This paper presents a new theoretical model which conceptualizes inter-professional and multi-agency collaborative working, at the level of the individual within a group. This arises from a review of the literature around joint working, and is based on social psychological theories which refer to shared goals. The model assumes that collective…

Recognizing that empirical research into classroom dialogue has been conducted for about 40?years, a review is reported of 225 studies published between 1972 and 2011. The studies were identified through systematic search of electronic databases and scrutiny of publication reference lists. They focus on classroom dialogue in primary and secondary…

The notion of school collaboration has become widely recognised as an effective means of fostering cultural links and supporting communication between geographically separated schools. As shall be acknowledged in this paper, school collaboration follows on from a long history of collaborative initiatives across the past 50 years. However, the…

While literature on teaching emphasizes the importance of identity in teacher development, understanding identity and the issues related to it can be a challenging endeavour. This article provides an overview of the issues revealed in recent discussions of teacher identity: the problem of defining the concept; the place of the self, and related…

There is evidence of progress over the last decade in the quest for research to inform ideas of good practice in teaching. This function of research had achieved increased status and funding, and attention has focused on issues such as how teachers learn and evidence-based practice. This has been supported by several "official" initiatives, three…

This paper begins with the author's recent participation in an Australian radio interview on the topic of SMS txting. It takes this as an entry point for an analysis and discussion of the discourses around txting to be found in a series of newspaper articles and taken up in the radio interview. Moving on from the initial analysis, the paper…

This article explores the emerging discourse about teacher leadership in the UK. It draws upon the international literature in exploring a classification of forms of teacher leadership and discusses issues concerned with the policy context. It considers some theoretical perspectives on distributed leadership before going on to examine in detail a…

School leaders are faced with the daunting task of anticipating the future and making conscious adaptations to their practices, in order to keep up and to be responsive to the environment. To succeed in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex world, it is vital that schools grow, develop, adapt and take charge of change so that they can…

Develops the idea that there is a gap in theory and practice regarding the relationship between whole-school targets and individual targets. Argues that all of the work in schools concerning use of targets for school improvement, for performance management, and for individual pupils' progress, rests on effective assessment for learning. (BT)

Attempts to strengthen understanding of strategies for, and constraints on, school change based on a review of some of the theoretical literature in education and more generally. Emphasizes the importance of understanding organization/environment links. Discusses implications for educational policy makers brought up by the literature review. (DSK)

Focuses on issues of teacher education that concerned contributors to the journal 25 years ago and reflects on how they have developed. Suggests that there has been a loss of intellectual vitality over this period and blames this on government policies, especially the extension of market principles to education. (DSK)

Examines the values and assumptions that underpin school effectiveness research and the problems of applying its findings to schools in light of critiques. Argues that the issues at stake between school effectiveness researchers and critics are understandable as disagreements about the nature and purposes of schooling rather than about facts. (DSK)

Discusses the relationship between educational theory and teacher professional knowledge. The paper presents eight criteria specifying types of educational inquiry processes which teacher educators and educational researchers must foster as a context for their activities. (SM)