Conference Agenda

Abstract:

The Malaysian education system is in a transition from face-to-face classroom learning to e- learning. E-learning is fast becoming a common method of acquiring knowledge in a local and global environment. Nevertheless, given the inherent complexity of schools, instability during this on-going Covid-19 pandemic and increasing demands on students’ thinking skills, there is a growing importance attached to embed the e-learning in schools. As the frontliners during the recent Covid-19 pandemic the aspiration to arm the students with the 21st-century learning skills thereupon the systems aspirations in the Malaysia Education Blueprint (MEB) could be materialised became more prominent. Global research suggests that current Covid-19 crisis would change the relationship between teachers and their students within the e-learning platform. Current research, however, are largely focused on the expansion of higher order thinking skills and to-date, studies on the relationship of teachers' instructional leadership practices, students’ thinking skills and their attitude to e-learning are scarce. Thus, this study investigates the levels of students’ thinking styles and their attitudes towards e-learning. In this survey study, the data of this non- experimental design’s study will be collected by using three on-line questionnaires. The instruments use in this research are: (1) Teachers' Instructional Measurement Rating Scale (TIMRS) adapted from PIMRS (2) The Yan Piaw Creative Critical Styles Test (also known as YCREATIVE-CRITICALS) for measuring students’ creative and tcritical thinking skills and the last instrument is (3) Students’ Attitude Towards E-learning (SeTeL) to ascertain students’ attitude towards e- learning. Data will be analysed quantitatively using structural equation Modelling (SEM). The findings of the study will serve as an indicator for teachers in secondary schools to determine if instructional leadership is the best leadership style in increasing students' thinking styles and attitude toward e-learning. The study's findings would be useful for related educational institutions and bodies in developing teachers' leadership by encouraging the development of a more structured leadership curriculum for school teachers in general and sharing the implementation with other secondary schools across the country.

Besides, the expected outcome of this is study, which is to capture the instructional leadership practices among teachers in particular, that would contribute to school improvements. In other words, the findings would contribute to upskilling educational leaders who, at their best, would shape a wholistic future thinkers and leaders. The significance of the study is the contribution to instructional leadership practices enacted by the secondary school teachers and its contribution to the implementation of Higher Order Thinking Skills and e-learning among students in educational organisation within the purview of the Ministry Of Education. Finally, the findings of the study can be used as a reference in enhancing Malaysian secondary students’ thinking styles and their attitude towards e-learning for school effectiveness and improvement.

Keywords: Teachers' Instructional Leadership,Thinking styles, Attitude towards e-Learning, School Effectiveness and Improvement, Covid-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had a far-reaching effect on how children, young people, parents and teachers experience, and engage with, teaching, learning, schools and the education system. Many argue that the pandemic’s effects, which compounded the already present impacts of the 2008/09 financial crisis, climate change, the fourth industrial revolution and widespread polarisation, will be felt by young people well beyond the immediate crisis. Any exploration of the future of teaching, learning and education must factor in the interconnected challenges that these learning communities navigate if “the disconnect between decision making in complex systems and the lived experiences of people affected by those decisions” is to be closed (Scharmer 2018, p.140). Against this backdrop, this paper explores how a diversity of perspectives may be engaged through research-practice collaboration in reimagining the future of education.  

Nine out of ten young people in the world live in low- and middle-resource countries. This paper focuses on the experiences of young people, as well as the school communities they are part of, in the South African context, particularly in the Western Cape province and outlines aspects of an emergent, multi-level research-practice collaboration with four ordinary, fee-paying, public schools, two primary and two secondary schools, in the Metro East District of the Western Cape Education Department in the first half of the 2023 school year (January – June). 

The mode of delivery of the intervention at the core of the collaboration varied across the schools as the approach was adapted to fit each site’s contextual constraints and opportunities. However, a shared objective across the schools was to ensure that the intervention was offered to as many English-speaking Grade 7 or 9 students as possible and that the mode of delivery was organised to be as inclusive as possible.  

The intervention was developed as an embedded activity, with all schools opting to have it run during the school day, and as such the school leaders and staff were essential collaborators. The groups that participated in the intervention were guided through a series of exercises and activities that prompt individual, and collaborative reflection on their identity, how they see themselves as learners, their experiences of learning and the ways they make sense of, and engage with, learning spaces. 

Beyond merely recounting the narrative of a social researcher’s collaboration with two primary and two secondary schools this paper highlights key reflections about the potential of multi-level research-practice collaborations to foster enabling spaces for collaborative knowledge and value creation within schools, with a particular focus on the potential of collaboration with young people.

There has been an increase in the past few decades in the number of international migrants worldwide. Critical crises such as political instability, economic uncertainty, and safety contribute, as seen in recent events in Afghanistan, Ukraine, Haiti, and in the Americas. Migration politics remains contentious in the United States, especially with undocumented immigrants. There are over 10.5 million undocumented immigrants (Krogstad et al, 2019). This population has remained steady since 2008 with the majority from Mexico, however, there is an increasing number from Asian and Central American countries (Capps et al, 2020).

The politics of the US has shaped educational policies, practices, experiences, and post-secondary trajectories of undocumented students. These children have the right to attend a public school in the U.S. until twelfth grade, so schools have the responsibility to provide protected spaces for them (Gonzales, 2011). Fear of deportation, family separation and immigration raids on communities also impact schooling (Ee & Gándara, 2019). Research indicates that undocumented status of children and/or their parent is associated with higher levels of anxiety and depression during adolescence and fewer years of schooling (Yoshikawa et al, 2013), decreases in academic achievement, and bullying (Bellows, 2019; Nienhusser & Oshio, 2019). School leaders, administrators, and educators must understand immigration policies and its impact on students’ lives (Dabach, 2015), families and communities, and develop an awareness for advocacy (Mangual Figueroa, 2017).

Principals’ awareness of the impact legal status has on children and families may lead to decision making processes and practices that create cultures of belonging and care in schools (Jaffe-Walter et al, 2019) and assist with access to resources such as for university or legal counsel (Jefferies, 2014). Without administrative supports, students may feel worried and unsafe to discuss immigration status (Kam, et. al, 2018). Therefore, necessitated is collective leadership that consists of various personnel, including educators and parents, with relevant expertise for problem solving and collaboration (Leithwood & Mascall, 2008).

This study explored the lived and educational experiences of undocumented students at the intersection of public education and immigration policy. The research questions were: 1. How do undocumented students address challenges in educational contexts? 2. What are the contextual dynamics that contribute to the barriers experienced and how are these addressed? In this qualitative study, participants were recent high school graduates who are undocumented and/or lived in mixed status families. Information was garnered from these data sources: recorded semi-structured interviews, content analysis of related documents, and journal reflections. Thematic analysis yielded the following themes, 1. Relations of power and trust, 2. Mechanisms of equity and inclusion 3. Empowerment of educators and students. Each of these themes were discussed within the extant research and through the frameworks of collective leadership and culturally responsive and sustaining practices. It is important to understand how politics, policies and practices shape the experiences and postsecondary trajectories of undocumented students. This multifaceted analysis at the intersection of immigration policy and education praxis unearths inquiries to be addressed for educational research in relation to interrogation of systems and structures whereupon injustice functions.

Objectives

Educating multilingual learners (MLs) is a pressing issue across the globe, particularly given increasing immigration. Europe and Asia are currently the largest destinations for international migrants, with approximately 86 million migrants in each region (Nataranjan et al., 2022). Many migrants speak languages other than the language of the host country, increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in schools (European Education and Culture Executive Agency, 2019). In the US, MLs represent an increasing demographic, with 10.4% of students classified as English Learners (Office of English Language Acquisition, 2020). MLs in the US face a myriad of educational challenges, including inadequate school resources, low expectations, and poor home-school communication (Garver & Hopkins, 2020). School and district leaders are tasked with the urgent need to promote equity-informed policies and practices that prioritize ML educational outcomes. Therefore, this paper asks: how do school and district leaders promote educational equity for multilingual learners?

Framework

This study builds upon Ishimaru and Galloway’s (2014) framework of equitable leadership practice. Using an asset-based orientation, Ishimaru and Galloway (2014) identify “high leverage” leadership practices including enacting an equity vision, supervising for equitable teaching and learning, fostering an equitable school culture, allocating resources and personnel, and family collaboration. While this framework is primarily focused on school leaders, we extend its application to examining district leadership as well. Existing research reinforces that district and school leaders are critical in supporting educational improvement for MLs. Leaders can foster equity for MLs by “recognizing that their language and culture should be considered a resource and right” (Cruze et al., 2021, p.113). Leaders also support MLs through teacher capacity building (Garver & Hopkins, 2020) and fostering critical consciousness about inequities (Callahan et al., 2023). How leaders work together systemically to accomplish these goals is less understood.

Methods

This qualitative study draws from a Research-Practice Partnership involving a US school district serving approximately 20,000 students, 3,100 of whom are multilingual, mostly Hispanic and from low-income families. We have collaborated with the district for 6 years, gathering multiple forms of data. In this phase, we are conducting semi-structured interviews with school and district administrators (N=16). Interviews were recorded and are being coded using MAXQDA software to examine leadership practices and policies supporting the improvement of education for MLs.

Results

An analysis of the data reveals several distributed leadership practices to systemically advance educational equity for MLs. Leaders (1) adapted an asset-based approach towards MLs, as reflected on an organizational level, (2) elevated ML community voices to inform priorities, (3) fostered collaboration to ensure a shared responsibility for MLs, and (4) promoted collective uptake of research-based approaches for educating MLs. These findings have important implications for how district and school leaders work across contexts to support MLs.

