Conference Agenda

In Africa, progress towards equitable access to high-quality education has been slow. This has been attributed to education systems' inability to address factors underlying the learning crisis such as underprepared students, low teaching quality, a focus on educational resources that do not foster learning, and ineffective school leadership. Effective school leadership is considered essential in addressing all four elements because its key role in influencing education actors to strive towards greater learning and more resilient education systems. To ignite the potential of school leadership on the African continent, the Rwandan government, the Association for Development of Education in Africa, and VVOB - education for development, initiated the African Centre for School Leadership (ACSL) to assist governments in developing supportive school leadership systems with the goal of improving teaching and, as a result, learning outcomes.

Two studies were carried out to lay the theoretical groundwork for the Centre. The first study was a review of empirical research on school leadership in Africa that provided insights into what constituted effective school leadership on the continent. In this paper, we complement the findings of the review with the opinion of a panel of experts and the consensus that was built amongst these experts on the topic of school leadership in Africa. The findings of the scoping review were rewritten into statements on school leadership in Africa, organized around nine topics. The Delphi method is a group approach that involves a series of surveys between the researchers and a group of selected experts on a certain issue. This study brought together government partners, policymakers, researchers, development partners, and providers of CPD services to African school leaders to collect data in three survey rounds utilizing a combination of quantitative and qualitative methodologies.

The results of the first Delphi round, in which the panel of experts was given the opportunity to add additional statements about school leadership and school leadership professional development in Africa, revealed a strong interest in school leadership and school leadership professional development in Africa. In Delphi rounds 2 and 3, most statements and declared aims of the Centre received broad agreement and consensus. This indicates that the examination of empirical research on the subject accurately represents the viewpoints of experts from various countries as well as personal experiences. Statements on which no agreement was reached present prospects for additional analysis, investigation, and research. Of special interest are the statements regarding the potential interplay between gender and school leadership, and statements regarding Ubuntu school leadership as a potential model for effective school leadership, rooted in the African context. Both research avenues offer significant opportunities for exploratory and ground-breaking research.

In conclusion, this study emphasizes the upside of involving policymakers and practitioners in the validation of literature and the initiation of initiatives supporting school leader development, which is aligned with the conference theme, specifically on the subtheme on policy and practice learning to support teacher and school leader development.

Due to various reforms, efforts must be taken to make schools more inclusive. Although countries have different historically developed educational contexts, similar regulations must be implemented internationally. School principals play a major role in this chain of international guidelines, national and finally local implementation (Abrahamsen & Aas, 2019). However, due to different definitions of inclusion and the importance of local contexts, it is not exactly clear what this role looks like (Wermke & Prøitz, 2019). These ambiguities show that it is not possible to clarify what principals should be educated for in terms of designing inclusive schools. In order to give an impetus for this and improve schools on the long term, the study reveals:

1) How is school principals’ responsibility depicted in policy documents in Germany and Norway regarding the implementation of inclusion policies since 1994?

For investigating if the results are relevant for principals, the following question is further examined:

2) How is the discourse of school principals’ responsibility discussed in school leaders’ professional journals in Germany and Norway, regarding the implementation of inclusion policies since 1994?

Due to the Salamanca Declaration and subsequent efforts for more inclusive school systems, the analysis begins in the 1990s. Germany and Norway are particularly interesting for a comparison as both countries have different historically developed educational traditions, but similarities in recent educational reforms, with greater room for maneuver for principals on local level (Wermke & Prøitz, 2021).

For the analysis of legislation and journals, qualitative content document analysis (Bowen, 2009) in the further development of Prøitz (2015) was used. For the first part, school laws and their guiding documents regarding inclusive education were investigated. Principals in both countries are obliged to follow the law and justify their decisions based on the Education Act (Møller & Skedsmo, 2013), so principals’ responsibilities are specified here. The second part of the analysis worked with journals, partially written from principals for principals. The journals show how political implementations arrive in professional daily work life and how policies are understood and interpreted by principals and their associations. The material presents furthermore the interface between intentions and practice.

Preliminary results indicate that principals in Norway have more possibilities for shaping inclusive schools. This is seen in a wider room for maneuver and trust in their decisions. German principals instead are restricted by requirements of school authorities. While the analysis of the Norwegian journals reveals satisfaction on the whole and just some slight adjustments and requested support, German journals show job dissatisfaction in general but are still under more detailed analysis.

The results show what policies in various times and contexts imply for school principals in the implementation of schools for all children. Since the analysis is furthermore not just conducted over time but also during an acute crisis like the COVID-19-pandemic, it will reveal challenges principals are facing in their leadership autonomy on long- and short-term issues. The study can finally present an important source for the education of principals and collaboration between different educational leaders.

This narrative literature review explores the interrelationship between digital exclusion, self-efficacy, and Parental Involvement (PI) in the context of home-based digital learning within European and Irish educational settings. The review critically examines extant literature, identifies gaps in knowledge, and proposes considerations for schools to increase PI in children's digital learning through Digital Technology (DT) based initiatives.

The problem addressed in this review pertains to the concept of digital exclusion, which stems from the theory of the digital divide and its consequent impact on parental involvement (PI) in children's digital learning. While the integration of DT in education has accelerated, a significant portion of parents and families face digital exclusion due to various socio-cultural, socio-demographic, and socio-economic factors. This review seeks to understand the consequences of digital exclusion, particularly on Parental Self-Efficacy (PSE) (Wittkowski et al., 2017), Computer Self-Efficacy (CSE) (Compeau & Higgins, 1995), and their influence on PI, which is crucial for student engagement and outcomes.

Accordingly, this paper addresses the following research questions: How does digital exclusion influence PSE and CSE, and subsequently affect PI in their children's home-based digital learning? What initiatives and approaches can foster digital inclusion and support increased PI in children's digital learning?

The review employs a comprehensive search for pertinent literature, followed by rigorous critical appraisal and synthesis of identified studies. The review incorporates a diverse range of perspectives, drawing on research conducted within International, European and Irish contexts. A reflexive approach is taken to critically examine the limitations of existing literature and identify gaps in knowledge. This approach allows for a coherent and nuanced understanding of the interrelationships between digital exclusion, self-efficacy, and PI. The primary data sources for this review are scholarly articles, research studies, and policy documents related to digital exclusion, digital inclusion, self-efficacy, and PI in education. The theoretical framework encompasses the concepts of social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1986), digital exclusion (Van Dijk, 2005; Helsper, 2012), and the parental involvement process model (Hoover Dempsey et al., 2005).

This narrative literature review contributes to the theoretical understanding of digital inclusion, self-efficacy, and PI within educational settings. It explores initiatives focused on fostering digital inclusion and PI though school-based interventions while acknowledging existing barriers. The findings will provide insights into the complex relationship between digital technologies, parental involvement, and educational outcomes. The results and recommendations will inform practitioners, policymakers, and educators on strategies to foster digital inclusion the digital divide and foster an inclusive approach to DT-based education.

This review aligns with the conference theme of quality professional education for enhanced school effectiveness and improvement by addressing the crucial aspects of equity, inclusion, and diversity within the context of DT integration. By exploring the interrelationship between digital exclusion, self-efficacy, and PI, this review contributes to the understanding and implementation of effective strategies for promoting equity and enhancing school effectiveness in a digitally evolving educational landscape.

Problem: Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) policy, practice, and research all emphasise the importance of adult-child pedagogical interactions at home and in ECEC settings for children’s development. However, separate bodies of knowledge have emerged concerning these interactions at home and in ECEC settings. Ongoing development of inductive statistical methods offer a means of bridging these bodies of knowledge. These methods provide a practical and efficient means of understanding how interactions in both locations work together to shape development. Thus, the use of these methods has the potential to yield new ECEC insights, innovations, and practice.

Research question: In what ways can adult-child pedagogical interactions in the home and preschool combine to shape the development of preschoolers’ verbal reasoning?

Context: Advancement of contemporary knowledge that informs ECEC policy and practice.

Methods: Secondary statistical analysis of a nationally representative dataset using a contemporary inductive statistical method: Mixture Regression Modelling.

Data Sources/evidence: Data from the Effective Provision of Preschool Education (EPPE) study: 2,857 children and families using 141 ECEC settings across England from ages 3 (entry to preschool) to 4 years (exit from preschool).

Results: Four distinct groups were identified when considering the contextualised associations between adult-child pedagogical interactions at home and preschool and the development of verbal reasoning from 3 to 4 years of age.

Confirming previous EPPE research, adult-child pedagogical interactions in the home mattered for all – particularly how frequently a child was read to – and irrespective of a child’s verbal reasoning at 3 years or the development of this reasoning to age 4 years.

Extending the previous EPPE findings, the four groups also differed from each other in how verbal reasoning developed from 3-4 years and how this development was related to adult-child pedagogical interactions in homes and preschools. Three (inductive) findings stood out:

First, adult-child pedagogical interactions in ECEC settings were found to matter more when there were less frequent interactions in the home, and when interactions in preschool were higher in quality. This suggests possible preschool-origin boosts to equity in preschoolers’ development of verbal reasoning.

