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Due to increased external, societal pressure on schools via developments such as accountability and accreditation, there is a growing need of schools for instruments that provide them with information on the quality of the teaching and learning processes they organize. This paper presents an instrument that can be used to diagnose teachers’ interpersonal skills, one element of teaching quality that may be of interest to schools. The instrument is based on the theory of interpersonal communication of Timothy Leary. Apart from a discussion of the theoretical framework behind the instrument, the paper presents information on the instrument itself and procedures for using the instrument with teachers and students. Also, information is provided on possibilities of using the instrument for staff development and other purposes of schools. The instrument appears to be of high quality and is accompanied by a large database of information linking it to other factors in the classroom context.

The aim of this study is to explore whether and to what degree community development of teacher teams takes place and how community development comes about, that is, what community‐building efforts teacher teams undertake.

Using a multi method approach, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered from seven interdisciplinary teacher teams in a secondary school during one school year. Teachers' perceptions of community development were complemented with video‐observations of team meetings by relative outsiders.

Data showed that the teacher teams undertook a wide variety and amount of community‐building efforts. However, community development of the teacher teams as perceived by the teachers was limited. Relative outsiders observed some community development.

From the findings the authors conclude that school managers could play a more proactive role in supporting teacher teams' community‐building efforts. Strategies embedding community‐building into the culture and policy of the school, including diagnosing, custom‐made support and making efforts explicit, could be effective.

The current study takes a long‐term approach, investigating the community development of teacher teams during the course of one school year. In addition, community development is measured using two perspectives, i.e. that of the community members and that of the relative outsider.

The purpose of this paper is to explore in detail how teachers' perceptions of workplace conditions for learning are related to their informal workplace learning activities and learning outcomes.

From a sample of 32 teachers, a purposeful sampling technique of maximal variation was used to select two cases described in this paper. In a mixed methods design quantitative data are used to position the two teachers in relation to their peers. Qualitative data are used to describe the two cases in depth.

The findings show how the diverging ways in which the two teachers perceive and actively shape their workplace conditions help to explain differences in the teachers' learning activities and learning outcomes.

Scholars have argued that informal workplace learning is embedded in interdependent practices that arise from the interaction between social practices and individual agency. The case studies provide insight into how workplace conditions for learning are shaped in this interaction and how perceptions of these conditions enable or constrain teachers' informal workplace learning.

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.

Quantitative as well as qualitative data were gathered from seven teacher teams in a school for secondary education. Questionnaires and observation instruments were used to measure and analyze teacher teams' collaborative activities and diversity in composition.

Data suggest that communities of practice actually occur in the school workplace, but to a moderate extent. Also, communities of practice are related to four of the five diversity attributes that were investigated.

The current study is a snapshot measurement of communities of practice. Future research is recommended to focus on the development of communities of practice in the school workplace by including longitudinal measurements.

Implications for teachers and administrators include follow‐up activities aimed at stimulating and sustaining communities of practice as well as taking diversity considerations in team composition into account.

Studies suggest that a community is a promising context for embedding collaboration into the culture of the school. However, empirical research that focuses on communities in the school workplace seems largely absent. This study provides insight in the occurrence of communities of practice from two perspectives: the perception of community members and the observation from outsiders.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the extent of systematic examination of students’ educational (support) needs by teachers participating in lesson study (LS) meetings within a framework of formative assessment (FA).

The study took place in the context of upper preparatory vocational education in the Netherlands. The learning trajectory of two LS teams was examined qualitatively, using the framework of FA to analyze teachers’ explorative talk during LS-meetings. The sample included Dutch language teachers and mathematics teachers.

Findings revealed how the process of FA was intertwined with the LS process. Systematic examination of teaching practice was partly identified, however, FA was frequently inadequately applied. Teachers tended to rush into talk about pedagogics, instead of identification of goals and students’ educational (support) needs. In total, 12 characteristics of teacher talk were related to the extent to which FA was applied.

The findings of this study suggest that guidance and support during LS-meetings is desirable for systematic practices during LS-meetings and this guidance and support should adapt to specific weaknesses and strengths of a LS team.

This study builds on previous findings suggesting that a systematic approach is important for teachers during LS-meetings. The findings provide a starting point for realizing the potential of LS in preparatory vocational education, by revealing potential pitfalls of systematic practice during LS-meetings. Moreover, this study presents a framework of FA as a potential tool in facilitating a systematic practice of LS.