Connection to Theme

This paper is relevant to the ICSEI theme of “quality professional development” as the leadership findings can inform principal preparation and training for school and district leaders. This will ensure leaders are ready to support the growing demographic of MLs and challenge existing inequities.

Educational leaders play a vital role in improving student outcomes (Harris et al., 2021; Leithwood et al., 2020). Yet, many systems internationally struggle to attract, develop, and retain effective school and system leaders (Drysdale & Gurr, 2021). Recognising the importance of building individual and collective capacity and capability (OECD, 2019), research increasingly highlights the value of educational leadership frameworks (Drysdale & Gurr, 2021; Jensen et al., 2017). Ground-breaking work aligning teacher career pathways and professional frameworks is emerging (e.g., ET2020 Working Group Schools, 2020). However, leadership-specific research is relatively underdeveloped. Further, the nature and implementation of leadership frameworks vary considerably internationally. Frameworks ideally span from early identification of potential future leaders—requiring articulation with teacher career progression—to supporting ongoing professional growth of school and system leaders, regardless of career stage.

This paper critically examines contemporary international leadership research, policy, and practice in high-performing systems, and presents case studies to illustrate promising leadership framework applications. Cases involve partnerships with state and national education bodies in two different regions. The first focused on the development and implementation of a capability framework, the second on a leadership meta-framework and career progression model. Specifically, we consider leadership frameworks that speak to individual and collective capability, capacity, and practices. Capacity speaks to the number of individuals undertaking school or system leadership responsibilities, whereas capability speaks to what these leaders know, can do, and are like (Taylor-Guy et al., 2022). Practices concern the context-specific goal-oriented activities or behaviours of leaders or teams (Leithwood, 2017). Our analytical lens was the OECD (2019) frame, which brings together (1) HR policies and working environments, (2) individual and collective capacity and capability building, and (3) effective leadership, teaching and learning.

Findings corroborate the value of growth-oriented capability frameworks to support ongoing professional growth. We highlight the importance of articulating how different frameworks complement one another to drive the system’s vision for leadership. Another critical point is the need for frameworks to target the collective by considering interactions across staff functions and articulating expectations for identifying and nurturing potential future leaders. Development and implementation of frameworks requires frequent and intensive consultation and/or co-construction with a wide range of stakeholders, supported by tailored professional learning. The career progression model provides a world-class example of how leadership frameworks can be integrated to drive ongoing professional learning and growth. Through educational and HR policies and processes, it integrates the evidence-based components of (a) opportunity, (b) capability, and (c) motivation (ET2020 Working Group Schools, 2020; OECD, 2019.) Specifically, the career progression model aligns career pathways, a competence framework, professional learning opportunities, and rewards to attract, develop and retain leaders.

This paper addresses the conference theme by drawing synergies between school and system foci in relation to frameworks, to holistically support ongoing leader professional learning. It makes an important conceptual contribution by disentangling the nature of leadership frameworks as they relate to individual and collective capacity and capability building. Seminal case studies provide valuable insights for advancing research, policy, and practice internationally.

OBJECTIVE, RESEARCH QUESTIONS and CONTEXT

This paper presents the results of a research that seeks to understand how school leaders "make sense" during the initial phase of a large-scale reform that has begun to be implemented in Chile, called the New Public Education. The research questions were: i) What is the sense that school leaders assign to this reform, ii) How does this sense-making evolve during the first years of implementation of the change, and iii) What are the factors that influence this sense-making process?

This study is developed in the context of the public education reform in Chile, which transfers the responsibility of managing public schools from municipalities to a new institutional framework: the Local Public Education Services (SLEP). The objective of this reform is to accumulate, develop and institutionalize professional and technical capacities in each territory, so that intermediate levels drive the continuous improvement of schools (Bellei & Munoz, 2023).

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

One of the relevant conceptual perspectives to account for the way in which actors relate to educational policies or reforms is that of sense-making, the ongoing process through which people work to understand issues or events that modify their routine and generate a new scenario or context (Maitlis and Christianson, 2014). School leaders would be one of the main "sense-makers" of educational systems, by implementing an interpretation of policies according to local interests, which affects the way in which reforms are implemented (Bridwell-Mitchell, 2015; Ganon-Shilon and Schechter, 2017).

METHODS AND EVIDENCE

Qualitative research was developed based on four case studies. In each of them we interviewed (at three points in time, in the years 2021, 2022 and 2023) their principals, and at an intermediate milestone (2022) the management team and a sample of teachers, through group interviews. A transcription of each of the interviews was made, which allowed an open coding of the interviews and later a cross-sectional analysis of the data obtained.

RESULTS

- Three predominant types of meaning associated with this reform were identified: "paradigm change" "pedagogical change" and "bureaucratic change"

- Three types of variables or factors are involved in the sense-making process: i) individual dispositions, previous experience, and characteristics of the leaders, ii) the characteristics of the policy and its implementation, and iii) the school context in which the whole process takes place.

- The meaning assigned to the public education reform evolves marginally as implementation progresses, since an important part of the meaning and adherence to this policy was generated in the first steps of its application.

EDUCATIONAL IMPORTANCE AND CONNECTION TO THE CONFERENCE THEME

The research highlights the value of considering the involvement of school leaders as a priority of any reform to generate a shared sense of the change that these reforms propose at the level of principals (Ganon-Shilon and Schechter, 2017; Henriksen, 2018). The research connects with the theme of the congress because it highlights the role of school leaders in systemic educational improvement, for which it is essential to enhance professional development processes.

The Purpose

This presentation is based on a study aimed at contributing to how school leaders can be prepared to work effectively with newcomers (immigrants and refugees) who are culturally and linguistically diverse. It focuses on data that were gathered from school principals and newcomer families, including the role of a school division’s central office in strengthening leadership supports for newcomers.

Research Questions :

The research was guided by questions that (i) explored the experience of principals and newcomer families with school leadership in Saskatoon and (ii) used the essence of the experience to establish how both principals and newcomer families can be supported to ensure newcomer students’ success.

Perspectives :

Studies have shown that when a parent or guardian is engaged in a meaningful way in their child’s learning, teachers and school leaders receive the support they need from families, students do better, and everybody benefits (Epstein, 2010; Izzo et al., 1999; Leithwood et al., 2010). That is why school and education system are working at finding ways to engage parents in the teaching and learning activities a meaningful way (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2010). Consequently, the demographic changes that are occurring in societies due to immigration are compelling school leaders to engage with newcomer families from the diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds as they facilitate the success of students (Epstein & Sander, 2006; Lopez, 2015).

Methods:

Phenomenology as an approach to qualitative (Piem, 2018; van Manen, 2014, 2015) was used to explore the experience of school leaders and parents with the assumption of a commonality in the human experience of any phenomena. The phenomenon in this study was school leadership-newcomer family interactions. Data were gathered using semi structured interviews, and focus group discussions with 24 principals representing two school divisions and newcomer 25 families. Consultative meetings were then held with leaders from the central office leadership.

Data Sources: Field notes and transcripts of audio recordings from the interviews, the focus group discussions and consultative panels.

Findings: revealed how the newcomers experience the education system as structured, bureaucratic but stable. For meaningful engagement to occur, the education system and its leadership needed to be more accountable and communicate guidance about expectations more clearly. Leadership needs to create a sense of community, be accessible , open and inclusive of diverse culture and create more opportunities for culturally diverse families to engage or be more involved and relationship building. They also need foster family learning and investing in newcomer settlement agency partnerships

Educational Importance:

The study provides insights for researching and programming for school leadership development that equips principals for work with culturally diverse newcomers. With appropriate skills, the school leader will be able to facilitate the educational success of culturally and linguistically diverse newcomer learners. Documenting and mobilizing knowledge about these experiences of school leaders and newcomer families and the associated recommendations could inform policy on effective ways of supporting Newcomers to settle and participate in society. The knowledge will enhance their ability to coordinate and provide targeted assistances services.

Focus of Inquiry

Staying in Science is a ten-year, longitudinal study funded by the National Science Foundation that investigates how authentic, mentored science research experiences in out of school settings may support youths’ persistence in STEM. The study encompasses youth who are currently in college or early in their careers in the workplace. The goal of the research is to understand youth persistence in STEM, and to identify the specific practices of educators, professors and mentors and features of institutional settings that either support youth in STEM careers, or divert them from their path.

Theoretical/ Conceptual Perspectives

We investigate core concepts in community of practice theory such as identity, sense of belonging, practices, and peer and mentor relationships (Lave & Wenger, 1991), and explore the degree to which those elements impact STEM persistence. In this second stage of the study, we focus on institutional practices and educational experiences that contribute to a sense of belonging or othering and strengthen or attenuate youth identities as someone who can do STEM work.

Data & Method

Our mixed-methods study gathers data from participating youth (N=358), including annual surveys, social network analysis, and interviews (N=30). We include a group of youth as co-researchers who provide feedback on instruments, analyze data, and report findings. Survey instruments includes a bank of items that gather data on youth sense of belonging or othering, experiences with microaggressions and racism, as well as flourishing. Interviews explore students’ educational and work experiences at the course, degree/major and institutional level.