Second, that adult-child pedagogical interactions in preschool concerning ‘language reasoning’ and ‘science and the environment’ may have a prominent role in this equity boost.

Third, that family income was only weakly related to adult-child pedagogical interactions: Both richer and poorer families could experience more/less frequent pedagogical interactions in the home and higher/lower quality of pedagogical interactions in preschool. Thus the above equity effects matter for more children.

Educational importance of this research for theory, practice, and policy: Findings from EPPE have shaped ECEC policy, practice, and research for two decades. Therefore new EPPE findings matter -- especially because the EPPE data may be more comparable to conditions in England now versus 6-7 years ago. The ongoing development of inductive statistical methods aids the identification of conditions under which ECEC can facilitate equity in child development.

Connection to the conference theme: This paper illustrates how contemporary inductive statistical methods can help researchers: innovate in education, generate new insights/inquiries, and inform professional learning.

Critical thinking in education has been much discussed for its benefits in enhancing the quality of students learning and life opportunities (OECD, 2019). Critical thinking is essential in early childhood for many reasons; for one, the ability to think critically reduces the chance of children being guided by false or misinformed information. Although critical thinking is considered a core 21st competency that could be supported at all levels of education, there is the lack of research on critical thinking at a preschool level (O'Reilly et al., 2022). This paper aims to describe and present findings from a pedagogical intervention designed as part of a PhD project to nurture critical thinking in preschool children based on oral storytelling with dialogic inquiry. For this paper we will address two research questions: (1) what critical thinking skills are observed in preschool children? and (2) what conditions draw out critical thinking in preschool children? Seventeen preschool children and two preschool practitioners volunteered to participate in this study. From a sociocultural perspective, central to this research is the idea that children are capable, competent and willing to engage in critical discourse when provided with the right conditions to nurture this type of classroom interaction. The study was conducted as a design-based research intervention; this approach is interactive and participatory (Bakker, 2018). Research instruments include classroom observations, audio-video recording and textual data. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, which allows reflection on data in context (Braun & Clarke, 2021). Results indicate that oral storytelling combined with dialogic inquiry and educator scaffolding provides the conditions for preschool children to engage in critical thinking. The elements of critical identified include; communicating with clarity and accuracy, constructing ideas, inferring, reasoning, and problem solving. The research makes a significant contribution to early childhood research, policy, and practice as the first study in the Republic to identify specific elements of critical thinking in preschool children together with a teaching strategy to nurture these skills in the early years. The results generate future research in teacher education and continued professional development for teachers and school leaders to implement strategies to nurture critical thinking in preschools at a national level. In addition, findings call for further research to explore how policy and practice could work in partnership to improve young children's opportunities to engage in critical thinking in the classroom. Ethical permission was granted in December 2020 by the Trinity College Dublin research committee. This research was funded by the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship GOIPG/2020/19.

It is widely accepted that all schools possess a particular duty of care towards their students. However, this duty of care falls unevenly across schools, with those serving working-class communities experiencing it most acutely within the wider context of structural social inequalities (Crean et al., 2023; Moss et al., 2020; Reay, 2022). Moreover, these care-related responsibilities experienced by such so-called disadvantaged schools coexist alongside an increasing emphasis on performance in standards-based assessments, arising from neoliberal reforms targeting the effectiveness of schools in education systems across the globe (Lynch, 2022; Devine & McGillicuddy, 2016; Noddings, 2005). Previous research has conceptualised these responsibilities as competing areas of interest for schools serving working-class communities, creating the impression of a binary opposition between the two (Jeffrey et al., 2013; Martin & Amin, 2020). Distinctions have also been drawn between different forms of caring in schools (Antrop-González & De Jesús, 2006; Valenzuela, 1999), ranging from those which centre on children’s academic learning to those more concerned with their well-being and welfare. Others recognise the need for schools to carry out a dual role and cater for both forms of caring (Crean et al., 2023; Devine & McGillicuddy, 2016), conceptualised by Antrop-González and De Jesús (2006) as ‘hard caring.’ In this paper, we further conceptualise the nature of care in disadvantaged schools, drawing on the broader literature base to propose a ‘nurturing pedagogies typology,’ a biaxial continuum along which some of the aforementioned conceptualisations of care can be situated. The vertical axis of the typology represents the degree to which schools emphasise academic outcomes in their enactment of care, while the horizontal axis reflects the extent of affective relationships between children and teachers. While we concur with critiques of an academically instrumentalist enactment of caring in schools (Dadvand & Cuervo, 2020), we argue that hard caring, characterised by high levels of caring in both the academic and affective domains, is necessary in order to enable children to flourish in schools. In addition, this paper presents findings from the Children’s School Lives study (www.cslstudy.ie), Ireland’s first national longitudinal study of primary schooling. We draw on qualitative accounts from children, their families, and school personnel to highlight the application of the typology in practice with respect to three DEIS Band 1 primary schools, the most severe categorisation of educational disadvantage in the Irish context. Our findings point to differences between schools in relation to the nurturing pedagogies typology, with factors including school leadership, culture, and mission being particularly influential during the period of Covid-19 school closures. Further, we present findings relating to children’s varying perspectives on caring across the three schools. Cumulatively, the conceptual framing and findings presented in this paper offer valuable implications for educational policy and practice, supporting the effectiveness of schools serving working-class communities in pursuit of social justice for the children under their care. Moreover, with this paper, we aspire to stimulate purposeful discussion around the recognition of nurturing pedagogies in initial teacher education and continuing professional development for teachers and school leaders.

1. Introduction.

Karlsudd (2021) introduces ‘inner inclusion capital’ as the factors related to the teacher’s

competency in inclusive education (IE), for example, knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy. Malaysian

Education Development Plan 2013-2025 for IE requires the involvement of both government preschool

teachers (GPT) and non-government preschool teachers (NGPT). A study by Amar Singh et al. (2018)

highlights that the parents of special educational needs (SEN) pupils get the lowest support and

assistance for full inclusion (FI) from government schools compared to non-government schools. This

study focuses on the ‘inner inclusion capital’ of GPT and NGPT towards teaching the preschoolers with

autism as these pupils are the most in FI at government preschools (MOE Special Education Data 2020).

2. Problem statement.

Findings of past studies show that GPT have low levels of ‘inner inclusion capital’ to teach

preschoolers with autism in IE (Mariani et al., 2017; Jongkulin et al., 2019; Al Jaffal M., 2022). The

conditions of the ‘inner inclusion capital’ of NGPT are not known to the researcher. There is a need to

determine the current levels of ‘inner inclusion capital’ of GPT and NGPT and whether there are

differences that affect FI in preschools.

3. Research objective.

The research objective is to determine the levels of ‘inner inclusion capital’ of GPT and NGPT

and to identify differences between them for FI in preschools.

4. Research questions.

i. What levels of knowledge about autism do GPT and NGPT possess?

ii. What are the levels of attitudes and self-efficacy do GPT and NGPT have towards FI in

preschools?

iii. Are there significant differences for the knowledge about autism, attitude, and self-efficacy of

GPT and NGPT towards FI in preschools?

5. Research method

This research was conducted as a questionnaire survey. With the help of two State Department

of Educations, the questionnaire was distributed to 150 teachers through a google. form during the

covid-19 school closures. From the demographic information obtained, the respondents consisted of 75

GPT from non-FI preschools and 75 NGPT from FI preschools. The data was analysed using descriptive

and inferential statistics.

2

6. Research findings

GPT have low score levels for knowledge, moderate for both attitude and self-efficacy.

Meanwhile, the score levels for NGPT are moderate for knowledge, high for both attitude, and selfefficacy.

One-Way ANOVA analysis between the scores of GPT and NGPT showed significant

differences (p < 0.05) for the attitudes and self-efficacy, but insignificant for knowledge. Both GPT

and NGPT failed to score more than 50% correct answers to the knowledge of autism construct.

7. Educational importance

Results show that the attitudes and self-efficacy of NGPT with FI environment are higher than

the GPT in non-FI environment. It indicates that establishing more preschools with FI settings can

improve the ‘inner inclusion capital’ and the quality of preschool teachers’ professional education in

enhancing the effectiveness and improvement of IE in Malaysia.

This research project is situated within the context of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) in Ireland and seeks to understand the changes made to ECEC practice during Covid-19 restrictions. Given the relational nature of ECEC, Covid-19 restrictions impacted key aspects of ECEC, such as emergent curriculum and child-led practices, partnership with parents and wellbeing of both children and educators.

In particular, the research explored:

How did educators experience the closure and reopening of ECEC settings?

What changes were made to practice?

Did educators see an impact of such changes on children?

This paper focuses on findings that have significant implications for practice currently and into the future.

The chosen research design was a qualitative approach and set within an interpretative paradigm. This approach allowed for ECEC providers’ (i.e. owners, managers and educators) experiences, interpretations and shared meaning to be captured through semi-structured interviews, held at three points in the period March to December 2021 and analysed using inductive reasoning and thematic analysis.

