Knowing that paraprofessionals can be prepared to work effectively with students is an important finding, yet, how do teachers prepare paraprofessionals to work most effectively with students with disabilities? Teachers who supervise paraprofessionals must use basic communication skills, which is the first step in both the preparation of and the…

This article presents results from a study of leadership coaches who worked with novice principals in a university-based induction program for a 3-year period. The qualitative case study describes how the support the coaches provided to the novice principals changed over time. The study reveals that coaches adapted their leadership coaching…

Teacher Professional Development (TPD) is critical for educational improvement in higher education. However, one of the main concerns in TPD is that the traditional workshop format constrains active participation and the consequent creation of usable knowledge for teaching. In response to this challenge, we developed a series of teacher-centred…

This article explores the notion of leadership identity construction as it happens through a leadership development programme. Influenced by a conception that leadership development is essentially about facilitating an identity transition, it uses an intersectional approach to explore school leaders' identity construction as it was shaped and…

Purpose: The first aim of this study is to explore to what extent communities of practice occur in the school workplace. The second aim is to explore the relation between communities of practice and diversity in composition of teacher teams. Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative as well as qualitative data were gathered from seven teacher…

When a coach empathetically listens to another person's ideas, thoughts, and concerns, the coach communicates that the other person's life is important and meaningful. This may be the most important service that a coach can provide. (Knight, 2007, p.43) This study explored whether instructional coaches that completed the 20-hour…

This documentary account describes professional development for teachers in the USA serving culturally and linguistically diverse students. The purpose of the project was to monitor effectiveness of training in Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol (SIOP) and to assess the value of cognitive coaching. Quantitative and qualitative data sources…

Much has been researched and written concerning the structure, attributes, and benefits of the professional learning community (PLC), yet many have found that this highly collaborative model is difficult to implement. One reason for this was that conflict among team members often limited communication and therefore halted collaboration. In an…

This publication of the proceedings of the Inter Association Child Care Conference includes a debate for and against professionalization in the field of child care. A section on meeting the treatment needs of children through educational preparation of child care practitioners discusses background factors, levels of education for practitioners,…