Findings

Participants represent groups historically marginalized in STEM: 76% identify as people of color, 46% have one or more parent born outside the US and 39% are first generation college students. Participants in our study intend to remain in STEM: 75% of participants planned to or were majoring in STEM in college. Survey and interview data revealed a set of strategies and practices by educators and educational institutions that either contributed to youth sense of belonging or othering, and that supported and guided them or diverted from their paths. For instance, our social network analysis revealed that STEM mentors named as effective in youth networks were not simply providing guidance and advice, but helping youth feel a sense of belonging and acceptance in their field of interest.

Educational Importance for Practice and Theory

Our participants represent a population at the center of concerns about equitable science participation; they are passionate about STEM and have strong prior records of achievement in STEM. A network of knowledgeable adults able to support their development and persistence is critical to their success. This project shares findings about the practices, routines, and structures that educators and mentors have enacted that have been either critical to youth success or diverted them from productive pathways. We focus on sharing strategies that K-12 educators, as well as college and university faculty, can implement in their educational settings to support students who have been historically marginalized, responding directly to the ICSEI call for research that can inform leadership in education.

Context

During the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers and school leaders sought to maximize the effectiveness of remote teaching and of technology-enabled teaching. As Covid-19 recedes, such innovations can be retained to help shape education reform.

Doucet (2020) highlights formative assessment and timely feedback to online learners as crucial elements of remote learning. Remote schooling proved problematic for some students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) - how students are metacognitively, motivationally, and behaviorally active participants in their own learning. If implemented successfully in class, formative feedback—the process by which students learn how well they are achieving and what they need to do to improve their work—can help develop students’ SRL and improve their achievement. This study explores the link between digital formative feedback and SRL and how school level initiatives amongst staff in one jurisdiction might foster enhanced practice. Three questions guide the research.

1. To what extent can digital feedback enhance students’ performance, especially in relation to high school chemistry?

2. To what extent can digital feedback enhance students’ SRL?

3. What school-level strategies are employed to develop the capacity of high school chemistry teachers in relation to digital feedback?

Methodology

The study adopts a qualitative approach, including two data collection methods: a systematic literature review (Gough et al., 2012); and analysis of selected school websites. The literature review examines the relationship between digital feedback, students’ SRL and performance. The research is framed through Zimmerman’s (2002) conceptualization of SRL as a three-stage process involving Forethought, Performance, and Self-reflection, exploring how these stages are reflected in digitally-mediated formative assessment in practice. The study is situated, in part, in the context of chemistry teachers in International Schools in China. Relevant professional development and assessment policies drawn from school websites in two Chinese cities are examined to determine how formative assessment, and particularly, digital feedback, is used in teaching and what collaborative capacity-building practices are employed across teachers within a school. Qualitative data are being generated and thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) is used to extract relevant themes and draw conclusions about the research questions.

Emerging findings

Preliminary findings from the literature review highlight the dearth of information specifically related to digital feedback in chemistry, suggesting an under-researched area. Some research shows that digital formative feedback is beneficial when applied in classroom (Barana & Marchisio, 2016; Bhagat & Spector, 2017); facilitates mastering knowledge and skills by influencing students’ motivation; and helps inform subsequent instruction. The review is being broadened to include conference proceedings and grey literature. Some studies link students’ self-regulated ability to enhanced teaching and learning generally, but with relatively little focus on the digital context and remote learning evident during the pandemic and since. There is evidence of some inconsistency between teachers’ technological content knowledge and how to embed technology in practice (Wagner, 2021). This study aims to bridge that gap, including an emphasis on the policies and shared practice in schools that are used to inform and facilitate teachers in building their confidence and competence in digital formative feedback.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the experiences and concerns of three teachers from one post-primary school engaged in the Instructional Leadership Programme. Although the literature reports on a variety of contrasting views on professional learning it also identifies common characteristics of effective professional learning designed to bring about a change in teachers´ instructional practice (Borko, 2004; Desimone, 2009; Wei et al., 2009; Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 2011; Darling-Hammond, 2017).

The Instructional Leadership Programme (ILP), a two-year professional learning programme, is designed to extend and refine the instructional practices of post-primary teachers in Ireland. Teachers and school leaders attend the ILP on a voluntary capacity. The programme provides schools with the opportunity to address specific school improvement requirements around teacher practice. Schools benefit from school improvement when school principals and teachers have the opportunity to identify and pursue their own specific professional learning needs.

The Concern Based Adoption is the framework used to explore how an individual’s concerns influence implementation of an innovation. It provides information on how teachers will adapt to change and provides a framework to anticipate future needs (Hall & Hord, 2015).

Research questions

1. What are the concerns of teachers engaged in refining/extending their instructional practices?

2. What experiences supported teachers engaged in a professional learning programme?

A case study approach informed the design, data collection and methods of analysis for this study. The Stages of Concern questionnaire was administered three times over a year and a half to the three teachers to understand their concerns. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain an understanding of the teachers experiences of changing their practices.

The data collection and analysis was aligned into four phases.

Phase 1- Stages of concern questionnaire in October 2019

Phase 2- Stages of concern questionnaire in March 2020

Phase 3- Semi-structured interviews between June and October 2020

Phase 4- Stages of concern questionnaire in June 2020

Findings

Teachers highest and second highest scores report that teachers are working towards implementation of instructional practices. The results also showed high-levels of collaboration among the teachers to learn more information about their new practices.

Teachers’ experiences of the characteristics of the ILP and professional learning supported them with implementation of instructional practices (the extended period of time, adequate period of time between sessions, teachers attending the programme in a team and modelling of the practices).

This study provides a unique perspective of teachers implementing instructional practices while engaging in a professional learning programme. Exploring these perspectives is important for two reasons. First, the results identified teacher concerns implementing instructional practices on their post-primary classroom while engaging in the ILP. This provides insight into a largely undocumented area of research in Ireland. Findings from this paper have the potential to contribute to research on teachers’ response to change and can contribute to future design of professional learning programmes.

Second, given the paucity of research related to professional learning in the Irish education system this study encourages further exploration into educational change focused on instruction in Ireland.

Target 4.5 of the UN sustainable development goals focuses on the fact that all individuals should have equal opportunity to enjoy education, achieve at equal levels and enjoy equal benefits from education. Unfortunately, research suggests that educational disadvantage exists across the life course and education sectors including the transition from second to third level with limited research available on the effectiveness of interventions which increase second-level students’ aspirations and progression to third level (Ní Chorcora, Bray and Banks, 2023).

Trinity Access Programmes' (TAP) Schools of Distinction programme aims to address the challenge of low progression rates to further and higher education, among students from low socio-economic backgrounds. By implementing evidence-based core practices in mentoring, leadership in learning, and pathways to college in partnership schools, TAP aims to increase aspirations and progression for groups that have been marginalised.

This paper presents research on the observed impact of the SOD programme on students’ college readiness. It aims to provide guidance for school leaders, policymakers and practitioners on what types of interventions work.

Methods

The paper uses data from a broader study on widening participation (Tangney et al., 2022) which surveys over 3600 students attending schools which have a disadvantaged status in Ireland. All schools included in the study are linked with the university widening participation outreach programme. Students were asked about their level of engagement with the core practices, as well as self-reported educational outcomes on their college readiness. College readiness in this instance refers to four validated self-reported measures; active engagement in education, educational aspirations and goals, college application efficacy, and students’ confidence in college success.

Findings

Preliminary findings suggest positive effects of certain WP outreach programmes on students’ college readiness. There was a significant difference in college readiness scores when comparing students who had a college student as a mentor and those that did not, even after controlling for students’ mother’s education. Students who reported having a college student as a mentor or having a staff member from their school as a mentor reported having statistically higher scores on all four college readiness measures. Findings showed that students who engaged in three or more Pathways to College activities had significantly higher scores on all measures of college readiness.

Educational importance

These findings give important insights into the roll out of mentoring programmes in schools and which types of mentors can be most impactful for young people from disadvantaged areas. Discussion of the analyses point to the fact that short, day-long events such as college fairs, campus tours, application clinics and college talks can be effective in increasing college readiness if they are embedded into school life.

This paper is relevant to the 3P network conference themes and specifically leading schools and education systems that promote equity, inclusion, belonging, diversity and social justice. The School of Distinction programme gives a template and structure to school leaders working in disadvantaged areas who want to cultivate college going cultures in their schools with the ultimate aim of increasing college readiness and post-school progression.

The purpose of this paper is to enhance engaged and purposeful dialogue between politicians, practitioners, policymakers and researchers in developing policies for school improvement by providing new insights into the role of politicians as policymakers in the development of large-scale education system reform.

The focus of inquiry is how the Minister for Education in NSW, Australia, developed the Local Schools, Local Decisions (LSLD) reform, the political considerations that arose and how they were addressed, and insights that might be relevant to policy development in other contexts or jurisdictions.

While there is general agreement that politicians are integral to public policy development, very little systematic research exists on the politics of reform. How politicians manage the political context, and their relationships with other education system actors during the policy development process, are “still largely a black box” (Busemeyer & Trampusch, 2011, p.432).

This study builds on the small literature of the politics of education, and the extensive literature on large-scale system reform and public policy development, to explore the role of politicians as policymakers, and how the political context shapes education policy development.

The methodology is a qualitative descriptive case study of the development of LSLD, which had major impacts on the governance, funding and decision-making authority of all 2,200 NSW government schools. It takes an historical narrative approach, drawn from the epistemically-privileged perspectives of insiders to the process: the Minister; his staff; and key stakeholders. Such voices are almost entirely absent in the research. The data is mainly from primary sources, including: public policy documents; private contemporaneous notebooks; the Minister’s (unpublished) memoir notes; and interviews.