Research suggests that COVID-19 has caused trauma, individual as well as collective (Sherwood et al., 2021), both in society at large and in ECEC environments. Traumatic experiences may leave a legacy which lasts for years, resulting in emotional distress, difficulty sleeping and behavioural challenges (Barnardos, 2018). Indeed, research exploring children’s response to crises indicates that the effects may even be experienced across their lifetime (Kar 2009; Le Brocque et al. 2017). This is particularly true for young children who may lack the cognitive and verbal capacity to process such monumental events (Durbin 2010). Yet, UNESCO (2020) frames the Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity to rethink such areas as curricula and learning. Inspired by a report from ERSI (Darmody, Smyth and Russell, 2020), examining the impact of Covid-19 closures on ECEC, and a study by ECI (2020), looking at the implications for children’s wellbeing, this research presentation directly explores the lessons learned from adapting ECEC practice during the Covid-19 pandemic and specifically draws out implications for future practice and further research.

Findings arising from the research include:

Educators’ well-being was significantly impacted by a multitude of factors relating to Covid-19. The pandemic exasperated feelings of burn-out and frustration in the ECEC sector, contributing to an existing staffing crisis, the impact of which is currently being felt.

Emergent curriculum and child-led practice were challenged, yet important learning regarding physical environments and play equipment also emerged, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of the environment as a third teacher.

Educator wellbeing appeared to impact on educators’ perception of child wellbeing and educational provision, including educators’ ability to implement high quality practice and being attuned to children’s needs and wellbeing.

Relationships and partnerships with parents were impacted, including drop off/collection times, informal conversations with parents and inviting parents/family members into the setting. Many settings have since been reluctant to go back to an ‘open door’ policy regarding parents.

The research has informed an Erasmus funded project investigating sustainable, inclusive practices post-Covid, exploring lessons learned from the crisis response to Covid.

The purpose of this ongoing research is to study politics of belonging (Yuval-Davis, 2006; 2011) in the policy and practice of Swedish early childhood education and care (ECEC). Belonging has been described as “fundamental to any child’s well-being and happiness” (Woodhead & Brooker, 2008, p. 3) and is related to connectedness, community and engagement (Allen et al., 2018). Previous research on school belonging has pointed out its importance for both educational outcomes and students’ engagement (Nix et al., 2022). In a society characterised by globalisation and social inequalities, belonging has become a highly contested and topical issue (Yuval-Davis, 2011). At the same time, there are high expectations that high quality ECEC will prevent social exclusion (Morabito et al., 2013). While belonging is a central concept in ECEC frameworks in countries like Australia and New Zealand (Erwin et al., 2022), it is less commonly used in the Nordic countries (Piškur et al., 2022). Results of recent research has shown that Nordic ECEC educators think that it is important to support children’s belonging, but there are complex power relations and potential value conflicts embedded in this work (Berge & Johansson, 2021; Eek-Karlsson & Emilson, 2023).

This research project consists of four sub-studies, which are guided by the following research questions:

1) What is expressed in transnational and Swedish national policy documents regarding children’s belonging?

2) Which contextual factors influence early childhood educators’ work to promote children’s belonging?

3) Which innovative processes and critical incidents can be identified in early childhood educators’ work to promote children’s belonging?

4) Which ethical and political value systems regarding children’s belonging are expressed at the macro-, meso- and microlevels of ECEC?

The study is based on a critical ecology of profession (Urban, 2008), which provides a systemic understanding of the professional work of ECEC educators. The meaning-making of educators is in focus when studying how their pedagogical work is related to policy and contextual factors influencing their work. Politics of belonging (Yuval-Davis, 2006; 2011) is used as a conceptual framework to analyse processes where belongings are constructed and negotiated. According to this framework, belonging is viewed as a power-loaded, multi-layered phenomenon (Yuval-Davis, 2006; 2011). A multimethodological approach is used, which includes policy analysis, focus groups with ECEC educators, participant observations in ECEC centres and stimulated recall where video observations of educators’ interactions with children are used as stimuli in interviews with educators. The focus groups, observations and stimulated recall will be carried out in three Swedish ECEC centres. The research is currently at an early stage, which means that this presentation will focus on the overall systemic perspective of the research topic, with tentative results from the first sub-study (policy analysis). The overall study has implications for both policy and educational practice, since it offers insights on how children’s belongings are constructed and negotiated through ECEC policy and the work of ECEC educators.

The research and development initiative, Culture for Learning (CFL), is aimed at fostering a culture of optimal development and learning for children in early childhood education in the former Hedmark county. CFL involves early childhood education authorities, the educational-psychological service, kindergarten leaders, and all staff members across 22 municipalities.

The objective of CFL is to ensure that children and youth grow up in a culture that promotes educational attainment and active participation in societal and professional life. A coordinated and innovative effort to enhance children's well-being, learning, and development contributes to the achievement of the following goals:

• Enhancing children's linguistic and social competence, preparing them for future educational and societal engagement.

• Facilitating the professional development of all early childhood education through collective and coordinated competence-building within professional learning communities.

• Actively utilizing various assessment results and other data at all levels of the education system to improve pedagogical practices.

Moreover, the CFL project in early childhood education serves as a longitudinal intervention study, complementing its focus on improvement efforts. The purpose of this intervention study is to examine the extent to which the various interventions within the CFL project have realized their intended objectives.

A comprehensive online survey has been conducted in all kindergartens, encompassing assessments by children, staff members, leaders, and parents regarding the quality of kindergarten provision. Three surveys were administered at three distinct time points: T1 (2017), T2 (2019), and T3 (2021) across more then 150 kindergartens. Approximately 8,000 four- and five-year-olds, 12,000 parents, 1,800 staff members, and 160 kindergarten leaders have participated in these surveys. The surveys cover a wide range of factors that research has shown to significantly correlate with well-being, development, and learning. Kindergartens have access to their own results through an interactive online result portal, enabling them to extract results for all respondent groups.

Pedagogical analysis serves as a core tool for analyzing and developing interventions in kindergartens within the Culture for Learning framework. Collective professional development initiatives have included learning caravans and workshops targeting different levels within the kindergarten sector. Furthermore, various online competence packages have been established for leaders at both kindergarten and municipal levels, as well as for all kindergarten staff, providing relevant theories and research-based knowledge. The implementation of competence packages has occurred within professional learning groups in each individual kindergarten. These packages have covered thematic areas such as relationships, language, parent collaboration, and pedagogical analysis.

There has been a positive development across all areas assessed by the survey respondents from T1 to T3. This includes improvements in children's social, linguistic, and motor skills. Four- and five-year-olds themselves reported experiencing an enhanced learning environment, with an average improvement of 0.15 standard deviations from T1 to T3. Additionally, there has been a certain degree of improvement in staff collaboration on pedagogical activities involving children, as well as their satisfaction and competence. Moreover, there has been a positive development in the pedagogical leadership in kindergartens, as assessed by both the leaders and staff members.

This contribution focuses on the views of teachers who participated in three professional development courses on school self-evaluation, conducted as part of the ValueE for School (VfS) action research (European Found Project 2014-2020).

We investigated participants' views on the training received and on its impact on the work of school data teams and the evaluation culture of schools, comparing the differences in relation to the sample context variables and the courses characteristics.

The literature highlights some aspects of the self-evaluation process that are decisive for school improvement: a) supporting schools during this process by adopting a decentralised perspective; b) building evaluative capacity in school staff; c) developing an evaluative culture in the places where learning takes place (OECD, 2013; Schildkamp, Poortman, Handelzalts, 2016). Therefore, it is important to adopt training models based on the needs of schools, offering collaborative activities and building shared knowledge within the school community (Brown & Poortman, 2018). Teacher training plays a decisive role, especially if it takes place within communities of practice engaged in a collaborative professional learning (Duncombe & Armour, 2004).

The three VfS courses aimed to strengthening the teachers evaluation capacity of the teachers and offer insights to policy makers on networking, training and support models for school self-evaluation. The project targeted 400 teachers from 42 schools. As part of the evaluation design, 13 online focus group were carried out. A merit sample of 101 teachers participated and debated the strengths and limitations of the training course.

The analysis was set from a phenomenological-interpretative perspective (Merriam, 1998), using a qualitative approach to the content analysis (Mayring, 2014). A computer-aided text coding methodology was developed (Fereday, Muir-Cochrane, 2006), which combines an inductive/bottom-up approach (first-level descriptive codes, emerging from the corpus) with a deductive/top-down one (second-level interpretative categories, grouping codes thematically related). Case distributions in the codes were analysed by means of contingency tables and covariation/correlation indexes with respect to the participants background, with the aim to offer insights into which training features fit to specific targets.

Results show that peer learning supports the evaluative culture of schools (2=2.885, p<0.09) and improves data literacy and collaboration among schools, fostering decentralization of viewpoints.

Training activities have fostered involvement and dialogue within schools. Differentiated results are noted in relation to the roles played by participants in the school, with greater attention by data teams to the methodological aspects of evaluation and by school staffs to school governance (climate, collaboration, organization, participation). Career seniority also appears to be relevant. We observe that teachers with less and more experience are more oriented to an evaluative school culture (2=9,852, p<0,05) than teachers with average experience: this group is more interested to technical and methodological issues (2=6,975, p<0,08).

