Maya Kaul, Jonathan Supovitz and Meghan Comstock
This study investigates the reasons teachers seek instructional assistance from their colleagues. By examining both the reasons why teachers seek assistance and considering which…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the reasons teachers seek instructional assistance from their colleagues. By examining both the reasons why teachers seek assistance and considering which reasons for seeking assistance predict shifts in teaching practice, this analysis provides new insights into how schools can leverage teachers' social networks for organizational change.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on interview and survey data from a sample of 52 schools across seven districts in the United States, we first qualitatively explore the reasons teachers seek instructional assistance, based on patterns in teachers' self-reported descriptions of their instructional advice-seeking. Then, we apply hierarchical linear models to predict which individual characteristics and organizational features influence the reasons' teachers seek assistance and which reasons for seeking assistance influence their subsequent shifts in teaching practice.
Findings
Teachers' positions in their social networks, their experience levels and their organizational contexts predict the reasons for which they seek instructional assistance. In addition, teachers seeking advice based on perceptions of their peers' experience or resource access predicts positive shifts in teaching practice; however, fewer than half of teachers' instructional-advice seeking ties reported in our sample were motivated by either of these two reasons.
Practical implications
The findings highlight the potential for school leaders and policymakers to improve teaching practice by making educators' experience and resources more accessible within schools and creating structures that enable collaboration.
Originality/value
This paper addresses a gap in social network literature by moving beyond a structuralist analysis of teachers' collegial networks to investigate teachers' motivations for pursuing advice-seeking ties.
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Meghan Comstock, Jonathan Supovitz and Maya Kaul
This study examines the relational dynamics between teachers and formal teacher leaders (TLs). We examine the association between relationship structure and leader-member exchange…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the relational dynamics between teachers and formal teacher leaders (TLs). We examine the association between relationship structure and leader-member exchange (LMX) quality and the extent to which LMX mediates the relationship between social network (SN) measures of dyadic relationships and TL influence.
Design/methodology/approach
Using survey data from 1,895 teacher-TL relationships, we employ path mediation analysis using hierarchical linear modeling.
Findings
Our results indicate that voluntary advice-seeking and multiplex ties are associated with stronger exchange quality between teachers and TLs. In addition, LMX partially mediates the relationship between voluntary ties and TL influence.
Originality/value
SN and LMX theories offer two complementary lenses for studying relational dynamics in organizations, though they seldom are used together, especially in education. This study bridges SN and LMX theories and measures to bolster studies of relational dynamics in organizations and highlights that in the case of formal teacher leadership, there is a need for school structures that enable teachers and TLs to seek out one another informally and develop strong social exchanges.
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Jinyu Chen, Xindong Ye, Min Chen and Ye Liang
The purpose of this paper is to identify the papers published on urban education and analyze the characteristics of these papers to contribute to the urban education research over…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the papers published on urban education and analyze the characteristics of these papers to contribute to the urban education research over the recent years.
Design/methodology/approach
Researchers generated a comprehensive list of the articles published between 2010 and 2017 in the field of “urban education” by searching the Social Sciences Citation Index database, using the keywords of “urban” and “education.” As an additional criterion, all the articles published between 2010 and 2017 in the journals of Urban Education and Education and Urban Society were included.
Findings
There are a total of 2,123 publications that were checked and retrieved in the field of “urban education” between 2010 and 2017. Although the number of publications differs year by year, the sum of the citations received the increase from year to year on a regular basis. There are 35 articles that were cited more than h-index, as h-classics in this field for this period and top 10 of these h-classics are reported in this study. Urban Education and Education and Urban Society were revealed as the most prominent journals in the field of urban education. Also, the results show that the most cited articles, the most prolific authors and organizations, and top journals in this field are from the USA.
Research limitations/implications
The scope of this study is not extensive enough, and the data obtained are not comprehensive enough. The survey was limited to the keyword of “urban education” in the fields of title, abstract, author keywords and keywords plus.
Practical implications
This bibliometric analysis contributes to the literature of urban education through a historical perspective. Results show that the “urban education” field attracts more attention of the researchers and the impacts of these publications are increasing from year to year. Also, there is a prevalence of the USA in the field of urban education.
Originality/value
The information presented in this paper provides insight into the development of urban education research over the recent years. The data obtained in this study can be used as a reference for future researchers in urban education.
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Sonya D. Hayes, Erin Anderson and Bradley W. Carpenter
This study centers the reflections of principals across the USA as they navigated the overwhelming stress of closing and reopening schools during a global pandemic. Specifically…
Abstract
Purpose
This study centers the reflections of principals across the USA as they navigated the overwhelming stress of closing and reopening schools during a global pandemic. Specifically, the authors explored how school principals addressed self-care and their own well-being during the pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
This research study is part of a broader qualitative study conducted by 20 scholars from across the USA in Spring 2020 and organized by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE). This national research team conducted 120 qualitative interviews with public school principals in 19 different states and 100 districts. As part of this team, the authors coded and analyzed all 120 transcripts in NVivo using a self-care framework.
Findings
The responses from the participants capture some of the complexity of self-care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors found evidence of both negative and positive sentiments towards self-care that will be described in five major themes. For the tensions with self-care, the authors developed two primary themes: leaders eat last and keep from falling off the cliff. For the demonstrations of self-care, the authors also developed three primary themes: release the endorphins, people need people and unplug from work.
Originality/value
Although researchers have identified the stressors and reactions of principals during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, little is known on how principals engaged in self-care practices. This study aims to identify these self-care practices and offer recommendations for principals.