Conference Agenda

Objective: This research studies how 69 mandated networks of five Local Services of Public Education (SLEP in Spanish) define a common purpose with their participants and analyze the relationship between their purpose and the development of collaborative practices to strengthen systemic improvement.

Research questions: How are the purposes of mandated networks of the new public education administration in Chile defined? What is the collective coherence of different mandated school networks among their diverse members? How do the defined purposes of mandated networks relate to their main collaborative activities?

Theoretical framework and context: Educational networks are defined as at least two educational organizations working together to achieve a common purpose (Muijs, West, & Ainscow, 2010). It has been emphasized that a key element for the successful functioning of an educational network lies in having a clear, meaningful, and shared purpose among its members (Armstrong & Ainscow, 2018; Chapman, et al., 2016; Rincón-Gallardo & Fullan, 2016). The implementation of the new system to administrate public education in Chile mandates the development of school networks. School leaders have received these networks positively (Uribe et al., 2019). However, a study conducted in 2018 indicates that networks are coordinated from hierarchical approach, which has hindered their appropriate connection with the interests and challenges of their participants (González et al., 2020). It is relevant to determine whether in recent years these networks have undergone improvement in their collective activities, from a hierarchical to a more horizontal and distributed leadership, specifically in how their purposes are defined and shared, and if these purposes are related to its members' expectations and challenges.

Methods, techniques, and data sources: This is a mixed methods study (Greene, 2007). A questionnaire to analyze the purpose, activities, and functioning of school networks validated in Chile (Authors, 2019) was involving 69 networks with a total of 398 responses. An analysis of the functioning and coherence of the network purposes was conducted, then 8 networks were selected as cases based on their good functioning. In each case, an interview with their facilitator, and two observations of the network meeting were conducted.

Findings: The findings show that out of the five SLEPs, only two have a majority of their networks with a high level of coherence regarding their purpose. In the other three SLEPs, networks have a medium level of coherence and only one SLEP has a low level of coherence. Only three selected cases exhibit a high coherence and the remaining five are characterized by a medium level of coherence. The main activities include presentations by the facilitators, followed by successful projects presented by their members. There is a presence of inquiry groups within some networks, focused on educational practices, although to a lesser extent, which seems to be related to the higher coherence of their purposes. These findings are relevant for educational systems for the design of mandated school networks and can be used to support the continuing professional development of educators, and for networks to support collaborative systemic school improvement.

Exploring the Inception and Growth of Two Professional Learning Networks in Africa: An Ethnographic Case Study of Inception and Growth from Africa Voices Dialogue and Morocco

Abstract This paper presents an ethnographic case study that explores two innovative models of professional learning networks (PLNs) in Africa: Africa Voices Dialogue (AVD) and Inventors' Playground (IP). The existing literature on PLNs in Africa is limited and tends to focus on specific geographic regions. Therefore, using an ethnographic approach, this study aims to transcend territorial boundaries within Africa and between Africa and the rest of the world by examining how AVD and IP exemplify outward-looking PLNs through their missions, visions, values, and actions.

The study documents the inception of AVD and IP, their navigation of early growth challenges, and their sustained evolution driven by a shared mission to enhance teaching and learning through collaboration. Additionally, the study explores how these emerging networks practice resilience in the face of uncertainty and foster resilience among their network members.

The researchers of this study actively participated in AVD and IP as participant observers. They combined their personal reflections on the establishment and growth of these PLNs with inputs from members and participants through content and artifact analysis, surveys, and interviews. The analysis of the collected data sheds light on the milestones achieved by AVD and IP, as well as the extent to which their actions and development prospects contribute to the strengthening of PLNs and the improvement of teaching and learning.

This research not only fills a gap in the understanding of PLNs in Africa but also carries significant policy and practical implications. From a policy perspective, the study aims to garner support for PLNs as a means of peer-to-peer support that cultivates teachers' commitment to continuous improvement in instructional practices. At a practical level, the study acknowledges the issue of professional isolation, which is prevalent in Africa as well as in other industrialized nations. Nurturing PLNs within and across schools can alleviate this isolation and enhance collaboration, particularly in an era where teacher leaders who bridge professional boundaries and engage students, families, and communities in virtual support systems are crucial for improving learning outcomes.

This study holds value as it traces the evolution and development of learning networks in an understudied geography and context. It serves as a reflection of the transformative potential of PLNs, emphasizing concepts such as agency, experimentation, grit, resilience, learning, and mastery for teachers and learners alike.