Promoting teachers’ evaluation capacity building is important to strengthen their understanding of the role of evaluation for improvement and the use that can be made of its results.

It is well known from school development research that school change and organizational learning can be supported by, among other things, stimulating and absorbing innovation from outside (Easley Ii & Tulowitzki, 2016; Fullan, 2016; Pietsch & Tulowitzki, 2017). Nevertheless, there is an ongoing debate about how organized transfer and how to achieve sustainability. In our paper, we refer to a large-scale training program for selected students (peers/scouts) in secondary schools, that was designed, introduced and implemented by an external, independent government agency in a German state with the help of external trainers. The aim was to train students as peers to support media literacy and to provide internal services to other students on current challenges of digitalization (cyberbullying, cyber grooming, fraud, privacy, etc.). Our research question was related to the evaluation of the program, touching also on aspects of the program's impact on schools. Our formative and summative evaluation of the program with 183 participating schools (references not disclosed for blind review) found that the program itself, the school-specific implementation, and the roles and responsibilities of the peers had a impact on school development processes. In particular, awareness of the challenges of developing media literacy in schools, the development of a participatory school culture and the use of digital content for teaching have been influenced.

In this paper, we will present the results of the “moulding forces” of external triggers on school development. We build our empirical study on the concept of "absorptive capacity" (Zahra & George, 2002) from organizational research. It describes the ability of organizations (schools) to absorb external impulses and make them usable for internal change processes.

Various survey instruments (quantitative and qualitative) have already been developed, applied, and evaluated for this purpose. Transfer to the school context has occurred in initial studies - primarily in the U.S. (Da’as & Qadach, 2020; Farrell et al., 2019; Lenart-Gansiniec et al., 2022) - and has been applied to quantitative school leadership research in Germany (Pietsch et al., 2022; Röhl et al., 2022). In contrast to the mainly quantitative approaches, we followed a mixed-methods design with surveys of 166 teachers in school who are the responsible coordinators of the program, 42 school leaders as well as 8 interviews with teachers in school.

Our main findings show that the programme has an impact on school development in three directions: a) the student peers and the coordinating teachers provide impulses in terms of content for the design of media education in schools; b) the format of (inter-school) collaboration and peer-to-peer learning serves as an example of good practice in schools and promotes exchange and sustainable networking within schools; c) different learning arrangements (online, face-to-face, hybrid) provide innovative ideas for the development and design of lessons. This is consistent with current research on media literacy (Groeben & Hurrelmann, 2002; Hugger, 2021; Jeong et al., 2012; Ossenschmidt et al., 2015).

School systems internationally are considering curriculum change in response to a fast-changing world, recognising the need to equip students with the knowledge and skills needed to address 21 Century global economies and societies (OECD, 2018, 2020, World Economic Forum, 2020, UNESCO 2021). The British School of Brussels is a not-for-profit international school with a strong ethos; its aim is to be a force for good. Internal and external reviews informally and formally identified areas in which we could improve the learning experience for students in line with our Guiding Statements. Undertaking a curriculum review challenged the school to ask: does our current curriculum and our teaching and learning methods enable this to happen?

The paper seeks to provide examples for how the school as a professional learning community has supported the process of the review and faced the challenges of sense making and pace. Based on theoretical insights from Sinnema and Stoll (2020), the OECD (2020) and UNESCO (2015,) amongst other international curriculum thinkers, the author will showcase how enacting a curriculum review in line with quality professional education, can enable enhanced school effectiveness and improvement.

Though a culture of inquiry, exploration, and innovation, whether it be through commissioned projects, autonomous professional learning initiatives, department led goals or school wide priorities, much has been achieved which helped the school community learn from each other, establish commitments and enact school wide change. Through a process of researching, exploring, provoking, modelling, trialling, experimenting, recommending, and encouraging, the community considered the purpose of the curriculum to make recommendations and commit to future developments.

Empirical evidence was gathered from the school community (staff surveys, 1:1 interviews, observations / evidence collected from professional learning days). The author has referenced and aligned their thinking alongside a review of literature that supports the paper objectives.

The paper exemplifies the ICSEI theme of how high-quality teaching and learning can be supported by a professional learning community, collaborative school improvement planning, and evidence informed policy that respects and promotes teacher professionalism.

Curriculum implementation can be a complex process; however, we have seen how stakeholders are the main drivers of curriculum change (OECD, 2021) and collective capacity can be built from effective collaboration. The review enacted a system wide approach to enable teams of teachers across the school to pursue projects and enact change. The direction of travel for BSB was created by staff which has helped to make meaning of the curriculum changes.

The author hopes that by sharing their learning and inviting like-minded colleagues to contribute to discussion, it will enable others in similar situations to take back new knowledge and ideas to implement. In addition, the author hopes that by engaging in critical dialogue, they can continue to develop ways to support the realisation of the curriculum aspirations for them to be sustainable. The author is keen for points raised in the paper to be used as tool to create partnerships targeted at leading improvement collaboratively and sustainably.

This paper proposes a research study that applies the theoretical framework of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to a school project with participants from across the school. While PLCs have been extensively studied within individual schools (Stoll et al., 2006), there is a need to explore their potential application to cross-school projects that involve participants from different grade levels, subject areas, and roles. This study aims to investigate how PLCs can be effectively utilised in such projects to promote collaboration, shared learning, and project success. The British School of Brussels roots its PLC in the overarching concept of ‘One-schoolness’ - an approach to involving all members of the learning community in all school initiatives. The research will examine the key components of PLCs, adapt them to this specific cross-school context, analyse their impact on participant collaboration and project outcomes, and identify the factors influencing their successful implementation. The findings of this research will provide insights for educators and school leaders seeking to leverage PLCs for cross-school collaborative projects, ultimately enhancing project outcomes and fostering a culture of collaborative professional development.

The proposed paper will review the specific project of the Wild Garden at the British School of Brussels through interviews and reflections with the participants. Project participants are students, teachers, leaders and operational staff from across the school. The data collected will enable a comprehensive exploration of the impact of cross-school PLCs on collaboration and project outcomes and facilitate the identification of meaningful conclusions and recommendations.

This research seeks to fill the gap in the existing literature by examining the application of PLCs to cross-school collaborative projects. The findings will provide insights into adapting and implementing PLCs in the unique context of such projects, enhancing collaboration among participants and improving project outcomes. The study will be of value to educators, school leaders, and policymakers looking to utilise research and data of specific projects for inquiry, insight, innovation and professional learning through a cross-school collaborative professional development approach that creates supportive environments for shared learning and continuous improvement.

The author is an operational staff member of the British School of Brussels and member of the school’s Professional Learning Community. After 20+ years working in education in other-than-teaching roles, the author has returned to university to study in the Master of Education Studies programme at the KULeuven in Leuven, Belgium.

The main objective of this research was to explore teacher perspectives of the role of creativity in education, with specific focus on how it is defined, understood and employed across the Irish education system. The focus of this paper is to identify the challenges and opportunities for nurturing creativity as school leaders, while also examining whether creativity contributes positively to school effectiveness and improvement. Creativity plays an increasingly important role in our economic, personal and civic lives (Robinson, 2016). Innovation is integral to how we live our lives while creativity contributes positively to our wellbeing and to the good-functioning of democratic societies (Likar et al, 2015). While creativity creates novel approaches and ideas, critical thinking evaluates and judges statements, ideas and theories (Vincent-Lancrin, 2019). Increasing focus on creativity and critical thinking in our broader societies has resulted in the emergence of educational policies (see OECD, 2019, 2023) and measures (such as PISA 2022 Creative Thinking assessment) to increase awareness and enhance its implementation across education systems internationally.

This study adopted an in-depth qualitative methodology drawing on semi-structured interviews to explore the role of creativity in education. A total of 11 teachers (9 female/2 male) working across the education system (primary/post-primary schools) participated in the research and thematic analysis was undertaken to identify key themes and topics emergent from the data. Sources this paper include previous research, policy documents and analysis of the CreatEd study dataset.

Findings from this study identify the critical role school leadership plays in facilitating, supporting and nurturing creativity across our education systems. Trust, agency and empowerment are critical to leading creativity in educational practices and pedagogies. Confident and secure leadership was identified as playing an integral role in nurturing the optimal conditions where creativity could flourish and thrive. However, there was a tension between pushing boundaries and “not going too wild”. The absence of guidelines on creative practices and approaches in schools resulted in a fear of getting it wrong, which was especially pertinent when “keeping the inspector happy”. School culture was especially important whereby comfort and safety was identified as especially important to creating dynamic spaces promoting collaboration and contributing to more creative learning environments.

Findings from the CreatEd study identify key themes of particular educational importance for theory (the importance of broadening our definitions and understanding of creativity in education), for practice (creating safe spaces where creative practices and pedagogies can be nurtured and supported) and for policy (to support teacher and school leader agency in promoting creativity in schools).

This paper posits whether creativity for school effectiveness and improvement proffers transformative possibilities not only in enhancing pupil/student learning, but for our wider societies. Quality professional education for leaders and teachers emerged as a key theme from the CreatEd study, with specific implications for policy and practice to support teacher and school leader development.

