Change in education is inevitable. Physical educators are being positioned to effectively manage change and control their own destiny. In order to manage and facilitate positive change, physical educators should clearly embrace and accept physical education as a public health tool, understand the educational change process in schools, and know how…

Contemporary professional development efforts have shifted away from a deficit model toward the acknowledgment of the agency and ability of teachers to evaluate and direct their own professional learning. This article describes how middle school science teachers can take charge of their own learning by initiating and participating in…

Systems change literacy includes the willingness and ability to engage in collective action within and among system components, guided by long-term plans and measured by short-term, achievable "small wins." While potentially perceived as too "high level" or abstract, it can be helpful to consider that collective action occurs…

The potent combination of a global pandemic, crises involving human and civil rights, economic shortfalls, and public policy challenges has import for the field of physical education. The time has arrived for physical education professionals to engage in planning for a more desirable future. One aim of this paper is to provide a theoretical…

In chemistry, a catalyst accelerates change without being depleted. As we seek school improvement, we need sustainable, scalable changes, and therefore catalytic structures are ideal. From communities of practice to professional learning communities to Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) much has been made in the scholarly and consultancy…

This study sought to discover how one high school principal sustains a context for continued improvement through PLCs using case study methodology. Schools comprised of PLCs allow educators to grapple with the unique needs of their students in their specific contexts. The problem is that there is limited literature and research to indicate how…

Professional learning communities have long been considered a powerful form of collaborative professional learning, as the Learning Communities standard in Learning Forward's Standards for Professional Learning attests (Learning Forward, 2011). This focus on communities can engage teachers in ongoing professional dialogue and examination of…

This study examined the effects of John Kotter's Eight Steps for Successful Change framework and strategies in systems implementation in a secondary educational environment. Teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of Kotter's strategies used by their administrative team to support positive change were examined. The study evaluated data provided…

The purpose of this study was to find out the perception of educators about the collaborative practices that currently existed in their schools. Finding out about the perception of educators gave specific indicators of the strengths and weaknesses in collaboration, thus giving administrators professional development ideas for these schools. The…

The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) is the largest international survey of teachers and school leaders. Using the TALIS database, this report looks at different approaches to school leadership and the impact of school leadership on professional learning communities and on the learning climate in individual schools. It looks…

This article outlines the progress and impact of professional learning communities within, between and across schools, as part of the implementation of whole system reform in Wales. It describes the way in which professional learning communities are being developed to support improvement and change across the education system in Wales. The article…

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are often criticized for failing to focus on real problems of teaching and learning and for failing to deliver improvement. That is where accountability comes into play. Strategic accountability distinguishes PLCs that are effective from those that are not. Everyone knows what accountability is, but the…

Teacher evaluation systems are essential in tracking the quality and effectiveness of teachers and education systems. This dissertation examines the teacher evaluation system in Saudi Arabia through multiple perspectives, including research-based frameworks for teacher evaluation, norms and best practices from OECD countries, and established Saudi…

This article integrates the research about professional learning communities (PLCs) with research about second-order change for the purposes of reviewing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that administrators need to transform their schools into learning communities. As such, this article describes the components of PLCs and addresses the…

As one in a series of CBIE briefs, this report presents the findings of this preliminary leadership skills gap identification exercise for the international education sector in Canada. It concludes with recommended next steps on leadership development to advance the international education sector in Canada and to strengthen the capacity and…