Objectives

Literacy coaching is an international phenomenon, but there is a lack of sufficient research on the role of literacy coaches’ leadership at the system level, particularly in the Chinese education context. In the Chinese school system, literacy coaches are called jiaoyanyuan (teaching research officers), and they aid in-service teachers. Literacy coaches in China are considered teacher educators and researchers, and they may impact school policies and curriculum design (Zhang & Yuan, 2019). Because studies about literacy coaches’ leadership roles are limited and incomplete (York-Barr & Duke, 2004), the purpose of this study is to explore the leadership roles of literacy coaches at the system level in China. This study will contribute to educational leadership theory and the educational policy cycle in China and to the international literature at large.

Research questions

The main research question of this study is: How do literacy coaches enact system-level leadership in Chinese education system reform？

Theoretical framework

Literacy coaches, working as system leaders, may bring positive changes to school systems (Timperley, 2008). Scholars believe that educators’ capacity construction plays a significant role in their professional growth, and it is important for literacy coaches to become system managers (Fullan & Knight, 2011). As a system leader in a school, a literacy coach may improve teacher leadership (Guiney, 2001). Literacy coaches can work as change agents to foster the learning environment in schools (Saphier & West, 2010). Since many literacy coaches have a good professional relationship with teachers, a variety of teachers are willing to implement curriculum changes under literacy coaches’ supervision (Coburn & Woulfin, 2012). In addition, coaching activities can promote school staff’s learning experiences, which may influence students’ achievement (Killion et al., 2012). Moreover, literacy coaches are an excellent tool for teacher capacity construction because they are involved in teacher assessment systems (Woulfin & Rigby, 2017).

Methods and data sources

A qualitative research method was used in this study. Nine well-experienced literacy coaches were selected through the snowball method to take part in interviews, and each interview lasted for 45 to 90 minutes. Then, the data were analyzed through comparative analysis.

Findings

According to the data analysis, literacy coaches can perform as system leaders through promoting professional teaching improvement, launching educational evaluation transformation, conducting curriculum development, enacting learning leadership, and promoting academic research and projects in Chinese education system improvement.

Significance

This research theoretically provides empirical evidence of how literacy coaches enact system-level leadership to promote education system improvement. It therefore enriches the international literature on this topic.

Connection to the conference theme

Through exploring how literacy coaches perform in system-level leadership roles, the quality of professional education will be enhanced. This will promote school effectiveness and improvement.

Objectives, purpose, problem of practice:

What meaningful, purposeful connections does history provide for adolescents? Interesting learning is often left until post-secondary education (Mitra, 2020). It is the belief that students require a level of sophistication in a discipline before they can access the more complex elements; the work presented here belies this assumption, highlighting emerging learners delving into the complexity of research, contributing to a database aligned with a national Casualty Identification Program.

Placing high school students in the role of historian (Sandwell, 2012; Barton and Levstik, 2004), two Canadian school boards invested in a multi-faceted approach to learning history that seeks to place the human experience of the Great War as the catalyst for learning.

Research question or focus:

How can real-time, world-centred education connect teacher professional development and student learning in a dialogue between the past and present?

Techniques and approach to inquiry:

- employing Peter Seixas and Tom Morton's "Big 6 Historical Thinking concepts" (2013) with students conducting primary evidence research of First World War soldier service files as the skill-building method;

- encouraging students to learn as historians (Clark, 2012), engaging in the human element of the past to personalize and make connections to their present;

- implementing a responsive professional development (Katz, Earl, & Jafaar, 2009) where teachers and students engage in a continuous learning experience (City, Elmore, Fiarman & Teitel, 2009; Sears, 2011) to address skills gaps in both teachers and students (Barton & Levstik, 2004)

- showcasing student artefacts in public, community-connected exhibitions that span local, provincial, national, and international contexts (Osborne, 2003; Biesta, 2022);

Theoretical Framework:

Considering notions of "deep learning", Biesta's (2022) conceptual framework of "world-centred education" acts as a bridge between personal and social transformation. A student as an "'I' in the world", must learn and be pointed towards something greater than themselves, something greater than my education to our collective education. In becoming a historian charged with a life now represented by a service file, a student finds connection with the past, and an obligation to bring focus, attention, commemoration and memory to that life in a manner that they uniquely provide. Students evolve into Gardner’s synthesizing mind (2022), crystallizing the past with the present, a life lived with a life being lived, and a story left untold to tell.

Focus:

Outlining an integrated approach to teacher professional development using the student learning experience as the means to professional learning. Drawing on case studies from local, provincial, and national contexts, the paper will explicate connections across change leadership, pedagogical transformation, and reveal innovation in learning that engages learners uncovering stories of diversity as the means to learning history.

Methods, Data, and Impact:

- a digital archive of student artefacts created in response to the project that evidences new literacies, and directions for learning writ large.

- explicit links between professional learning, student learning, and recognized experts in the field that are connected to the student work.

- student and teacher interviews documenting real-world learning on teaching practice.