Background

This study focuses on school leaders’ pedagogical leadership while initiating and conducting local school improvement using action research. The study has been conducted within a one-year advanced continuing education course at Karlstad University during 2021 - 2022. The course was directed towards school leaders within Swedish municipal adult education, MAE, requested from the Swedish National Agency for Education. The reason for this request is that since 2010, a Swedish Educational Act is regulating that all education should be based on scientific foundation and proven experience (SFS 2010:800, chapter 1 §5). This requires accessible research on school improvement and more focus on school leaders as pedagogical leaders. There is however no coherent definition of school leaders’ pedagogical leadership (Grice, Forssten Seiser & Wilkinson, 2023) and no research on Swedish MAE from a school improvement perspective (Fejes & Loeb Henningsson, 2021).

The course was developed to meet these challenges. The entire course was set up as an action research project and aimed to collectively, as well as individually, develop MAE school leaders’ pedagogical leadership while initiating local school improvement, based on local challenges, by using action research. In the end of the course, the school leaders wrote individual popular science articles about their local action research processes and reflected on their pedagogical leading practice’ influence on other practices and how altered pedagogical leading practice may enable local school improvement processes.

Aim, theoretical framework, and research questions

The aim of the study is to describe the MAE school leaders’ pedagogical leadership along their local action research processes to improve their schools through the lens of theory of practice architecture. The research questions are: How did the MAE school leaders’ pedagogical leadership evolve in their action research processes on their local school? What aspects of their pedagogical leadership enabled and constrained their action research processes?

Method

Qualitative data consist of eight school leaders’ individual written reports. Data were coded into sayings, doings and relatings in accordance with the theory of practice architecture (Kemmis, Wilkinson, Edward-Groves, Hardy and Grootenboer, 2014). Analysis focused on the interrelatedness between arrangements related to sayings, doing and relatings, in which practice architecture and its enabling as well as constraining traits emerged.

Preliminary findings

Findings reveal a practice architecture in which enabling and constraining traits lie in the school leaders’ view on themselves as pedagogical leaders, how they relate to the legal act to lead education based on scientific foundation and proven experience and, how they understand action research as an approach to school improvement. More precisely, relating pedagogical leadership equivalent to instructional leadership constrain the action research processes and school improvement. Contrasting, relating pedagogical leadership as setting the arrangements for professions to be co-owner of the action research process enables school improvement. Results are discussed in relation to Kemmis’ (2023) idea of the mosaic of leadership.

Findings will be used for improvement of future advanced continuing education courses for school leaders’ professional learning.

In Switzerland the formal role of school leadership was in most regions only introduced about 30 years ago (Hangartner & Svaton, 2013), changing traditional roles and responsibilities in the organization and development of schools. Today, in German-speaking Switzerland, school leadership and management responsibilities can be described as a (somewhat) shared mandate and thus the subject of negotiation between school board, school leaders and teachers. Findings on the nature, perception and extent of this shared responsibility in practice are limited, despite international empirical findings suggesting that the distribution of school leadership and participation of different stakeholders in decision-making processes are relevant for school organization and school development (Ärlestig et al., 2016; Capaul, 2021).

This study aims to investigate the leadership-related collaboration between school leaders, school board members and teachers in a school in German-speaking Switzerland with the following research questions guiding the research:

1. How are responsibilities/competencies between school board, leaders and teachers officially regulated?

2. How is the assumption of responsibilities and competencies shaped in practice?

3. How do actors perceive the distribution of responsibility, competencies and roles?

Collaborative practices and perceptions are being investigated using a distributed leadership perspective (Diamond & Spillane, 2016), understanding leadership as interaction between individuals, their mutual influence and the situation.

Data is collected using a multi-method approach, so as to ascertain insights into the “official” distribution of tasks and responsibilities based on legal regulations and school-specific policies, as well as to provide insights into lived experiences and stakeholders' perspectives. The following sources were used:

1. Official documents on the distribution of responsibilities and accountability. Cantonal legal texts serve as a basis, supplemented with location-specific elaborations and regulations.

2. Data from approximately 15 interviews with school leaders, board members and teachers on perceptions of leadership practices, decision-making processes and responsibilities.

3. Shadowing-type observational data from day-to-day school activities of school leaders and teachers.

Initial findings suggest that while the legal framework in the Canton of Argovia implies a distribution of responsibilities in school leadership, with school principals being entrusted with operational leadership, the school board assuming strategic leadership and teachers being encouraged to engage in school development tasks and take on responsibilities at the whole-school level, this is partially perceived only as orientation or guidance. In practice, legal frameworks are executed differently, even among leaders at the same school. The legally anchored distribution of strategic and operative leadership between the school board, school leaders and teachers varies and may be impacted by degrees of trust amongst the various actors.

International findings highlight the importance of studying school leadership in practice, to «enhance the current evidential base», contribute to the «future development of distributed leadership» (Harris & DeFlaminis, 2016, p. 141) and gain a better understanding of how current and future qualification and professional development measures can be adapted and improved to strengthen school leaders and teachers in assuming and distributing leadership. The findings of this contribution can serve to inform international research on leadership practices and professional development measures for teachers and school leaders.

Addressing climate change is a global concern. Climate change is a complex interdisciplinary issue that requires experts to collaborate from different academic disciplines. Climate education integrates knowledge from the sciences, economics, the social sciences, and education to develop curricula and approaches to educate students, teachers, citizens, and policy makers. By understanding these different sectors and their concerns it may be possible to develop climate change education approaches that minimize the politics around climate education and lead to better outcomes. Climate education can increase awareness and understanding of the complex issues surrounding climate change. Understanding is key to making informed data-driven decisions and policies. High-quality climate education is more likely to engage the populace to critically evaluate the science and policies that are enacted to mitigate or even reverse current climate trends. At the global policy level, climate education is a key component of UNESCO's sustainability agenda. It aligns with UNESCO's focus on education for sustainable development, climate change education, and capacity building. UNESCO's goal is to empower individuals with the knowledge, skills, and values necessary to address climate change and work for a sustainable future. One global network is the GLOBE Program. This network has over 120 partner countries that engages students, teachers, scientists, and citizen scientists in studying and addressing climate change. Member countries sign bilateral agreements to share data. It is likely that everyone attending the ICSEI conference is from a GLOBE Partner Country. The GLOBE Program plays a significant role in sustainability and climate education by promoting hands-on scientific research, fostering interdisciplinary learning, encouraging global collaboration, and providing professional development opportunities. By engaging students in real-world environmental investigations, the program inspires a sense of environmental stewardship and empowers the next generation to address the challenges of climate change and contribute to a more sustainable future. The GLOBE Program promotes a cross-disciplinary approach to learning by integrating science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education with other subjects, including social sciences and arts. This interdisciplinary approach helps students understand the broader social, economic, and cultural dimensions of sustainability and climate change. It encourages critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity, empowering students to address complex environmental challenges. In spite of its large size, the network is not well known outside the environmental and climate science communities. This session will provide an overview of the program. Participation in this network is free and there are resources including curricula, databases, visualizations, etc. available to educators and policymakers for implementation or adaptation to support climate education. All materials are available in the 6 UN languages. Examples of teacher and student artifacts will be presented to demonstrate how GLOBE can enhance climate education within school systems or through a citizen scientist approach.

Research Objectives and Questions

Studies on inter-school collaboration are increasingly applying network tools to capture how school leaders’ collaborative relationships can enhance the brokerage of social capital (i.e. resources) and therefore community improvement (e.g. Daly et al., 2015; Sinnema et al., 2020). However, little is known about how individual leaders perceive their roles and operate in evaluating, synthesizing and mobilizing social capital that emerges from the wider community. This research paper employs a mixed-method social network design and examines the brokerage roles of school leaders in sharing resources within and beyond the PLN community.

RQ1. What are the different models for brokerage in a PLN, based on the leadership level and site/school?

RQ2. What strategies do school leaders use to broker resources in a PLN?

Theoretical Framework

The paper draws evidence from social capital (Burt, 2002) and social network theory (Daly, 2010). Rodway et al. (2021) explained that although formal leaders (headteachers) seem to have the responsibility to bridge ties (outdegree) and seek expertise from external groups (indegree), teacher leaders can also mobilize innovative ideas (social capital). This study adopted Gould and Fernandez’s(1989) brokerage roles: Liaison, Consultant, Coordinator, Gatekeeper and Representative.

Methodology

Design

The present study utilized a case study design, attempting to capture the complexity of the unit (Yin, 2009)- the Lakeside PLN. The Lakeside includes 5 schools that comprise a Multi-Academy Trust. The member schools have developed several community connections (e.g. unions, local politicians) to expand the community impact of the organization in the locality.

Instruments and procedure

Social network survey: Participants were provided with a complete list of names of all the leaders that work across the PLN (N=147) on a 4-point Likert-type scale and invited to nominate their colleagues with whom they collaborated to improve their professional practice. This survey was used to purposefully select participants (i.e executive, senior, middle and administrator leaders that work in one of the schools or across PLN) for the interviews (N=13).