Five key cross-cutting themes are identified through Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2013). They show that policy development depends as much or more on the politics of the reform process as on the technical reform design; demonstrate the importance of the Minister’s leadership in establishing the reform direction and determining the final policy; illuminate the value of his strong, active and respectful relationships and continual formal and informal engagement with a wide range of stakeholders; and reveal the messy, complex, intricate “policy dance” (Bridgman & Davis, 2004) that occurs between the Minister and the public servants. Building on my analysis, and on Ball’s (1993) conceptual lens of policy as both text and discourse, I theorise a new framework which describes each stage and focus of the policy development process.

The research contributes new knowledge to the politics of education and education policy fields on the role of politicians as policymakers and how policy development is shaped by the political context within which it occurs. This may enhance collaboration between politicians, practitioners, policymakers and researchers in improving education systems by giving practical guidance regarding the most effective engagement strategies to use at each stage of the process.

The paper connects to the conference theme regarding the impact of research/policy/practice collaboration for enhanced school effectiveness and improvement; and to the sub-theme of “engaged and purposeful dialogue between politicians, policymakers, academic researchers, educators, and wider school communities”.

Objective and focus of inquiry

Many governments recognize the limitations of centralized policy in motivating school improvement and turn to ‘network governance’ and the establishment of interorganisational networks in education to improve educational outcomes. Relying on such networks has far-reaching consequences for existing accountability structures, most of which were developed to support hierarchical control of individual school quality. This paper presents a systematic literature review which looked at the introduction of new accountability arrangements for networks and whether/how these improve education.

Perspective(s) or theoretical framework

The added value of inter-organizational networks in addressing complex issues has been well established in the literature (Ehren & Perryman, 2018), including in education. School-to school networks or other types of local partnerships can enable more localized decision-making to address complex problems that require interactions of multiple actors. Many studies have however also outlined the unintended consequences of such networks (Kenis & Raab, 2020), such as substantial coordination and transaction costs and reputation and legitimacy concerns for the member organizations (Tunisini & Marchiori, 2020). Accountability is expected to incentive and legitimize collaboration and orient members’ contribution to the purpose of the network and address these concerns (Ehren & Perryman, 2018). For the purpose of this paper we take a broad perspective on accountability: “Accountability refers to the diverse relationships between parties involved in, or affected by a program/action, in which each party has an obligation to explain and justify his/her or their conduct, and other parties can pose questions and pass judgement and the party may face consequences” (Tran, 2021, p.10).

Methods and data sources

This paper presents the findings from a systematic literature review of peer reviewed sources -both conceptual and empirical papers- about the accountability of purpose-oriented inter-organizational networks. An initial search of Web of Science and Eric resulted in 5819 sources. A screening of titles and abstracts resulted in a set of 60 papers of which 54 sources were included for full coding.

Findings

The findings of the review first describe the types of accountability described in the studies and the types of networks (according to maturity, size, formal/informal and public nature of the partnership) in which these were introduced. We then explain the types of outcomes indicated by the various types of accountability (e.g. improved collaboration, network-level types of educational outcomes) and the conditions under which these emerge (trust, regulatory frameworks, alignment between levels of evaluation and accountability).

Educational importance

Many governments are moving towards ‘network governance’ to coordinate their education system in an attempt to address the limitations of centralized policy. The change in coordination also implies the need for other types of accountability to ensure networks can meet their joint purpose. This paper offers an overview of literature in this area and whether and how accountability can improve the functioning and outcomes of educational networks.

Connection to the conference theme

The paper provides further insights into a particular aspects of collaboration and partnerships in education systems around the world and how their accountability can enhance school effectiveness and improvement.

This paper presentation addresses the conference theme of ongoing professional learning and growth through focussing on the processes and outcomes to date of a partnership between the Centre for School and System Improvement (CSSI) in the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the School Improvement Division of the Northern Territory Department of Education (NTDoE). The CSSI focuses on investigating and supporting system transformation (Sengeh & Winthrop, 2022). The partnership between our organisations spans many decades. However, in 2018, the NTDoE embarked on a deliberate strategy to grow expertise in using ACER’s National School Improvement Tool (NSIT, 2016; now the School Improvement Tool, 2023) to review and analyse school performance for school improvement planning across differentiated improvement journeys. The SIT is a research-based framework which makes explicit good practice in school improvement in nine interrelated domains, each with four performance levels. Schools can use the Tool to pinpoint their current levels of practice in each domain and plan for improvement, based on evidence collected from a range of sources and stakeholders.

School communities in the (Northern Territory) NT have the greatest degree of remoteness and lowest socio-economic levels in Australia (ABS, 2022; Goss & Sonnemann, 2018). They also have the lowest educational outcomes in the country. 0ver 29,000 students are enrolled across 154 government schools in the NT (NT Government, 2022). Fifty per cent of students in NT government schools are Aboriginal. Approximately 71% of these schools are in remote and very remote areas. These circumstances bring unique challenges for school improvement. The Education NT Strategy 2018-22 (NTDoE, 2017), and the subsequent continuation of this agenda in the Education NT strategy 21-25, aimed to accelerate school improvement by ensuring that each school was focused on a “sharp and narrow set of priorities” and that, in turn, the system would provide schools with differentiated support to achieve performance goals and targets (NTDoE, 2019, p. 4) so that the NT would become the most improving education system in Australia. The NTDoE-ACER partnership was to support this overarching goal. Given the contextual complexity and high historical teacher and principal turnover, the partnership focussed building sustainable expertise within the system, contributing to the development of a pipeline of school leaders, and enabling culturally responsive improvement approaches. Strategies focussed on:

• Building a system-wide shared understanding of and practice in improvement

• Ongoing professional learning in school improvement practice using ACER tools across a broad range of stakeholders

• Culturally sustainable practice

• Differentiated support and resources to schools

• Growing a pipeline of leadership from within the system

• Monitoring for impact.

Independent evaluation shows that the impact of this approach has been positive with clear indication of improvement over a relatively short period. Successful outcomes have been observed particularly in growing expertise within the system. This has enhanced leadership and teaching capability, as well as staff attraction and retention rates, which have positively influenced student outcomes.

Purpose: To explore gaps regarding principals' experiences of developing their identities, capacities, and sense of agency while leading diverse schools through transformation and inquire into why principals’ voices have been underrepresented in education leadership discourse (Bryman, 2004; Crow, Day & Moller, 2017; Hallinger, 2014, 2018; Quaglia, 2016).

Perspective: Canada’s K-12 education landscape is liquifying (ATA & CAP, 2014; C21 Canada, 2012; Dugan & Humbles, 2018; Hannon & Peterson, 2021; Hargreaves & Shirley, 2009; Kaser & Halbert, 2008, 2009; OECD, 2018; Pollock, Wang, & Hauseman, 2014; Safir & Dugan, 2021). Navigating “permanent white waters” (Vaill, 1996) requires professional development. Principals need strong identities, capacities, and agency to create collaborative, equitable learning cultures for diverse learners (Safir, 2017; Stoll, 2009; Timperley, 2011) while navigating uncharted waters, work intensification, and unprecedented critical events (Pollock, Wang, & Hauseman, 2014; Safir & Dugan, 2021). However, across BC’s diverse districts, it is unknown how principals develop the means to influence change in their schools (Leithwood, Handford & Airini, 2018) nor how current discourses are influencing them (Karp, 2013) as they are “negotiating who they are for others as well as for themselves” (Moller, 2012, p. 456). The social construction/deconstruction of their identities is understudied (Karp, 2013; Karp & Helgo, 2009).

Ponderings: What are the experiences of British Columbia’s principals leading K-12 school transformation? How are BC Principals developing their sense of identity, capacity, and agency? How do research methods mute or amplify principal voice?

Processes: Research about principals often involves “looking at” their actions, not “listening to” their diverse stories (Bryman, 2004; Crow, Day, & Moller, 2017; Hallinger, 2014). Diversity in voices may present counter-narratives to popular or political discourse (ATA, 2017; Sugrue, 2009). Using metaphorically framed, social constructivist/critical narrative inquiry (Clandinin, 2007, 2013), in-depth, semi-structured interviews (Anderson & Kirkpatrick, 2015; Beuthin, 2014), and discourse analysis, this study amplifies diverse voices. Transcripts were analyzed through a narrative analysis (Riessman, 1994), discourse analysis (Gee, 2001, 2011; Rogers, 2011), and poetic analysis and poetic representation (Faulkner, 2007, 2017, 2019; Hopper & Sanford, 2008; Lemon, 2020; McKenna-Buchanan, 2017; Richardson, 2012; Ward, 2011). Ten participants shared stories (1) of being a principal/vice principal during the pandemic; (2) of leading change from a self-selected significant time in their career; and (3) of how they started as principals. They shared a metaphor that they felt described their experience of leading transformation. They reflected on those stories to describe how they developed their professional identities, capacities, and sense of agency during these events. Verbatim excerpts were written in a poetic representation as “stories from the river”.

Potentialities. Principals are diverse yet key points of leverage for ensuring successful, equitable education systems (Wahlstrom et al., 2010); they’re “at the centre of a rapidly changing society and the impact it is having on its children” (ATA & CAP, 2014, p. 1). Deep changes are impacting on their (re)figured worlds (Holland et al., 1998). With rising principal attrition and burnout (Wang, 2022), these gaps in understanding could put principals and the education transformation movement at risk.

