Teachers’ emotions in the reconstruction of professional self-understanding

This research study explores teachers’ specific emotions and the reconstruction of teachers’ professional self-understanding during a comprehensive school reform initiative. Through interviews and archival material, this study seeks to examine teachers’ specific emotions during critical incidents that occurred during the period of reform and to explore the reconstruction of their professional self-understanding. The findings illustrate that the teachers experienced fear and intimidation when their professional self-understandings were challenged. However, with the support of a literacy coach and university faculty they reconstructed these self-understandings, leading to improvements in student achievement and their own instructional practices. These positive changes led to emotions of pride and excitement. The study provides recommendations for state and local school administrators and highlights implications for future research.     

Changing Schools of Education Through Grassroots Faculty-led Change

In this article I report on the application of the lens of Rogers’ (1995) change agent roles and Kezar and Lester’s (2011) adaptation of tempered radicals in order to understand the leadership roles assumed by three individual faculty members located at three distinct schools of education. These faculty leaders utilized the concepts and principles of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) to lead redesigns of their Ed.D. programs. Qualitative data were gathered during a larger study on institutional change. Findings contribute to understanding grassroots leadership and how it works in collaboration with top-down authorities.