Semi-structured interviews: The interview focused on interactions within and beyond (e.g. teachers, politicians) the leadership teams. Respondents were invited to note the people they collaborate to improve their professional practice, use post-it notes and place them onto an A3-sized paper with three concentric circles (indicate frequency), to discuss the content, challenges and strategies.

Data analysis

The NetDraw, VennMaker and UCINET software packages (Borgatti 2006) were used to visualize the networks and calculate in-degree (incoming ties), out-degree (outgoing ties), and brokerage roles based on the leaders’ role and site/school. The qualitative findings were analyzed thematically.

Results

Brokerage strategies and models differ based on the needs and responsibilities of individual leaders. Senior leaders seem to have the formal responsibility to liaise with disconnected groups (e.g.year groups) formalizing collaboration, acting also as gatekeepers communicating with community partners. The hierarchical structure of governance hinders the development of vertical relationships between senior and middle leaders.

Implications

The research provides insights regarding how school practitioners can strengthen knowledge brokerage within and beyond school partnerships, and investigate how collaboration in PLN supports school effectiveness and improvement.

Introduction

In-service, peer-to-peer professional learning and development (PLD) are critical to school improvement. Understanding how teachers collaborate, occupy expert roles, share and receive expertise, and learn from one another is vital for advancing knowledge on workplace learning and organizing collegial learning (Horn & Kane, 2019; Horn & Little, 2010). This presentation explores collaborative PLD among high school science teachers learning in an emergent professional learning network (PLN) to develop inquiry-based teaching practices (Brown & Poortman, 2018; Hargreaves, 2019). We ask: How do participants enact professional identities during collaborative learning? How are professional identities mobilized for peer learning?

Analytical Framework

To answer these questions, we focus on how participants communicated in peer-to-peer sharing interactions. To do this work, teachers enact situational and institutional-specific roles and identities in their talk. By borrowing discourse analytic tools from conversation analysis and interactional sociolinguistics (Schegloff, 2016; Tannen, 2007) and applying these tools to teacher-to-teacher conversations occurring in collaborative lesson plan development and broader group discussions, we provide a detailed picture of how teachers occupy professional roles, orientate these roles to an emergent understanding of the work of teaching, and leverage them for professional development. By cross-referencing our discourse analysis of peer-to-peer interaction with researcher-led interviews, our analysis provides insights into how teachers constructed their professional identities within a PLN.

Methods

The PLN included eleven participants: three novice teachers, five experienced teachers, the school board science consultant, and one pre-service teacher, all working in a suburban school board in Quebec, Canada. Author 1 is a part-time science at the school board, a co-facilitator and faculty lecturer who acted as a boundary spanner, moving across the school, university, and school board communities, navigating the research-to-practice divide (Bednarek et al., 2018). Author 2 is a facilitator and university lecturer. The research team organized and facilitated eight lesson study and lesson planning workshops from October 2022 to May 2023. Whole group and working group interactions were recorded and transcribed.

Results

Our results focus on exchanges between PLN participants as they developed inquiry-based teaching practices and provided constructive, critical, or supportive but superficial feedback. We examined exchanges between teachers as they commented on each other's video-recorded classroom teaching; we follow teacher interactions and how these interactions demonstrate the face-threat co-incidental with critical peer feedback for both the feedback-receiving and -giving teachers as they navigate their professional competence and politeness norms. Our study examines tensions of practice, with a focus on how teachers navigated developing sophisticated new pedagogies.

Discussion and Conclusion

This paper advances the research on PLNs by analyzing teacher discourse, providing important insights into the PLN experience. We explored teachers' talk as they co-constructed their practice through dialogue and experimentation, occupied professional and expert roles and recognized those of others. This research extends the literature on PLNs, suggesting that teachers' talk during per-to-peer learning highlights the structures that can potentially elevate in situ learning and classroom practice. These insights can inform stakeholders on how teachers learn and enact sophisticated pedagogies during collaborative professional learning in a PLN.

Focus of Inquiry

For educational systems to embrace educational innovation, they need to constantly create, access and share new information and resources (Ariyani & Zuhaery, 2021). Taking a social network perspective, we stipulate that social media can contribute to such a process (Authors, 2021; Manca, 2020). Moreover, we argue that knowledge brokers, defined as actors who connect otherwise disconnected people (Weber & Yanovitzky, 2021), hold instrumental positions in sharing innovative information. Yet, it has been argued that more research is required to better understand knowledge brokers and the type of information they mobilize (Rycroft-Smith, 2022).

Theoretical/ Conceptual Perspectives

Social Media, such as Twitter, can foster the mobilization of innovative resources (Authors, 2021) and knowledge brokers can mediate this deeply relational mobilization process (Ward, 2017). Drawing on network science (Scott, 2017) and natural language processing (Manning & Schutze, 1999), we introduce a methodological approach that first identifies two types of knowledge brokers (active: being contacted; passive: contacting others) then investigates the content and topics they mobilize within their networks.

Data & Method

Accessing the Twitter API, we used a combination of hashtags (e.g. #education, #teachertwitter, #edutwitter, #edchat, and #edtech) for an initial Twitter data collection. We collected data from April 20, 2023 to May 26, 2023, resulting in a total of 397,415 tweets and 173,963 unique users. First, we conducted social network analyses (SNA), including community detection (De Meo et al., 2011) and betweenness centrality (Abbasi et al., 2012). We categorized knowledge brokers, based on their betweenness and overall centrality scores. We then employed lexicon-based sentiment analyses (Khoo & Johnkhan, 2018) and topic modeling (Xue et al., 2020) to determine the general sentiment and the type of information the two types of knowledge brokers shared.

Findings

Our lexicon-based sentiment analyses revealed statistically significant differences in the sentiment being shared by the two types of brokers. While active brokers exhibited more “positive” sentiment and “anticipation,” passive brokers showed signs of “anger”. The topic modeling added another valuable level to the analyses, as it revealed that passive brokers touched upon different topics (e.g. “donations”) than their active counterparts (e.g. “teacher projects”).

Educational Importance for Practice and Theory

Knowledge brokers are one key solution to mobilize knowledge (Rycroft-Smith, 2022) as they have valuable insights into the communities that they are connecting (Monod-Ansaldi et al., 2019). Moreover, a wide range of educational initiatives have already been launched that actively incorporate knowledge brokers in policy processes (Wollscheid et al., 2019). Our results provide valuable insights for policymakers and educational leaders to better understand knowledge brokers’ types of brokering (active or passive), their topical foci, and the general sentiment surrounding their brokering. These insights can in turn be used to more effectively select the knowledge brokers best suited to disseminate knowledge and resources and to support educational initiatives that strive to further improve schools and provide new and innovative information.

This paper examines the characteristics of leadership that underpin an effective Professional Learning Community (PLC) in Northern Ireland (NI). In light of a renewed focus in NI on Teacher Professional learning (TPL), PLCs are increasingly being seen as a vehicle for school improvement, and promoted as such within policy (Department of Education, 2016). However, exactly how effective PLCs are to be cultivated and developed remains elusive, with many potential pitfalls (Eaude, 2019; Gray et al., 2016). With this as a backdrop, recent discussion on the topic of PLCs in schools has focussed on the role of school leadership teams in facilitating PLCs that stimulate inquiry, reflective dialogue and a commitment to positive change (Azorín et al., 2020).

The research question was therefore identified as: How is leadership manifested in an effective Professional Learning Community?

The paper is a case study of a large, comprehensive post-primary school in Belfast, NI. In this school, the recent adoption of the formal PLC model coincided with a new management structure: a principal and vice-principal supported by five assistant principals who each oversee one area of development. Consensus from non-hierarchical, open PLC meetings is fed back into formal management structures for inclusion in the school’s development plan.

The study used a qualitative approach within an interpretivist paradigm. Semi-structured interviews with school leaders (principal, vice principals) and teaching staff were conducted in order to elicit and explore the particular characteristics that contributed to the effective functioning of a PLC in this context. The approach was one of looking for strengths, and sought a practical understanding of the nature of leadership within an effective PLC, while also recognising the need to examine critically a phenomenon that has often been overapplied. Interviews were coded thematically using a Braun and Clarke analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006).

Results coalesced around several main themes, which were further structured into the why, the how and the what of effective leadership. The why was concerned with ethos and values, particularly the centrality of a service ethic among leaders. This emanated forth in the how: distributed leadership, collegial trust amongst staff, and between staff and leadership, and in school structures that enabled professional learning to be dispersed across the staff body. Finally, the what examined the results of effective leadership of the PLC: powerful teacher professional learning, increased teacher agency, and, ultimately, positive impact on pupils.

The results of this study shine a light on the shape of effective leadership in the implementation of PLCs. The study has importance for schools seeking to journey along this path, and for those responsible for policy development in the area of school leadership and TPL. With its emphasis on leadership for professional learning in service of wider school improvement, this paper connects clearly with the theme of ICSEI 2024. In particular, it contributes to the conference sub-theme of Leading improvement collaboratively and sustainably, by providing insight into a successful approach to collaborative, sustainable leadership.