For three decades, policymakers, scholars, and educators have been attracted to the benefits of the learning organisation concept and its potential for school improvement and supporting school leadership functions (Senge et al., 2012; Stoll & Kools 2017).

The concept has been explored to varying degrees in several countries to date, with Wales (UK) highly prominent. Unlike Wales, it appears Ireland has not applied the School as Learning Organisation (SLO) concept to support education policy reform, at least not explicitly. However, there is frequent reference to learning organisations in the recent Irish school self-evaluation policy “Looking at our School 2022”.

This paper focuses on problematising the concept of SLOs informed by the literature and policy documentation available. This will serve to explore the research and evidence base for leadership education and capacity building as it relates to the SLO. Data from a pilot study is used to further explore the SLO concept. There appears to be a gap in knowledge regarding the usefulness and application of the SLO concept. The study will aim to address this gap, particularly as it relates to teacher leadership and school improvement.

This paper will focus on how applicable and useful the SLO concept is in school effectiveness by addressing the following research question:

Is the School as a Learning Organisation (SLO) concept relevant for school improvement and school leadership?

This paper is based on a review and scoping of existing literature in the field which informs a preliminary pilot study for a larger research project. The extent to which the characteristics of SLO exist – particularly in relation to school leadership and school improvement – may be considered as unexplored to date. A review of the literature and policy documentation will further define the SLO concept and highlight its usefulness as a function of school improvement, particularly as this relates to the role of school leadership.

The paper is framed by a pragmatic approach that utilises the Kools et al. (2020) SLO survey instrument and will focus on two jurisdictions in the primary school context (Wales and Ireland). Data sources include relevant literature and empirical data from the pilot study. Adopting a mixed methods approach the pilot uses three instruments, a quantitative survey, followed by qualitative focus groups and semi-structured interviews.

Findings from the pilot may support the SLO model’s potential application in the Irish education context, and offer learnings based on its implementation (to date) in Wales. Interpretations of the possibilities and permutations of SLOs to support school improvement in national education systems may offer useful insights for international and national policy makers, researchers and educators.

The research is significant given the heightened attention to the application of the SLO concept within a number of jurisdictions globally, including the emergent aspirations within an Irish context. This research may offer new insights and interpretations regarding SLO potential for supporting Ireland’s recent primary curriculum reform (Government of Ireland, 2023). This in turn has implications for school effectiveness and improvement and may inform educational policy and practice globally.

Purpose

Leaders of primary and secondary schools across the globe are responding to increased expectations for continuous improvement and evidence-informed policy and practice to ensure instructional effectiveness and learning (Schildkamp et al., 2013). An essential component of instructional leadership involves using various forms of data associated with student learning to guide internal policies, school cultures, and capacity building. Principals’ data use practice largely involves supporting teachers’ data use by establishing norms, expectations and clear vision for use in instructional decisions. Principals also support teacher growth and capacity by providing time, tools, professional development and modeling effective routines and strategies (Drake, 2022). Grigsby and Vesey (2011) found that less than 30% of school leader preparation programs, however, focused on data use and the preparation of leaders to make data-informed decisions, or evidenced-based policy or practice broadly (Brown & Greany, 2018). Research on preservice leader preparation remains limited (Dexter et al., 2022). We examined preservice leader preparation programs in one US state to understand how data use is addressed in leader preparation.

Methods & Data Sources

We used qualitative methods to explore how 20 pre-service leader programs provided by 16 colleges or universities in Virginia focused on data use. The study involved two phases. The first was a review of published course descriptions for each program (N = 163). This phase included an in-depth review of 23 syllabi from six universities. Next, we conducted individual semi-structured interviews with seven program coordinators to understand how the field experience course prepared preservice leaders to use data. Data were analyzed using deductive coding and narrative analytic approaches.

Findings

Preservice leaders are receiving little preparation in data-informed decision making. Stand-alone courses on data use and decision-making were rare. We found that two of the 20 programs had courses focusing on data use and data-informed decision making. Approximately, 8% of course descriptions referenced data use and data-informed decision making. Of these, 38% focused on school improvement, 31% on generally approaches to data-informed decisions across different leader domains, and 23% related data use to curriculum, instruction and student learning. Several programs offered related courses including research design, assessment, program evaluation and statistics content that could support school leaders’ data use – these accounted for 5% of all courses. Interviews with program coordinators revealed the importance and heavy reliance on the field-based internship experience to support preservice leaders' development in data use skills and practice. Yet, these experiences were highly variable and dependent on placement school needs, indicating that not all preservice leaders had similar opportunities to develop data-informed decision making skills.

Significance & Connection to ICSEI 2024

The study findings demonstrate that gaps in school leader preparation to engage data-based continuous and school improvement efforts persist. Our findings coupled with other research literature demonstrate the need to further examine field-based experiences of pre-service school leaders. This study closely aligns ICSEI 2024’s focus on school improvement by investigating gaps in school leader preparation to effectively lead data use.

Principals face increasing expectations for enhancing student outcomes, heightened community needs, and implementation of a range of policy reforms. Further, there is a growing disquiet with current practices demanding a rethink of the narrative of leading schools. One principal professional organisation, the Queensland Association of State School Principals (QASSP) in Australia recently commissioned an exploration of a new narrative for leading primary (P-6/Elementary) schools into the future (Turner, 2021). A jointly developed project with members of the Leadership Research International (LRI) team at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), designed a three-phase study using a sequential mixed method approach (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018). The research questions for this study were: What is the contribution of primary education to the future economic and social performance? and What is the contribution of school leadership to the achievement of quality primary school student outcomes, academic and social?

Phase one in response to the first research question comprised an extensive literature review of national and international literature about primary school leadership (Bauman et al., 2022), the outcome of which developed a framework of 12 hypothesised capabilities and their associated indicators. Phase Two focused on the second research question and involved a survey of measures to empirically test the 12 factors (capabilities) and indicators of the hypothesised framework. Participants were principals of public and independent primary schools in the State of Queensland. Principal axis factoring was used to initially identify a model which was subsequently subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and resulted in a refinement of the School Community-Oriented Leadership Framework with eight capabilities: Agility, Relational Collaboration, Advocacy, Visionary Commitment, Creative Innovation, Life-long Learning, Critical Decisiveness, and Courageous Communication. Each capability required more focused definition to reflect the expertise principals need for their complex work roles. Phase Three comprises two steps: a) an invitational workshop of leaders from the field; and b) purposive sampling of principals for individual interviews.

The focus of this paper is evidence derived from the first step of Phase three. This commenced with initial data collected from a workshop that invited principals and other school leaders to reflect on their individual experiences in relation to the eight capabilities. Small group discussions also provided evidence of implications for this framework in practice. This step was extended with an invitation for data to be collected from other contexts/countries and this paper presents findings from two countries - Australia and Canada. It is anticipated that these findings will strengthen the purpose and conduct of the individual interviews which form the basis of the second step of Phase Three. It is proposed that the interviews will result in case studies to discern the applicability of the School Community-Oriented Leadership Framework as a new narrative for primary school leaders. Ultimately, the purpose of this research partnership is that the findings will provide a capabilities framework for primary school principals that could assist system policy and leadership development designers with a point of reference for ongoing dialogue on leadership effectiveness for now and into the future.

The purpose of this paper is, to describe, through the lens of educational change research, two long-term projects aimed at extending and refining the instructional practices of teachers and to share a developing framework based on change theory that we suggest could be used to inform the design, monitoring and assessment of educational change initiatives.

In this paper the authors expand on research first shared in 2018 (AERA, 2018), describing and reviewing how educators in Ireland and Australia are working to systematically refine and extend teachers’ instructional repertoires based on a common programme of action through enacting current research related to change and systemic change.

In Ireland the project is called the Instructional Leadership Programme (ILP) and is an ongoing project that currently involves a total of 185 post-primary schools in Ireland (approximately 25% of all public post-primary schools). In Western Australia, the project is known as the Instructional Intelligence Professional Development Program (IIPD). It ran from 2005-2011 and involved ten vocational education and training colleges (100% of the state public-funded college system). The rationale for each initiative is our focus on ‘working at’ impacting student learning through teacher learning.

We offer insights, from both settings, to change implementation, with the Irish project now in its 15th year, and the Australian project, which ran for seven years. We avail of and seek to contribute to an evolving framework based on change research that has been used to guide our thinking, our actions and reviews of each project. In reviewing our efforts, we believe our work resonates with the theme of the conference, Quality Professional Education for Enhanced School Effectiveness and Improvement and in particular the subtheme of Educational Leadership Network. We believe our paper offers unique and useful stories and lessons on the process of large-scale systemic change, aimed at enhancing teacher and school effectiveness.

We initially draw on the theoretical frame offered by Huberman and Miles (1984) who describe three evolving phases of change: (1) initiation (decisions made prior to starting), (2) implementation (actions taken once making the decision to start), and (3) institutionalization (actions taken to embed and build internal capacity to not only sustain but respond to the never-ending press of educational change). Fullan (2015) ascribes to these three phases, collectively describing them as the “Triple I Model” (p. 54) and uses these as a base from which to build and develop his theoretical and conceptual perspectives on educational change. Concomitantly, we have employed them to frame our approach to critiquing our systemic efforts.

