Power, knowledge and positioning in teacher networks (original) (raw)

Networks as Learning Communities: Shaping the Future of Teacher Development

Journal of Teacher Education, 2000

As technology transforms the institutions of society, changing the way that people work, communicate, and learn, schools must accommodate and adapt to these new conditions. Unfortunately, schools and school systems organized bureaucratically have difficulty changing. Educational reform networks are particularly well suited to making use of new technology and institutional arrangements. By their very nature, they are flexible, borderless, and innovative; they are able to create collaborative environments, focus their efforts, and develop agendas that grow and change with their participants. Studying reform networks, collaboratives, partnerships external to schools, and communities inside schools has taught a great deal about the organizational conditions and practices that support and sustain teacher learning over time. Teacher educators who collaborate with, learn from, and make use of the knowledge created by these networks are helping to recreate the meaning of scholarship itself, not only for teachers, but for themselves as well.

Teacher Networks Companion Piece

Penn Gse Perspectives on Urban Education, 2015

Network building vitally impacts career development, but in few professions does it impact daily practice more than in teaching. Teacher networks, known as professional learning communities, communities of practice, peer learning circles, virtual professional communities, as well as other names, play a unique and powerful role in education. In addition to providing opportunities for teachers to impact school change on local, state and national levels, networking links teachers directly to resources that improve classroom environments and support the generation of instructional tools, which directly impacts student learning. The diverse and vast knowledge base of networks includes school-wide, grade-level, and content area strategies. It also includes innumerable approaches to learning, such as project-based learning, connected learning, and maker-centered learning. Leveraging this knowledge base through a network brings novice teachers into the fold, supports the professional growth of mid-career educators, and reinvigorates seasoned veterans. Teacher networks present opportunities for teachers to serve as peer mentors, rediscover intellectual passions, present and discover new models of learning, and reframe their professional identities as teacherresearchers, teacher-leaders, and teacher-mentors.

Teacher Networks in Philadelphia: Landscape, Engagement, and Value

Penn Gse Perspectives on Urban Education, 2015

Teacher collaboration has become an increasingly important lever for school improvement efforts. This is especially true in highneed urban districts, which struggle with capacity building in the face of significant teacher turnover, major shifts in curriculum and instruction, and scarce resources. This paper employs a mixed methods approach to analyze the landscape of teacher networks in a sample of district and charter schools in Philadelphia. Hierarchical linear modeling, social network analysis, and qualitative analysis are used to evaluate the types and functions of networks, school and teacher characteristics associated with participation in networks, and the value teachers associate with networks. The findings support previous research on the role of networks in improving school climate, broadening teacher expertise, and increasing job satisfaction and persistence in the field. Policy and research recommendations are offered to districts and schools. The most effective teachers do not work in isolation. Instead, they foster collaboration and teamwork in order to continually improve their craft and deliver their expertise to ultimately impact the students they teach. Individual teachers working by themselves can result in a flattening of professional growth (Leana, 2011). In contrast, a growing body of research provides strong support for the importance of social capital-relationships among teachers-for improving public schools (

