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This paper aims to build a comprehensive picture of teacher experiences as three educational institutions undertook the process of pedagogical strategy reform through professional development thus uncovering important local data to inform policy and the change process in public and private schools in the UAE. This paper compares the outcomes, successes and challenges that impacted each project.

The three studies were ethnographic case studies using autoethnographic techniques. Data were collected using the following methods: survey, semi‐structured and unstructured interviews, evaluations, observation, document analysis, and reflective journals. The data were analysed using an inductive process of identifying themes.

The findings indicate that individual and collective learning as a result of developing learning communities contributes to a new, evolving and organic model of professional learning which encourages a focus on long‐term solutions for educational leadership in the UAE. Some of the issues that arose include the role of the project manager, the value of distributed leadership, levels of decision making, work relations and processes, and training versus education.

This paper contributes to the knowledge base on professional learning in several ways including the development of a better understanding and analysis of teacher professional learning; the development and implementation of a new model of teacher professional learning; the identification of a framework that has a potential application in other contexts; and evaluation of an interdisciplinary application of teacher professional learning.

In contrast with much of the existing academic discourse, through the autoethnographic technique of “narratives of self” this paper aims to provide an account and evaluation of the progressive development of an undergraduate research seminar in a college of education at a United Arab Emirates (UAE) university. The seminar provides opportunities for preservice teachers to develop knowledge and skills that allow them to make realistic contributions to professional practice and educational reform in the UAE.

The review of the capstone seminar was done using autoethnographic techniques using a blending of autobiography and ethnography. Data were drawn from student research projects, supervision notes, course syllabi, student reflections on the research process, and the authors' own reflections about their role as research supervisors. The data were analysed using an inductive process of identifying themes.

Some of the findings reflect the themes in the wider literature on undergraduate research such as value and benefits, challenges and implementation issues, while others are more specific to the Emirati context. These relate to language challenges for bilingual graduate students and to emergent leadership development. Five key thematic elements emerge from the data including professional learning and leadership development, complexity, teaching approach, and assessment.

The paper contributes to the knowledge base on professional learning through the development of a better understanding and analysis of undergraduate student teacher programs, processes of professional learning, and the development of research skills in preservice teachers. The broader potential for undergraduate research to contribute to better understanding of classroom practice, educational reform, and leadership growth in the UAE is also discussed.

This study aims to review the characteristics and practices of teacher leaders identified in recent literature and to investigate the impact of the professional learning process on teacher leadership development as it unfolded in two government schools.

Using a longitudinal qualitative case study of two United Arab Emirates (UAE) government schools engaged in collaborative action research the study used focus group interviews, dialogue, observations, field notes and retrospective analysis to collect and analyze data and used an inductive process of identifying themes and key content areas.

The study identified key issues that impacted the professional learning process and teacher leadership development in the schools. These included the sharing of leadership, school and cultural issues, shared motivation, formal and informal roles, content and pedagogical knowledge, critical reflection and interpersonal skills. The combination of these factors led to a cultural shift to collaboration as the “new normal”.

Teacher leadership is an emerging field of study and is yet to be fully valued by educational leaders and teachers in the UAE context. This current study identifies a professional learning process that led to an important cultural shift from individual, isolated practice to collaborative and shared perspectives about teacher leadership and its impact on student learning. This results in a “new normal” in teacher leadership.

Brooker’s mini-series Dead Set displays numerous representations of British masculinity in crisis. Released just as the zombie narrative was regaining momentum, the series uses the threat of an apocalypse to expose British men as weak, cowardly and ultimately monstrous. Initially set within the confines of the Big Brother house, the characters have willingly come under scrutiny for the delectation of a scandal-hungry public. The men are seen to self-consciously perform their own brands of masculinity. However, when people quickly descend from figuratively devouring each other into actually devouring each other, these masculine ideals are left in tatters, and without them, the surviving men are in constant peril.

For the purposes of this chapter, I will look specifically at three characters within the series and how their representations adhere to the ideas put forward by Anthony Clare, among others – that contemporary masculinity is in a period of crisis. I also wish to uncover how representations of masculinity within the series reflect contemporary social and political concerns within British society – a distrust of state apparatus and the rise of a particularly malicious, right wing ideology are both prevalent here. The zombie has long been acknowledged as an allegory for society’s ills – but this chapter asks: what can those fighting (or failing) against the zombie threat tell us?

The purpose of this paper is to reconcile research finding that labor market outcomes are related to economic freedom for entrepreneurs and separate research finding that higher homeownership rates are associated with more unemployment.

Using panel data covering the 50 states over 1981-2009, this paper analyzes the relationship between labor market conditions, economic freedom, and homeownership rates.

The results indicate that economic freedom is associated with favorable labor market conditions but that the relationship between homeownership and poor labor market outcomes is small and insignificant in most specifications once economic freedom is accounted for.

This paper is the first paper to examine the relationship between labor market outcomes and both homeownership and economic freedom. The results suggest that the economic environment for entrepreneurs is more important than any rigidities created by homeownership.

Digital and social media have arguably altered the civic landscape, creating not only opportunities for civic voice and engagement but also distinct challenges. How do youth who are civically active think about activism and their own civic activities in this landscape? How does their sense of themselves as civic actors – the strength and salience of their civic identities – shape decisions to “speak up” online? In this chapter, we draw on data from interviews with civically active youth to explore connections between their civic identities and uptake of opportunities for voice online. Drawing on data from a follow-up study conducted two years after initial interviews, we also examine reported changes in online expression over time. We find that many – though not all – youth in our study appear to have strong civic identities, as indicated by their self-identification as “activists” and the centrality of voice to their conceptions of activism. We also observe connections between activist identification and online civic expression over time. Youths’ narratives about what informs their online voice decisions further suggest the relevance of forces that have influenced persistence in civic participation (such as life transitions, work, and family demands) in addition to pressures unique to the digital context (including online conflict and surveillance). This qualitative study suggests that strong civic identities may support uptake of, and persistence with, online civic expression and tolerance of related challenges. In the discussion, we consider implications for youth civic development and for the vitality and diversity of the digital civic sphere.