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Most research and practice in teacher in-service learning focuses on formal professional development activities. This article calls for paying greater attention to the informal conversations that are embedded in teachers’ day-to-day work and through which they learn from one another what it means to be a teacher and how to perform their duties. The authors build on theory and research in teacher on-the-job discourse and learning in order to (a) argue that, as a field, we need to pay more focused and systematic attention to teacher on-the-job discourse; (b) offer a coherent conceptual framework for “pedagogically productive” teacher talk; and (c) highlight key research directions and challenges in investigating this and related phenomena.

Teacher job satisfaction and well-being have a significant impact on educational outcomes, considering that teaching is the main objective of the educational process. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between teacher job satisfaction and four main categories of determinants: self-efficacy, relational aspects (colleague collaboration, student behavior, school management), work-related aspects (administrative workload, teaching tasks), and working conditions, in order to identify various implications for teachers’ well-being. The study employs a survey delivered to 658 K-12 (pre-university) teachers, from the North-West region of Romania. We used factorial analysis and a structural equation model to test eight proposed hypotheses. The results showed that self-efficacy, promotion, positive student behavior, and working conditions have significant effects on job satisfaction. These factors influence job satisfaction and well-being in the teaching profession because they ensure a positive work environment in which teachers and students thrive, thus leading to higher levels of involvement from teachers, students, and parents alike. An efficient work environment decreases attrition, burnout, emotional exhaustion, and teacher turnover, while increasing job satisfaction, well-being, and teacher retention.

Most professional development activities focus on individual teachers, such as mentoring or the use of portfolios. However, new developments in higher education require teachers to work together in teams more often. Due to these changes, there is a growing need for professional development activities focusing on teams. Therefore, this review study was conducted to provide an overview of what is known about professional development in teams in the context of higher education. A total of 18 articles were reviewed that describe the effects of professional development in teams on teacher attitudes and teacher learning. Furthermore, severalfactors that can either hinder or support professional development in teams are identified at the individual teacher level, at the team level, and also at the organizational level.

This study draws upon survey and administrative data on over 9,000 teachers in 336 Miami-Dade County public schools over 2 years to investigate the kinds of collaborations that exist in instructional teams across the district and whether these collaborations predict student achievement. While different kinds of teachers and schools report different collaboration quality, we find average collaboration quality is related to student achievement. Teachers and schools that engage in better quality collaboration have better achievement gains in math and reading. Moreover, teachers improve at greater rates when they work in schools with better collaboration quality. These results support policy efforts to improve student achievement by promoting teacher collaboration about instruction in teams.

Over the past decades, peer review of teaching has become commonplace at many universities around the world. Though research on the topic is expanding, much of the literature is composed of qualitative studies that offer relevant empirical findings but often have limited foundations in theory. Using a framework synthesis approach, we synthesize the empirical findings of 48 qualitative articles on peer review of teaching into a comprehensive conceptual framework drawing on sociocultural perspectives of learning. We propose the term “collegial faculty development” (CFD) to encompass all practices that support faculty in developing their teaching quality by drawing on the expertise of their colleagues. Our framework conceptualizes the main elements of CFD and shows how different contextual, individual, and relational factors shape the way CFD unfolds. Based on these theoretical considerations, we discuss issues of intersubjectivity, materiality, and temporality as potential avenues for further research.

As many countries expand their higher education systems, they must attract, support, and retain qualified academic staff. This paper focuses on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a case study of a nation drawing on large numbers of mostly expatriate faculty working in short-term academic appointments. The paper begins by considering the national context within which expatriate faculty work in the UAE. Then, using a published conceptual framework highlighting key elements of academic work, the paper examines defining aspects of the work experience of expatriate faculty in the UAE, including work expectations (teaching, research, and service); equity (compensation, incentives, and benefits); autonomy, academic freedom, and flexibility; collegiality and institutional involvement; and professional growth. The discussion considers the implications of these elements of academic work for the satisfaction, motivation, and institutional commitment of the expatriate faculty members. The sample of 29 expatriate faculty studied is drawn from the population of full-time instructors at three public and three semi-public institutions in the UAE who teach in education or media, humanities and social sciences, science or engineering, and business or economics. The discussion of findings highlights satisfactions and concerns, as well as the relationship of work experiences with organizational commitment. The nature of academic work in many countries is shifting toward temporary and short-term contract-based appointments. Thus, analysis of the experiences of expatriate academic staff working within the UAE, where the majority of faculty members are in short-term positions, raises issues relevant to those in other countries where the nonpermanent academic workforce is increasing. Additionally, issues considered are of interest to those who study the academic career and the factors shaping it.

This study elucidates the relationship between instructional leadership and teacher self-efficacy by identifying the moderating role of teacher collegiality. Survey data were collected from 1,498 teachers at 53 middle schools in Henan, China. Findings indicate that instructional leadership has a positive impact on teacher self-efficacy. More importantly, teacher collegiality was found to moderate the relationship between principal instructional leadership and teacher self-efficacy. More specifically, when there was a high level of teacher collegiality, instructional leadership positively predicted teacher self-efficacy; however, when there was a low level of teacher collegiality, instructional leadership barely predicted teacher self-efficacy. In addition to elaborating on the relationship between principal instructional leadership and teacher self-efficacy, this study underscores the importance of teacher collegiality in promoting the effectiveness of instructional leadership. Plain Language Summary How teacher collegiality works on principal instructional leadership impact An increasing number of studies have examined whether and how principal instructional leadership influences teacher attitudes. However, the impact of principal instructional leadership on teacher collegiality and self-efficacy has not been explored simultaneously. This study investigated a moderation model of principal instructional leadership and teacher self-efficacy. Survey data were collected from 1,498 teachers at 53 middle schools in Henan, China. The results showed principal instructional leadership has a positive impact on teacher self-efficacy. More importantly, teacher collegiality moderated the relationship between principal instructional leadership and teacher self-efficacy. When there was a high level of teacher collegiality, instructional leadership positively predicted teacher self-efficacy; however, when there was a low level of teacher collegiality, instructional leadership barely predicted teacher self-efficacy. This study extended the relationship between principal instructional leadership and teacher self-efficacy and emphasizes the importance of teacher collegiality in promoting the effectiveness of instructional leadership.

The authors investigate how conversational routines, or the practices by which groups structure work-related talk, function in teacher professional communities to forge, sustain, and support learning and improvement. Audiotaped and videotaped records of teachers’ work group interactions, supplemented by interviews and material artifacts, were collected as part of a 2-year project centered on teacher learning and collegiality at two urban high schools. This analysis focuses on two teacher work groups within the same school. While both groups were committed to improvement and shared a common organizational context, their characteristic conversational routines provided different resources for them to access, conceptualize, and learn from problems of practice. More specifically, the groups differed in the extent to which conversational routines supported the linking of frameworks for teaching to specific instances of practice. An analysis of the broader data set points to significant contextual factors that help account for the differences in the practices of the two groups. The study has implications for fostering workplace learning through more systematic support of professional community.