A critique of the projects is offered and we share our self-review through the change lens and the factors previously outlined in this paper. In so doing we contend our work contributes to a better understanding of what factors require attention when efforts are made to enhance school effectiveness and improvement. We believe our research will be of interest to researchers, practitioners and policymakers.

Professional Learning Communities are important to introduce new initiatives and bring about change within a school. How a school leader ensures that this change is sustainable, deep lasting and genuinely staff-led is a greater challenge than the introduction of the initiative itself and has the potential for its results to be immensely powerful and far reaching.

This paper draws on the experiences of educational leaders at the British School of Brussels (BSB) who have created, lead, and sustained an effective whole school PLC for the last 6 years. Since the outset, leaders have intentionally created a whole school Professional Learning Community built on genuine sustained collaboration that enables trusted creativity, purposeful reflection and focused analysis of learning and leadership.

Since 2017, the school has undergone a cultural shift. In terms of PL, we have moved from a sporadic, directed model of PD for teachers, to an ongoing, intrinsically motivated, self-accountable model of PL for all. The PLC model in this setting is a ‘whole school model’ that fosters staff interdependency, self-directed learning and is underpinned by distributed leadership.

Approaching PL in this way has been part of a wider cultural shift. We witness that staff relationships are strong, they feel trusted and supported to approach their learning in creative, collaborative, and welcome peer accountability. Staff purposefully and actively engage to co-create an ethical future-focused vision of education.

This is an effective model. Data collated over time demonstrates a compelling correlation between the PLC ways of working and improved practice and outcomes.

This paper reports on the analysis of qualitative data, viewed through multi-dimensional framework of self, others and organisation. Data is gathered from and triangulated with multiple sources. Additionally, since 2018, BSB has invited the critique of external trusted partners and critical friends who have openly shared their perspectives to our approaches.

In this paper we identify deliberate leadership interventions and exemplify several enabling processes that ensured success. Key learning from our inquiry shows the importance of collaboratively creating and sharing a vision, creating supportive and trusting environments, knowing our staff well, recognising the strengths of each individual, allowing for risk-taking and innovative approaches, building connectivity, providing the resources needed for growth and creating structures and process that sustain a learning culture across the organisation.

We offer here a humanistic and ‘transformational’ leadership model that supports at all levels of the school organisation and deals with the concepts and cultures that matter rather than administrative detail. It is our belief that by getting the culture right, everything will follow.

We recognize that the strength of a PLC lies in understanding the context and nuance of each setting, but we aim that by sharing our examples, along with the wider theoretical framework, that we will empower other schools to enact genuine deep and lasting change in line with the ICSEI 2024 theme: ‘Quality Professional Education for Enhanced School Effectiveness and Improvement.’

Into Headship is Scotland’s national professional learning programme for principalship, a masters level qualification aligned to the General Teaching Council for Scotland’s (GTCS) Professional Standards, leading to the award of the Standard for Headship, a pre-requisite for all newly appointed headteachers. The programme is rooted in the GTCS Standards which are underpinned by core principles of agency, criticality, strategic leadership and social justice. This paper presents the findings of a research project which investigated the experiences, responses and impact of Into Headship on a group of aspiring principals, during the Covid-19 crisis. This study is rooted in a pragmatic constructivist paradigm which recognises that the purpose of inquiry is the advancement of understanding rather than the search for absolute truths. The methods used to gather data were questionnaires and semi-structured online interviews. Data was analysed using a thematic analysis approach and themes categorised using the ecological agency model. Initial findings from the study signal the importance of the social aspects of learning, the place of values within educational leadership and the relational dimension of leading a school community while also highlighting tensions within the system. Conclusions are drawn from the emergent themes and implications for the future of leadership development programmes are presented.

An ecological model of agency was used to shape the research design process and analyse the data to reveal ways in which this sustained headship professional development programme fostered the agency of the participants in leading school improvement processes. Details of the Into Headship programme are outlined then the methodology which underpinned the study are discussed and findings presented. The paper concludes that the underpinning values, concepts, design processes and practices of the programme, enhanced the agency of participants in a variety of ways and provided them with key understandings about the political tensions they faced while also equipping them with strategies to navigate a way through these competing demands and expectations, to lead school improvement.

We present an existential provocation concerning the interlinkage of practice, procedure, policy, theory and system change of constructivist initiatives in and of school education. Our focus is the constellation of approaches which constituted major school reform efforts in each of Ontario, Canada and Scotland, United Kingdom extending for approximately fifteen years in the first two decades of this century. Neither formally began nor ended, but each had central organizing focus on ‘Knowledge Building’ (Scardamalia, 2002) and ‘Building the Curriculum’ (Scottish Executive/Government, 2006-2010) respectively, as the dynamic focus of the reforms in each nation/province. The former is an applied theory based on twelve principles through which all members of school communities, including especially the students, build knowledge. The latter is a policy enactment refocusing schooling to promote four capacities of student potential of responsibility, confidence, contribution and learning through seven explicit principles of curriculum design. These were to be ‘built’ locally. There was a five-stage themed five-year Building the Curriculum national process.

Co-author is a primary school teacher and was school principal/head teacher during the active years of the development of these reforms in Scotland, United Kingdom. Co-author is a former school principal who was in post during the active developmental phase of the cognate initiative in Ontario, Canada. Both became long-standing participants in Knowledge Building International and ICSEI.

We give a flavour of these developments, anchoring them conceptually and theoretically and drawing linkages. Both systems sought that schools and educators, school communities and on to the students, would be active co-constructors of the processes to enable and shape envisaged policy changes. These derived from societal changes. The guiding ideas were pupils/students engaging with what has come to be known as twenty-first century skills and wider capacities extending far beyond attainment. For both, major emphasis was given to collaborative pedagogies, transcending individualized learning. The role of the authors was as lead teachers, steering and ‘building’ the reforms at school level, working with colleagues, students, communities of interest, partner schools, external bodies and agencies of our respective District, Council, Provincial and National administrations.

We affirm that schools must own the constellations of practice, policy and procedure which they, that is we, identify as fitting our needs and potentials, as authentic self-evaluation. We recommend that policy be reconceived as principles. We seek alignment and harmonization of professional development for educators, institutional development of schools, and system change roles of wider governing bodies. These would merge and integrate external with self-evaluation and reframe accountability as institutional and system professional development through mentoring, peer review and inquiry. We commend Knowledge Building as applied in Ontario and Building the Curriculum as applied in Scotland which pioneered these approaches. We now seek that each system build on the applied insights of each other, extending far beyond to a globalized context. Our insight and recommendation are that the evidenced and theoretically refined practice of practitioners responding to societal and policy shifts be viewed and valorized as major research and inquiry projects in themselves. These would build policy.

Education inequality is a fundamental factor contributing to social inequality. In China, the "Quality and Equity in Compulsory Education" project is considered an important institutional initiative by the government to promote fairness in basic education. In this context, this study focuses on a project for the High-quality balanced development of compulsory education, in which five teams of education scholars from universities have been commissioned by the government to enhance the "endogenous" capacity-building of weak schools. After six years of exploration, these projects have developed relatively mature models and strategies, effectively promoting the development of endogenous capabilities in recipient schools and successfully disseminating their experiences and achievements to the respective regions. This serves as strong evidence for university education scholars in selecting schools for continuous improvement. The distillation of key elements and practical strategies for university education scholars' involvement in educational balance actions will contribute to the refinement and consolidation of research outcomes for sustained endogenous development in schools.

Empowerment theory was initially applied in the field of sociology（Rappaport,1984）, emphasizing the analysis of the disadvantaged groups' state and developmental direction from the perspective of power deprivation. In the field of education, empowerment refers to teachers' ability to achieve self-discovery with a positive attitude, enhance their own capabilities through reflective action, actively participate in decision-making, and ultimately become professionals with their own educational philosophy and wisdom(Bogler R, Somech A,2004;操太圣,卢乃桂，2006). Based on individual empowerment and combining it with Ecological Systems Theory, researchers proposed the theory of organizational empowerment in order to address the issues of fragmentation and narrowness in traditional empowerment theories.（Peterson, N.A,Zimmerman,2004;Forenza, B,2017; Wilke, L.A. and Speer, P,2011）This study attempts to clarify the main strategies and core elements of scholars' intervention in improving weak schools in a region from four dimensions: "teacher empowerment," "organizational empowerment" "shaping school culture" and "community support".

The methodology of “multiple case study”and “best practice extraction”was combined used in this study.

Multiple sources of data were included in this study such as in-depth interviews, field observations, and documents.The data were transcribed by the first author and then analysed using a qualitative inductive process (Strauss & Corbin, 1998).

Through the extraction of multiple case experiences, it was found that the reason why scholars' involvement in the high-quality balanced education project has been successful lies in their possession of nine core elements: critical thinking, facilitating inquiry, belief-driven, organizational transformation, institutional empowerment, cultural consolidation, distinctive exploration, resource linkage, and network building.

This study offers insights to inform understandings of school empowerment among researchers, policy-makers and the broader education community, with a particular emphasis on interrogating Western notions of organization empowerment.

The presentation falls under the “Leading improvement collaboratively and sustainably” theme and the 3P Network for policymakers, politicians, and practitioners

The crisis in foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) has gained significant attention in the Global South in the past decade. United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal 4.4 for example, aims to achieve universal literacy and numeracy. The World Bank now regularly tracks “learning poverty”—the number of children who cannot read with comprehension by age 10 (World Bank, 2019).

