Routledge Teachers Leading Educational Reform: The Power of Professional Learning Communities (Teacher Quality and School Development)

Teachers Leading Educational Reform explores the ways in which teachers across the world are currently working together in professional learning communities (PLCs) to generate meaningful change and innovation in order to transform pedagogy and practice. By discussing how teachers can work collectively and collaboratively on the issues of learning and teaching that matter to them, it argues that through collective action and collaborative agency, teachers are leading educational reform. By offering contemporary examples and perspectives on the practice, impact and sustainability of PLCs, this book takes a global, comparative view showing categorically that those educational systems that are performing well, and seek to perform well, are using PLCs as the infrastructure to support teacher-led improvement. Split into three sections that look at the macro, meso and micro aspects of how far professional collaboration is building the capacity and capability for school and system improvement, this text asks the questions: Is the PLC work authentic? Is the PLC work being implemented at a superficial or deep level? Is there evidence of a positive impact on students/teachers at the school/district/system level? Is provision in place for sustaining the PLC work? Teachers Leading Educational Reform illustrates how focused and purposeful professional collaboration is contributing to change and reform across the globe. It reinforces why teachers must be at the heart of the school reform processes as the drivers and architects of school transformation and change. Review ‘Finally, a thought-provoking book from well-known and inspiring educators that substantiates the critical importance of teacher-led research and voice, through structured collaboration in PLCs, on "practice that works". A must-read for every teacher and leader looking for compelling evidence, from across the globe, that purposeful collaboration makes a difference to increasing all students’ achievement.’ - Dr. Lyn Sharratt, Practitioner, Author, Researcher, International Consultant at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada. @LynSharratt About the Author Alma Harris is Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Malaya, Malaysia. Michelle Jones is Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Bath, UK. Jane B. Huffman is Emeritus Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of North Texas, USA.