promoting greater equity in schools and education systems. Using examples…

178859

Abstract

Purpose

The paper reflects on the findings of a program of research, which, over many years, has explored ways of promoting greater equity in schools and education systems. Using examples from the field, the paper provides an explanation of what this involves. In so doing it identifies potential barriers that have to be addressed and suggestions as to how these might be overcome. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on a series of studies what uses a “development and research” approach This is one of a family of methodologies referred to by as “design-based implementation research.” These aim to transcend traditional research/practice barriers to facilitate the design of educational interventions that are “effective, sustainable, and scalable.” They are seen as occurring when researcher and practitioner knowledge meet in particular sites, aimed at producing new knowledge about ways in which broad values might better be realized in future practice.

Findings

The experiences described in this paper suggest a way forward that policy makers could use to ensure that the impetus that comes from greater school autonomy will lead to improvements that will benefit all children and young people.

Research limitations/implications

In thinking about how the approach described might be used more widely it is essential to recognize that it does not offer a simple recipe that can be lifted and transferred between contexts. Rather, it defines an approach to improvement that uses processes of contextual analysis in order to create strategies that fit particular circumstances.

Practical implications

The argument presented is based on an assumption that education systems have further potential to improve themselves, provided policy makers allow the space for practitioners to make use of the expertise and creativity that lies trapped within individual classrooms. The aim must be to “move knowledge around” and the best way to do this is through strengthening collaboration within schools, between schools and beyond schools.

Originality/value

The paper draws together findings from an extensive program of research in order to develop new thinking regarding ways of promoting equity in education.

Details

Journal of Professional Capital and Community, vol. 1 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-9548

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Book part
Publication date: 26 September 2022

Sian May and Kevin House

This chapter argues we should not regard school-to-school collaboration as simply a mechanism for outcome-driven improvement but rather consider the establishment of teacher…

Abstract

This chapter argues we should not regard school-to-school collaboration as simply a mechanism for outcome-driven improvement but rather consider the establishment of teacher relationships as the necessary priority when building highly effective collaborative networks. By revisiting the research of Sandra Kruse, Amanda Datnow and Andy Hargreaves, we develop an additional tool to Hood’s matrix of regulation and cohesion in an effort to position collaborative networks in the context of international private fee-paying schools. The tool visualizes the collaborative network development as a relationship continuum in which time is the necessary driver of a network’s success. The 12 Asian private international schools in the case study were given collaborative framework guidance drawn from multiple sources. Subsequently, the enablers and hindrances reported by the collaboration leads highlight the need for trust and teacher agency development to be prioritized by leadership. Finally, on sharing some lessons learned from the case study, we close by arguing the value of collaboration lies in opening the door to allow for agenetic cultures that build reflexive practitioners.

Details

School-to-School Collaboration: Learning Across International Contexts
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-669-5

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Book part
Publication date: 7 March 2013

Andy Hargreaves

Educational reform today is being ruled by hyper-rationality. Tyrannies of imposed reform, and technologies of individualized online learning, are separating learners and their…

Abstract

Educational reform today is being ruled by hyper-rationality. Tyrannies of imposed reform, and technologies of individualized online learning, are separating learners and their teachers from their feelings, their fellow teachers and learners, and their future purposes and dreams. Curriculum standards, accountability, performance evaluations, targets and testing – all these assume a rational, linear system of delivery that can be broken down into the granular organization and administration of cognitively managed technical tasks. Nowhere is this more evident than in the domination of reform thinking and practice by data-driven improvement and accountability.

Details

Emotion and School: Understanding how the Hidden Curriculum Influences Relationships, Leadership, Teaching, and Learning
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-651-4

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Article
Publication date: 11 January 2016

Andy Hargreaves

3552

Abstract

Details

Journal of Professional Capital and Community, vol. 1 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2056-9548

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Book part
Publication date: 7 March 2013

Melissa Newberry, Andrea Gallant and Philip Riley

As outlined in these chapters, pre-service teachers, beginning teachers, experienced teachers, teacher leaders and aspirant leaders all face the growing demands of emotional…

Abstract

As outlined in these chapters, pre-service teachers, beginning teachers, experienced teachers, teacher leaders and aspirant leaders all face the growing demands of emotional labour and are engaged in the emotional work that underpins learning environments. The ‘false apprenticeship’ (Bullock, 2013) highlights how teacher education remains historically problematic, with its focus on observation for replication, rather than the development of an individual's capability. Educators need to be enabled to refocus their attention on developing professional capital (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012). According to Hargreaves and Fullan (2012) there are three elements that produce professional capital, these are human capital, social capital and decisional capital. The presence of all three is vital for a healthy productive education system. The education system is made up of people and education is for the people. Society and future societies rely on professional capital being promoted within education.

Details

Emotion and School: Understanding how the Hidden Curriculum Influences Relationships, Leadership, Teaching, and Learning
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-651-4

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Article
Publication date: 27 September 2011

Dean Fink

A crucial aspect of a school's capacity to promote and sustain change and improvement in student learning is the depth, breadth and endurance of both its formal and informal…

2414

Abstract

Purpose

A crucial aspect of a school's capacity to promote and sustain change and improvement in student learning is the depth, breadth and endurance of both its formal and informal leadership. Shortages of willing leaders, however, have forced governments around the world to expend a considerable amount of time, effort, and money to fill up the leadership “pipeline” with qualified candidates for leadership positions. This paper aims to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses the examples of school districts in Ontario, Canada, in England and in the eastern United States to look beyond the common practice of merely filling up “pipelines” with credentialed leaders to an examination of the development of leadership “pools” and “reservoirs” of leadership capacity through distributed forms of leadership.

Findings

It is found that there has been a subtle but important shift in thinking over the past few years. Where once money spent on leadership recruitment and development was considered a cost, it is now viewed as an investment and as a result some school authorities have shifted focus from “replacement planning” in which specific people are identified to fill certain jobs, to a “succession management” approach which involves building an organization's leadership capacity by identifying, recruiting, and developing a “pool” of high‐potential individuals for both current and future roles.

Originality/value

The paper shows that developing this pool depends in large measure on the “reservoir” of leadership capacity in an organization and perhaps most importantly, the willingness of potential leaders to come forward.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 49 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

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