Introduction

Continuing professional development for school leaders, based in their specific leadership contexts is essential for school effectiveness and improvement. This research explores a professional learning and research intervention program between two researchers and three diverse Australian schools that form our cases, as school university partnerships over a one year period, and longer. The overarching goal was for leaders to work well together to support the development of people, pedagogy and wellbeing in their school. These goals were specifically aligned with the strategic plans of each school. The aim was for middle leaders to develop a collective framework for long term change, as they made decisions about their interactions, cultural norms, and improvement practices and the individual and collective habits about people and pedagogy that underlie practices and develop knowledge and skills that could enable them to lead learning together in a sustainable way.

Background literature

Middle leaders in schools have the capacity to directly influence pedagogical practices that enhance student outcomes whilst supporting the wellbeing of students and colleagues. At the same time, the role of middle leaders in schools is not always certain or consistent. Middle leaders are the key enactors of curriculum reform and professional learning in schools as they lead their colleagues in classrooms and the students in their learning area (Grootenboer, 2018). Middle leaders bridge the academic and pastoral spheres of learners. Learners are both teachers and students. Middle leaders do not lead effectively in isolation, even if they are excellent. When middle leaders develop their full capacity to work together with leaders, teachers and students, increasing their sphere of influence, they lead beyond the middle, as they advocate for excellence, which we believe is advocating for the most appropriate learning needs of students and teachers (Day & Grice, 2019). This form of collective efficacy is in contrast to middle managers, who administrate in silos, confined to their teaching team, and remain ill-equipped to share in the enactment and ownership of a whole school strategic plan. Middle leaders who are leading beyond the middle (Day and Grice, 2019), inspire teachers and students to further develop their learning strengths through professional relationships that are supported by carefully planned school structures, communicative learning spaces (Sjolie, Francisco & Langalotz, 2019), and architectures over time.

Findings

Our work is centred around a continuous research and evaluation framework. Interviews and surveys with participants have given us insights into the role and impact of quality professional education in the context of school effectiveness and improvement, and the strengths and limitations of a partnership approach from a researcher perspective. Research and professional learning opportunities supported the middle leadership team to grow in their collective efficacy, and was dependent upon the leadership conditions, interactions, and beliefs within each of the schools. Findings support the growing body of international evidence demonstrating the impact of research/policy/practice collaboration and partnerships on improving the effectiveness of education in schools, particularly in diagnosing school readiness for professional learning partnerships.

This paper explores perspectives on politically cognisant leadership for school effectiveness and improvement, internationally and through a university and school district research/policy/practice professional learning partnership. Principals worldwide are navigating a complex global landscape in which volatility and inequity have been heightened through and since the Covid-19 pandemic. Given such global challenges, reflected in glocal policy trajectories, political literacy is increasingly essential in principals/headteachers if they are to reconcile the fundamental and escalating tensions around the purpose(s) of education and learning, not least the paradox of Equity and Excellence. Political astuteness, as a leadership attribute, is promoted in many systems globally, including Scotland, where the General Teaching Council for Scotland’s (GTCS) mandatory professional standards for headteachers (principals) highlight the imperative of leadership that is research informed, with leaders who are adept at interrogating and navigating the complexities of education policy and politics. Articulations of the principal role are underpinned by social justice, and a recognition of the power of education to challenge pervasive political and social injustices that undermine inclusion and equality.

This paper uses Scotland’s context as a case study to report on an innovative university/district partnership; the Enhanced Political Awareness (EPA) programme, designed to realise the prescribed GTCS standards around political literacy to improve student learning and school effectiveness. EPA aims to nurture school leaders’ political astuteness and their knowledge, confidence and capacity to foster critically conscious school communities that will advance and enact positive social change. It strengthens participants’ understanding and interrogation of the political foundations of education and social policy, and how policy mandates can support or undermine social justice and equity, in education leadership and in society. This paper illustrates, through three participant perspectives (a district lead, a school principal, and a school curriculum lead) the impact of the EPA programme on inclusive education leadership practice and critical literacy in students. It reports on how the expansion of participants’ critical consciousness has led to deeper understanding of complex glocal and global challenges to education, including the intersections between poverty, inclusion, race and all protected characteristics. EPA has also increased confidence in nurturing critically conscious school communities that will challenge discrimination in all its forms. The paper concludes with a proposition to the ICSEI community around the importance of supporting professional learning and leadership that will enhance students’ and school communities’ capacity to recognise, understand and critique policy and social injustices, to prepare our students for courageous and ethical living, learning and leading in politically and socially volatile times.

Collaboration has long featured as a policy mechanism, an organisational structure, a tool to support professional practice, and a dominant discursive concept in the field of education (Campbell, 2021). Alongside this has been an emphasis on the role of collaborative processes in the leadership of change in educational organisations (Kaufman, et al, 2020). With this comes significant expectations and anticipated outcomes when it comes to how collaboration is understood and mobilised. With much emphasis across the domains of practice, policy, and research highlighting the forms collaboration takes and a values driven orientation to its use, this paper offers a critical examination as to the positioning and possibilities of varied form of leadership to enable collaboration that achieves the intentions behind its use. Drawing upon critical policy analysis and empirical work with primary school headteachers in Scotland, the questions driving this study are:

• How is collaboration understood across the domains of research, policy and practice?

• What is the role of leadership, in all its forms, in processes of educational change?

Deriving from an interpretivist paradigm and articulated within the frame of pragmatic social constructivism, a novel theoretical framework was created, emphasising the contextual influences centred around leadership that enable collaboration to happen. This was utilised in order to analyse how collaboration is understood in the literature in relation to leadership and educational change, and subsequent analysis of data collected. A critical policy analysis focusing on key policy texts, using Scotland as a context of study, drew upon both the novel theoretical framework and an original analytical framework emphasising policy drivers, mechanisms, and consequences. Through these frameworks, this study offers critical insight into dimensions of the leadership of collaboration that are rarely examined. This includes insight into and analysis of the lived reality of the varied forms leadership of collaboration can take through semi-structured interviews with primary school headteachers from two Scottish local authorities, and an exploration of the commonalities and contradictions, with the insights derived through critical policy analysis.

What this study has begun to demonstrate is the limited advancement of thinking in recent years on the meaning and conceptualisation of collaboration, and the role of leadership. To achieve its intended impact, collaboration requires a complex consideration of the varied political and organisational influences on and drivers of collaboration in a range of forms. Through the articulation of an alternative framework for understanding collaboration within the domains of practice, policy, and research, the results of this study offers a new frame through which the complex forms, drivers, and influences of collaboration can be understood, and the implications for those exercising leadership of it from a variety of positions and standpoints within a system. In doing so, the study demonstrates the need for further critical examination of where power is situated within systems in order to enable more responsive approaches to collaboration to emerge from within the communities they are intended to impact, and in doing so, more successfully strive towards broader systemic goals.

In 2018, Ireland’s (then) Department of Education and Skills committed to developing a framework to evaluate the impact of teachers’ professional learning (TPL) (Department of Education and Skills, 2018). This paper describes that framework and practical lessons learned. The aim was to develop a research-based TPL evaluation framework, sufficient to evaluate the breadth of available TPL.

The need to evaluate TPL impact is widely recognised (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019; Guskey, 2000; Kirkpatrick, 1994). Despite some criticism, considerable attention has been given to using “level models” for this purpose (Coldwell & Simkins, 2011; Guskey, 2000; Kirkpatrick, 1994). However, some have argued that such models give inadequate consideration to the TPL’s incorporation of known effective features (Merchie et al., 2018). Compen et al. (2019) present a TPL evaluation model that comprises: contextual factors; key features of professional development; teacher quality; teaching behaviour; and student learning. The Compen et al. (2019) model provides the basis for Ireland’s TPL evaluation framework.

The project to develop a TPL evaluation framework (and supporting materials) ran from 2018 to 2023. With a budget in excess of €300k and overseen by a Steering Group, the project included:

- Desk-based research, including a systematic review of TPL evaluation frameworks

- A primary, post-primary and special school teacher survey

- TPL provider and learner consultation

- A case study of a specific TPL opportunity

- Development of the framework

This paper describes the TPL evaluation framework, linking to earlier project phases and reflecting on the development process.

Ireland’s framework comprises Context; Key features of TPL; Teacher outcomes; and Student, school or system outcomes. While the framework provides for all TPL to have teacher outcomes, not all TPL has outcomes for students, schools or the system. New elements introduced include the addition of “access, administration and data collection” as a key TPL feature and the inclusion of “reflective practice” as a teacher TPL outcome.

Work on this project highlights the need for a shared understanding from the outset of the meaning and purpose of a framework (Fynn et al., 2020; Nilsen, 2015), the potential role of a participatory negotiation process in determining the purpose of evaluation (Liket et al., 2014), and challenges in ensuring shared ontological perspectives in TPL evaluation (Coldwell & Simkins, 2011).

The framework is timely in Ireland, given the September 2023 launch of a new integrated provider for TPL. For wider policy and practice, a key contribution is the recognition in the framework that teachers undertake TPL for both their own benefit and to benefit students, schools and the system. The addition of “access, administration and data collection” and “reflective practice” as features to evaluate supports the development of theoretical models underpinning TPL evaluation.