The problems of early grade learning in South Africa are now widely recognized and there is an emerging research tradition attempting to provide robust evidence to address it system-wide. Since 2011, the Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS) and its predecessor, the Gauteng Primary Literacy and Numeracy Strategy have been building a robust knowledge-base on cost-effective approaches to system-wide improvement to early grade reading in children's mother tongue and English as a second language. Using a combination of regression discontinuity design studies, cluster randomized control trials, in-depth qualitative case studies, and longitudinal student tracker studies, the EGRS team has successfully tested a structured pedagogy change model that combines the provision of standardized lesson plans and high-quality learning materials, with centralized training and one-on-one instructional coaching. This model has become known in South Africa as the Education Triple Cocktail (Fleisch, 2016 and 2018), a tribute to the successful intervention for managing AIDS in the health sector.

This paper provides an overview of the research projects and policy influence of the Early Grade Reading Study. It focuses on the results of the initial RDD study in the Gauteng Province in 2013 (Fleisch et al 2016; Fleisch, 2016), the first RCT study in KwaZulu Natal of the catch-up model (2014) (Fleisch et al 2018) and the major quantitative and qualitative findings of the large-scale randomized trials in the North West (2015-2018) (Cilliers et al 2020) and the Mpumalanga (2018-2020) provinces (Kotze et al 2020; Cilliers et al 2022). The paper also highlights the most recent evidence from the longitudinal tracker studies which shows the enduring impact on learning four years after the initiative ended. The paper also reviews research on the politics of change using the RISE diagnostic framework (Fleisch, et al 2023)

The experience of the EGRS in South Africa highlights the value of aligned standardized curriculum materials, particularly simple-to-use lesson plans, with the provision of quality and appropriate reading resources with training and onsite classroom coaching. While focusing on evidence of effectiveness, the study has uncovered the centrality of the emotions of change and how coaching works as a form of professional accountability. The findings of this large-scale government/university research partnership can make a significant contribution to the field of educational effectiveness and policymaking in the Global South.

The Scottish Government’s Diversity in the Teaching Profession Scotland Annual Data Report (2023) reiterates ‘the aim that by 2030 the number of minority ethnic teachers in Scotland’s schools should be at least 4%, which is on a par with the Scottish minority ethnic population in the 2011 census.’ Currently, the figure is 1.8%.

This paper explores the known issues to improving diversity in the teaching profession in Scotland, outlines national policy commitments and details work in motion to make the reality match the national rhetoric. Key challenges of this work, including the impact on teacher education and learning are shared with the aim of generating discussion about comparison with other jurisdictions to inform further required actions.

Scotland in the 21st century is a vibrant, diverse country. Therefore, a more diverse teaching profession is one which would reflect society as a whole, build equity and value diverse perspectives. While acknowledging it is a complex area (Martino, 2015; Santoro, 2015), young people do benefit from seeing role models who represent their lived experience (Boyle, 2022). It has also been shown that diverse classrooms, both in terms of teachers and learners, can increase learners’ citizenship skills and social cohesion (De Schaepmeester, et al., 2022). It is our ethical responsibility as a teaching profession to work towards this goal.

Structuring discussion around the stages on the journey of black and minority ethnic (BME) teachers, spanning from their own school experiences, teacher education, ongoing professional learning, through to advanced career stages, this paper explores research and initiatives promoting increased representation of racially diverse teachers in the teaching profession.

By highlighting proactive steps to support BME teachers through their career journey, this paper offers the potential for enhanced understanding and greater engagement with the national aspiration for a more diverse teaching profession.

Purpose and Theoretical Framework

The Teacher Training Center (TTC) provided three years of contextualized, equity-centered professional development (PD) to instructional coaches, teachers, and principals focused on a student engagement method (SEM). They provided ongoing feedback to instructional coaches and teachers, meeting with them in a pre-conference, giving real-time suggestions, and debriefing in a post-conference. Additional services were tailored to help principals support SEM implementation. This study explores implementation of the coaching model in five underperforming schools in an urban US district.

We use sensemaking theory to describe how key implementers—district leaders, principals, coaches, and teachers—make sense of and implement the coaching model. Prior research has demonstrated that principals and coaches can act as critical sensegivers during program implementation (Coburn, 2005; Coburn & Woulfin, 2012); this study expounds on the sensemaking literature to show that a systemic approach that activates all sensegivers in the service of implementation is key to improving teaching and learning.

Methods and Data Source

This study analyzes various data, including surveys, coaching observations, teacher focus groups, and documents (e.g., school improvement plans). In 2021-22, coaches completed 323 coaching cycles for 91 teachers across 5 schools. Observations accounted for how closely the teacher conformed to expectations associated with SEM, while surveys and focus groups captured reactions to the coaching model. We used a sensemaking lens to deductively and inductively code data to isolate the institutional, individual, and social factors contributing to sensemaking (Spillane et al., 2002).

Findings

Coaches act as critical sensegivers, so they need adequate knowledge and time to commit to their roles. Coaching, and its necessary shift to a culture of continuous improvement, has been well-received by teachers and principals. One teacher shared that because coaching is received by everyone, not just “when something goes wrong,” it develops a growth mindset. Almost 60% of coaching focused on SEM, rather than a different pedagogical method, suggesting teachers’ commitment to implementation. Principals appreciate that coaching is aligned to school priorities, and they value having a coach they can “bounce ideas off.” Coaching on the use of this strategy provides common language and a unified message in each school. This coaching model is not isolated: it is embedded in an intensive and focused change initiative adopted by the district. Coaches, school, and district leaders activate to ensure that teachers have the resources and support they need to improve instruction and classroom management.

Significance and Connection to Conference Theme

Coaching is essential to improving teaching and learning, so it is worth exploring how a school district implements a new coaching model. Although the coordinated approach is clear to the district, the need for various initiatives to support change is not always evident for teachers, so leaders must consistently communicate the “why” behind initiatives as well as the ways in which they overlap to support systemic change. Our focus on better understanding the implementation of quality coaching aligns directly with the conference’s theme on “quality professional education for enhanced school effectiveness and improvement.”

This proposal reports on over 20 years of research findings from Australian case studies that focus on successful school leadership as part of the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) and follows ISSPP methodology protocols. It draws upon findings from five Tasmanian, eighteen Victorian and one Northern Territory multiple perspective case studies of successful primary, secondary and special school principals. At each school, data collected included interviews with the principal, senior teachers, teachers, students, parents and school council members and document analysis. The case studies cover government, Catholic and independent schools. The research focused on successful school leadership rather than effective schools. Successful school leadership includes a wide range of student and school outcomes rather than a narrow range of student academic achievements.

Overall, the findings showed that successful principals demonstrated personal qualities, a set of common leadership practices, key behaviours, strategic interventions and capacity building that helped them achieve positive school outcomes. Successful principals were able to understand and effectively work within a complex set of contextual layers that encompassed their work environment. We have found that our successful principals are less constrained by context and are able to work within and across constraints. All the principals were able to lead change by innovating for school improvement.

In the paper, we will outline the personal qualities, leadership practices, behaviours and interventions of successful principals from our findings. More importantly for this presentation, we also intend to focus on the principals’ capability to initiate and implement change for school improvement. We classify our Victorian case studies into three levels of innovation. Principals were identified as either using incremental, transformational or disruptive practices to lead innovation. Principals in schools that were categorised as ‘incremental’ attempted to consolidate school improvement through incremental change and embedding the change into teaching and learning. Leaders in the schools in the ‘transformational’ change category used leadership practices that were mildly disruptive. The change was strategic and focused on individual, professional, organisational, and community capacity building strategies. School improvement interventions were centred on school and community needs and priorities. They were able to build professional development and appraisal; set priorities based on data about performance; and communicate purpose, process and performance. Schools in the disruptive category witnessed a dynamic change. Principals in this category transformed almost every aspect of the school. We identify seven disruptive practices that characterise these principals’ relentless orientation to change.

Finally, we will pull all our research altogether into a model we call an open systems model for school student and school improvement. The model attempts to integrate our findings to try to make sense of the relationship between the various aspects to show the complexity and interrelationship of the factors described in the findings. The paper connects to the conference theme because successful principals build teachers' professional and individual capacity to improve teaching and learning to improve student outcomes academically and more broadly.

Whilst enhancing the wellbeing of students has been a priority for many governments, the same cannot be said of teacher wellbeing, given the scarce research in this area. The current study examined how much factors such as having a wellbeing policy, wellbeing CPD, management caring about staff, having wellbeing on staff meeting agenda, and support strategies in place predict teachers’ personal wellbeing, after controlling for age. A total of 293 teachers participated in the study, most of whom were females (69.5%), from a range of second level schools located in both rural and urban areas across all four provinces in Ireland. The Mental Health Continuum Short Form (MHC-SF) was applied to measure wellbeing. The results indicated that only two factors (i) putting support strategies in place, and (ii) school leaders caring about teachers, predicted teacher wellbeing. The implications of the study are discussed along with recommendations for policy and future research.

The aim of this paper is to describe a school district’s exploration of system change using an inquiry model. This model demonstrates how leveraging different layers of the system and resources within the system can create opportunities for change.

In the pursuit of dynamic system change, educational leaders face the challenge of leveraging existing structures, optimizing available resources, and transforming constraints into opportunities for growth. This paper explores the journey of the Richmond School District in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, where the implementation of the Spirals of Inquiry Framework (Halbert & Kaser, 2013 & 2022) has been instrumental in driving sustained educational change over the last several years. With the district's strategic plan for 2020-2025 well underway, the focus lies on identifying effective organizational and instructional strategies and layering those strategies to facilitate system evolution.