Essential Features of Effective Networks in Education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advance clarity and precision around effective action in networks, understood as collaboration that: first, deepens the learning and engagement of students and adults; second, enhances the professional capital of teachers and leaders; and third, becomes a positive force of whole system improvement. It distills eight essential features of effective networks by fleshing out key lessons from existing research and from emerging education network developments in the English-speaking world and Latin America. It then discusses three shifts required for a new partnership between networks and central leadership to turn networks into forces of educational system renewal. Design/methodology/approach – Two sources of evidence were identified and reviewed: first, literature reviews and studies aimed at identifying characteristics of effective networks in education; and second, network case studies and R&D initiatives that used networks as their improvement strategy and had demonstrated positive impact on student outcomes or on one or more professional capital variables often associated with improved student outcomes. To distill the eight essential features of effective networks and three required shifts in the relationship between networks and central leadership, the authors engaged in an iterative process of thematic analysis (Boyatzis, 1998) deliberately searching for key characteristics and processes describing effective collaboration. The list was revised for completeness and parsimony. Findings – The eight essential features of effective networks identified are: first, focusing on ambitious student learning outcomes linked to effective pedagogy; second, developing strong relationships of trust and internal accountability; third, continuously improving practice and systems through cycles of collaborative inquiry; fourth, using deliberate leadership and skilled facilitation within flat power structures; fifth, frequently interacting and learning inwards; sixth, connecting outwards to learn from others; seventh, forming new partnership among students, teachers, families, and communities; and eighth, securing adequate resources to sustain the work. The three required shifts in the relationship between networks and central leadership are: first, from supply driven to demand driven; second, from compliance oriented to learning oriented; and third, from bureaucracy to movement. Research limitations/implications – The key limitation derives from the scarce available evidence to date causally – or even co-relationally – connecting network activities with improved student learning. This paper summarizes what is known to date about effective collaboration in networks and advance a theory of action that causally links network activities with improved student outcomes and enhanced professional capital. This theory of action, summarized in eight essential features, simultaneously offers key hypotheses for social network theory in education and actionable guidelines to develop effective networks. Practical implications – The eight essential features of effective networks and the three required shifts in the relationship between networks and central leadership presented here were intentionally framed as action oriented. They offer a clear and actionable set of guidelines to develop effective networks. Social implications – The power of networks as vehicles to dramatically improve schools and entire educational systems is yet to be realized. This paper offers guidelines to enhance the effectiveness of networks, and thus contributes to the realization of the yet unfulfilled promise of networks.

Networks as Learning Communities

Journal of Teacher Education, 2000

As technology transforms the institutions of society, changing the way that people work, communicate, and learn, schools must accommodate and adapt to these new conditions. Unfortunately, schools and school systems organized bureaucratically have difficulty changing. Educational reform networks are particularly well suited to making use of new technology and institutional arrangements. By their very nature, they are flexible, borderless, and innovative; they are able to create collaborative environments, focus their efforts, and develop agendas that grow and change with their participants. Studying reform networks, collaboratives, partnerships external to schools, and communities inside schools has taught a great deal about the organizational conditions and practices that support and sustain teacher learning over time. Teacher educators who collaborate with, learn from, and make use of the knowledge created by these networks are helping to recreate the meaning of scholarship itself,...

Exploring new horizons: Teacher professional development through networked learning

Teachers’ professional development initiatives are increasingly focusing on social networks to support teacher learning. The aim of this study was to examine teachers’ experiences with networked learning in primary education. Using an Input-Process-Output model, this article reports on an exploratory case study among 16 Dutch elementary teachers. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using constant comparative analysis. Findings indicated that teachers’ experiences with networked learning can be characterized by five input factors, four process factors, and five outcome factors. We found evidence of feedback loops connecting the input, process, and output of networked learning. Insights from this study increase our understanding of teachers’ professional development through networked learning and the factors that constrain and support teachers’ networked learning in daily practice.

Strengthening networks: A social network intervention among higher education teachers

Learning and Instruction

Teachers' opportunities to learn at the workplace are shaped by the relationships in which they discuss their instructional practice, what we call teaching networks. This study examined the extent to which such teaching networks could be strengthened during a professional development (PD) program. An intervention was designed to evaluate whether the development of teaching networks was affected in terms of network composition and access to teaching content. Longitudinal ego-network data of Belgian university teachers (N ¼ 38, 1670 ties) were collected over a two-year time period. Multilevel analyses showed that the intervention group developed larger networks and increased network dynamics, compared to the control group. The intervention group also developed more diverse networks, and showed increased access to teaching content, suggesting that the intervention changed teachers' networks over time. This study shows the potential of network interventions to support teachers' professional development, and of network analysis as a tool to analyze professional relations.

What difference do networks make to teachers' knowledge? Literature review and case descriptions

OECD Education Working Papers, 2020

The paper investigates two – often disconnected – policy questions: how can we scale the use of evidence in teaching practice, and how can we generate and scale innovation? Both questions necessitate understanding how teachers and schools connect with each other, and with other organisations and professionals. The paper thus explores the role of networks in scaling evidence and innovation through a review of literature and a number of short case descriptions. Through the lens of networks, the analysis shows how the mobilisation, construction and diffusion of knowledge are of central importance in both policy issues. It suggests that scaling evidence and innovation should be treated as one ecosystem, in which mechanisms that allow effectively blending research and practical knowledge are key. Further, the paper proposes a framework for studying knowledge dynamics in networks to better understand how their context, characteristics and devices can contribute to facilitate these dynamics.