Themes are: evidence-informed policy that respects and promotes teacher professionalism; and impact of research/policy/practice collaboration and partnerships. The framework recognises teachers as agentic professionals, balancing individual, school and system TPL priorities. The development process was characterised by a collaborative approach, involving multiple highly engaged stakeholders, thus highlighting the positive impact of effective collaboration on the system.

The importance of school self-evaluation (SSE) as a school improvement mechanism has been acknowledged by increases in the number of countries with legal requirements for schools to conduct self-evaluation. Despite the provision of a range of support to schools to encourage their engagement with SSE, many implementation challenges have been highlighted in research from various jurisdictions, where SSE has been introduced. The provision of professional development (PD) to schools is a common response to such challenges, yet there is a dearth of research into the models of PD that might best support schools to apply the learning and address the common implementation issues that have been identified in the literature. This action research study explored a PD intervention for teachers leading SSE in Irish post-primary schools. The findings explored the experiences and perceptions of staff from 15 of the schools involved, and in particular focused on the features of the intervention that supported participants to apply the learning, by leading the SSE process in their respective schools. The findings indicate that this model of PD for teachers leading SSE may offer some useful solutions to the ongoing challenges experienced by schools in relation to SSE.

This paper sets out an original conceptual framework for place-based professional learning by teachers and schools in contemporary education systems. The framework has been tested and refined through a study of ‘local learning landscapes’ for teacher professional development in England.

Ensuring that all teachers and schools engage in high-quality Continuing Professional Development and Learning (CPDL) has long been a policy priority in school systems worldwide, given evidence that this is associated with improvements in children’s outcomes (Cordingley et al, 2015). Most recent research in this area has focused on evaluating formal professional development programmes and interventions provided by external (i.e. non-school) organisations (Sims et al, 2020). However, in practice, much professional learning takes place informally, through professional conversations and joint practice development activities, often facilitated by networks and learning communities as well as online (Hargreaves, 2010).

Meanwhile, in many systems globally, school leaders have been granted increased autonomy, for example taking on responsibility for the recruitment and professional development of staff. In these contexts, traditional place-based providers of CPDL, such as Local Authorities, have generally been rolled back, while school leaders have been encouraged to draw on a wider marketplace of CPDL provision (Steadman and Ellis, 2021). These developments might create space for agency and innovation in CPDL, but they also present risks in terms of coherence, quality and equity. For example, some schools and teachers might not engage due to a lack of capacity or awareness.

In this context, the conceptual framework sets out six core features of a ‘local learning landscape’:

• Local lens: Geographic localities do not have any intrinsic coherence unless the professionals who work there choose to imbue it.

• Many linked systems: Each local landscape is composed of multiple organisations and networks which might link together more or less tightly and in more or less formal ways.

• Professional learning: Individuals engage in formal and informal learning, both within their schools and through local and non-local networks as well as via formal courses and provision.

• Practices, tools and routines: Where professionals share practices (including theories and language), tools and routines, this can facilitate individual and collective learning.

• Bridging boundaries: Some individuals operate beyond their immediate organisation or context, helping to move knowledge and expertise around the locality.

• Sense making: Relevant leaders come together periodically to identify and tackle shared issues, taking time to explore underlying causes and to shape collaborative action.

The framework was developed by the authors informed by overlapping bodies of literature: socio-spatial theory; complexity theory; and organisational learning theories. It was tested and refined through empirical research across three localities in England (authors, 2023).

The paper introduces the framework and shares key findings from the study in England, using these to illustrate barriers to, and enablers of, coherence, quality and equity in CPDL for teachers in contemporary school systems. It argues that the framework offers a significant contribution to policy, practice and research in this area.

The elite as a social group has been scarcely studied globally (Gaztambide-Fernández, 2006). By elite schools, we mean educational institutions that act by social closure and intergenerationally reproduce their privileges and ways of life (Bourdieu, 1989; Kenway & Koh, 2013-Gessaghi, 2015).

The educational policy context in Chile leaves elite students without guaranteed children's rights. The Quality Assurance Law (No. 20529, 2011), the Violence Law (No. 20536, 2011) and the Inclusion Law (No. 20845, 2015) are applied differentially in these schools. They are not obliged to guarantee violence-free environments, students' participation in governance bodies, and to meet the national academic standards required by the Ministry of Education. The research aimed to explore the national academic performance of elite schools and students' perceptions of rights concerning participation, respect for self-identity and violence-free environments.

Methods: A mixed-methods design was developed with a qualitative multiple-case study approach (4 cases). The quantitative phase develops a descriptive analysis of national databases in reading and mathematics outcomes and personal and social development index. The qualitative phase contemplates the analysis of institutional documents and semi-structured individual and group interviews (20 interviewees).

Results: The main findings show that 13,032 primary and 4,415 secondary education students have lower performance in reading and mathematics than the national average. In other words, if we apply the law regulating schools that receive state funding, 25 schools should be closed, and another 85 should receive support to improve their performance. Furthermore, the analysis of the multiple case studies shows the presence of a managerial and persuasive curriculum, that is, a curriculum that privileges science and mathematics to the detriment of the humanities and the arts. This curriculum orients university choice towards four specific higher education careers (law, medicine, industrial engineering and commercial engineering). This type of curriculum has also been reported by international research. Besides, it is noted that the right to live in an environment free of violence and to express one's identity is the responsibility of the student and his/her family, not the educational institution. Thus, one school has no psychosocial support, and the parents must support their children's processes with external specialists. In another school, students blame themselves for being bullied. Moreover, dynamics of silence concerning situations of violence are identified, which are reinforced by an experience of hegemonic masculinity; and the tension around the right to participate, to be heard and to have a say. Interestingly, parents strongly influence the educational project and determine which activities can be carried out by the student centres in which teachers are hired and dismissed. The choice of activities and teachers has a strong ideological bias; in the case studies, three schools are characterised by conservative and one by progressive positions.

Educational importance: We discuss the lack of protection of children's rights in elite schools. Owners are protected by neoliberal principles for freedom of teaching. Consequently, Chilean legislation tends to show a more robust regulation of public schools than private ones, overlooking the protection of rights for these students.

For immigrant-origin youth, social capital is a valuable resource to cushion challenges, including unwelcoming contexts of reception and discrimination (Dika & Singh, 2002; Portes & Rumbaut, 2014; Stanton-Salazar, 2011). Social capital is the resources embedded in social relationships (Lin, 2001). Schools are essential to forming peer social capital that can positively impact opportunities and outcomes beyond adolescence. Therefore, this study addresses the question: Why and in what ways do immigrant-origin middle school students mobilize their sources of peer social capital in the U.S. and Switzerland?

Connection to Conference Theme

While school leaders’ and teachers’ role in supporting student learning is well established, less is known about how they shape students’ peer social capital formation and mobilization. It is crucial for teachers’ and school leaders’ training and professional development to also address the social side of schools.

Theoretical Framework

Social capital, and particularly peer social capital, provides various forms of informational, social, emotional, and academic support (Dika & Singh, 2002; Enriquez, 2011; Goldstein, 2003; Portes & Rumbaut, 2014; Reynolds, 2007; Straubhaar, 2013).

Structures, such as school climate, policies, and student diversity, affect immigrant-origin students’ opportunities for social capital (Lin, 2001; Taher et al., 2017). Further, for social capital mobilization (i.e., putting one’s social resources to use), adolescents must choose to use them (Lin, 2001). The other person’s demographic background (e.g., having the same gender or race/ethnicity) and virtues (e.g., trustworthiness, integrity) have been shown to matter when youth mobilize social capital (Reynolds, 2007; Stanton‐Salazar & Spina, 2003; Straubhaar, 2013).

Methods & Data

Twenty-two immigrant-origin middle school students were interviewed (14 from two schools in the Western U.S. and eight from a school in Switzerland). Each student was interviewed 3-4 times about their support networks, friendships, and school experiences, resulting in 41 hours of semi-structured interview data. These data were analyzed inductively and with a set of a priori codes.

Findings

This study confirmed (a) trust/ friendship was a prerequisite for the mobilization of peer social capital (i.e., asking a peer for help and support); (b) proximity (e.g., being (seat) neighbors, attending the same classroom), similar interests, and shared demographics were relevant in building and maintaining friendships. Further, the study adds nuance. First, while some demographics were relevant across contexts (i.e., gender, language), others’ relevance differed in intensity (i.e., race/ethnicity in the U.S. and immigrant background in Switzerland). Second, students in all three schools valued integrity in their friends but assessed integrity based on different measures. While educators’ verdicts and school suspensions were frequently referenced to determine who would be a “bad friend” in the U.S., they were not in Switzerland.

Importance for Theory, Practice, Policy

This study adds nuance to the literature by highlighting how the broader context shaped immigrant-origin youths’ social capital mobilization. The study also has implications for practice and policy, as it showed how, for example, the impact of school policies and disciplinary measures might go beyond students’ access to learning opportunities and shape their peer social capital (i.e., label them as “bad friends”).