With a layered approach that addresses a single big idea, namely "how we use inquiry to create and sustain system change," educators at different levels of the system tailor their approaches to match the specific needs of their educational context. Many teachers engage in Inquiry Grant projects to deepen their learning and improve their pedagogy. Schools engage in an inquiry to tell the story of their school and develop a focus for learning each year. By gathering data through engaging with students via a scanning process that asks meaningful questions, the responses are then used to support growth and change effectively by connecting to the existing structures, such as the curriculum.

Several foundational qualities have emerged as key drivers of success in school communities that make a significant difference for learners (Halbert & Kaser, 2022). These qualities include clarity of purpose and alignment with broader objectives, persistent curiosity manifested through active questioning and attentive listening, a growth mindset that believes in continuous improvement, a commitment to equity by proactively addressing barriers to success, and collaborative teamwork within schools and across communities. In the Richmond School District, the work of educators is deeply embedded in these foundational qualities due to growing and embedded engagement in the Spirals of Inquiry processes.

We also know that adaptive expertise plays a crucial role in enabling system change. By thinking evaluatively about the impact on student outcomes, seeking deep knowledge to make a greater difference, engaging in metacognitive thinking, fostering collaboration, and acting responsively and systemically, educational leaders can effectively navigate the complexities of change (Timperley & Twyford, 2021). By consistently posing the question, Have we made enough of a difference to student learning?, educators are invited to examine their processes, ask students questions, engage in professional learning and reflect on their practice to meaningfully meet the needs of their learners.

The hunger for genuine processes of change is evident across educational systems, and the need for system leaders has never been greater in a post-pandemic world. By leveraging existing structures, optimizing available resources, and embracing constraints as opportunities for growth, educational leaders in the Richmond school district are creating and sustaining system change that fosters equity, supports student success, and prepares learners for an evolving world.

Focus of Inquiry and Connection to Conference Theme

Connecting to the ICSEI 2024 theme of ‘quality professional education,’ this paper explores how science teacher learning is shaped by distinctive features of a science museum, including practicum experiences in galleries, interning in youth programs, courses co-taught by museum scientists; and doing research alongside museum scientists. This paper responds to the ICSEI sub-theme “policy and practice learning to support teacher and school leader development,” by shedding light on features of teacher education programs that may be particularly effective in preparing teachers for equitable science teaching in public schools.

Theoretical/Conceptual Perspectives

We draw upon two theoretical frameworks in the design of our teacher education program and our research within it (Authors, 2022). A sociocultural theoretical framework (Vygotsky, 1978) reflects our view of teacher learning as an interactive process of participation in a science community (Lave & Wenger, 1991); and a critical theoretical framework asks that we acknowledge that science is not neutral; rejecting deficit views; and incorporating a systemic view of inequality and injustices (Milner, 2010; 2021).

Data/Method

Data are drawn from a case study of a 15-month teacher education program that prepares Earth science secondary teachers in a large, urban intensive city, housed in a science museum. Data include interviews with program students, observation of program meetings and courses, as well as program documents. Additional data from ongoing evaluations, and findings from published research by program scientists and educators, supplements the case. Using these data, we explore what residents learn in order to enact equitable science teaching. We identify features of the setting of a science institution that play an especially important role in strengthening teachers’ science instruction and equitable work with youth.

Findings

The case study points to four distinctive features of learning in a museum that support teachers’ learning to teach science:1) an eight week “science practicum” involving preservice teachers in conducting research with active scientists; 2) early teaching experiences in museum galleries; 3) fieldwork in museum-based afterschool youth programs and 4) a co-teaching model in which science courses are taught by educators and museum scientists. These contributed to teachers’ heightened ‘science identity’; stronger grasp of science practices for geology; a heightened appreciation of and knowledge about local Earth science phenomena; and asset-based views of youth. For example, the science practicum provided science resources they could use in their classrooms, strengthened knowledge about how scientists do their work and helped counter views of science as ‘not neutral’, and strengthened their ability to communicate with students about complex science concepts.

Educational Importance for Practice and Theory

This case study reveals how a program’s features can support preservice teachers to learn ambitious and equitable science teaching. While few teacher education programs take place in a museum or a cultural institution that can support subject-specific learning; this study points to ways that teacher education programs can take advantage of informal science institutions and their resources. This study shares principles that other teacher education programs can draw upon to inform their work preparing teachers.

Problem statement

Value-added models (VAM) are widely used around the world to monitor school effects of schools’ effectiveness (Leckie & Prior, 2022). In multilevel VAM, students’ current achievement is regressed on (at least) prior achievement, the school effectiveness estimate, i.e., the value-added (VA) estimate, being the school-level residual. However, measurement error on prior achievement can lead to attenuation bias and to biased schools’ VA-estimates: the VA-estimates of high prior-achieving schools are overestimated while the effectiveness of school serving low prior achievers is underestimated (Kane, 2017; Perry, 2019).

This study investigates how ability estimators of prior achievement can affect the school-level VA-estimates. Three VAM are studied: simple value-added (VA) models, and contextualized VAM controlling for students’ sociodemographic features (CVA-A) and also for schools' prior achievement (CVA-B) (Leckie & Prior, 2022).

The investigated ability estimators rely on Item Response Theory (IRT) measurement models: weighted-likelihood estimates (WLE), expected a posteriori (EAP) and plausible values (PV). These estimators have different properties. For instance, WLE overestimate ability’s variance while EAP underestimate this variance (Lechner et al., 2021; Monseur & Adams, 2009; Wu, 2005); in multilevel models, the estimated variance components can also be affected by the estimator choice (Monseur & Adams, 2009). Furthermore, Schofield et al. (2015) showed that, when using PV as an independent variable in a regression model, biased estimates can arise if the conditioning model used to procure PV is not compatible with this regression analysis model. In the continuity of these findings, this study investigates how these ability estimators for prior achievement can affect schools’ estimated effect.

Methodology

A simulation study is conducted to investigate the influence of several prior achievement estimation methods on school residuals. The ability estimators are WLE, PV and EAP. The latter two rely on Bayesian approaches and are estimated without conditioning or conditioned on contrast coding for schools or on schools mean prior achievement (in order to account for school differences), with or without other conditioning variables.

Multilevel VA, CVA-A and CVA-B models are investigated: the bias in the correlations between the school-level residuals in each prior-ability estimate condition and (a) schools’ mean prior achievement and (b) schools’ true residuals, is analyzed. Attention is also paid to the estimated model parameters. Several test lengths for assessing prior achievement are explored; true values of current achievement and of the covariate (for CVA models) are used.

Results

Results show that using an improper ability estimator of prior achievement can bias the correlation between school prior achievement and school residuals in VA and CVA-A models. Bayesian ability approaches with conditioning variables can recover this correlation and the specification of the IRT conditioning model is discussed. This correlation is also less affected by the ability estimator choice in CVA-B models than in CVA-A and VA models, as they control for school mean prior achievement.

Inadequate prior achievement estimates can therefore lead to misleading school effects. Researchers’ choice should rely on the specification of their VAM and on the properties of ability estimators.

This paper reports on the on-going research project called Professional Identity for Khmer Teachers (PIKT). In all education settings the challenge of enhancing teaching capability to achieve better learning outcomes is complex and multifaceted. In the context of early grade education in Cambodian schools, this is especially the case. Cambodian education is like the ‘perfect storm’ of challenges.

The authors are part of the PIKT research collaboration seeking to find new ways to improve the quality of teaching in Cambodia. The collaboration involves SeeBeyondBorders, a non-government organization concerned with teacher development in Cambodia; the Department of Policy, a research and think-tank within the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports; Phnom Penh Teacher Education College as provider of the new full 4-year degree course for primary teacher training and the Centre for Education and Lifelong Learning at National College of Ireland.

The research goals of the PIKT project may be characterized in terms of three broad areas of inquiry. First, to identify an appropriate framework to facilitate early grade Cambodian teachers to enhance their classroom practice. Second, to devise a workshop with associated resources to support teachers to enhance their classroom practice in line with the framework. And third, to further develop the practical research skills and capabilities of the collaborating partners so that the work can continue in the future. The 28-month project commenced in September 2022 and will continue through to the end of 2024.

The PIKT project is investigating how teachers in Cambodia and specifically the Battambang region, can be enabled to improve their teaching practice and engage in a path of professional development. It focuses on the tasks and challenges of building teacher professional identity; how teachers see themselves and how this may change over time. Teacher professional identity is a core enabler for a wider framework of teaching capability and competence. Effective teaching requires a disposition for enhancement of practice in a continuous cycle of professional improvement.

PIKT uses design-based research to develop and deliver customized workshops with associated materials, to enhance teacher professional identity and build teacher agency in implementing positive changes to classroom practice in primary schools.

As part of the design-based research process, 25 volunteer participant teachers were observed in class and this data, together with teacher interviews, and a ‘school in community’ profile, enabled the research team to design and deliver a culturally and contextually appropriate workshop for the teachers. We report on the project to date as it has completed the first iteration of design and workshop delivery.

Insights from PIKT contribute to our understanding of the essence of teacher professional identity and how, despite difficult circumstances, teachers in Cambodia are well motivated to improve the lives and education outcomes of their students. The research also provides new insights on what's happening in Cambodian schools as it fosters further collaboration between Irish, international, and Cambodian researchers.