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The purpose of this paper is to investigate perceptions of primary education (PE) teachers with respect to evaluation within the framework of Total Quality Management (TQM) and their readiness to engage in the process of quality improvement. Within this context, a relevant measurement instrument is developed and empirically validated.

The instrument developed herein included 30 items distributed across seven dimensions. It was disseminated among public PE units in Greece, yielding a substantial 2,088 responses. Several tests were performed, including principal component analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling.

The findings supported the validity and reliability of the instrument, confirming that the proposed measures encapsulate actual dimensions that are most suitable for exploring evaluation perception and readiness in the context of TQM in PE. The study explored several correlations between the validated dimensions and independent variables such as gender, level of education, years of teaching experience and age. These analyses yielded additional valuable insights, enriching the depth of understanding provided by the present research.

The fields of TQM and PE lack empirical evidence. However, this study offers valuable insights into teachers’ perceptions of evaluation and broader quality improvement efforts. This can help school managers, policymakers and practitioners refine their implementation strategies for educational excellence.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to focus on the examination of evaluation as a key aspect of TQM within the context of PE. Through the development and validation of a real-time measurement instrument, it bridges a significant research gap, providing practitioners and researchers with a vital tool to understand and improve educators’ evaluation perceptions, enabling targeted interventions for enhanced performance.

This study aims to develop a self-reflection scale useful for teachers to improve their skills and to clarify the Japanese teachers’ characteristics during mathematics lesson observation (MLO). In MLO, it is important to understand the lesson plan in advance to clarify observation points, and we aim to develop a scale including these points.

Based on the pre-questionnaire survey, nine perspectives and two situations for MLO were extracted. From these, a questionnaire for MLO was created. The results obtained from 161 teachers were examined, and exploratory factor analysis was conducted. ANOVA was conducted to analyze the effect of differences across the duration of teaching experience on the identified factors.

We developed a self-reflection scale consisting of 14 items with three factors: [B1] focus on instructional techniques and evaluation, [B2] focus on proactive problem-solving lesson development and [B3] focus on the mathematical background of the learning content. While duration of teaching experience showed no effect, three factors of the self-reflection scale for MLO showed a significant effect. Further multiple comparisons revealed the degree of focus was [B2]>[B1]>[B3].

Teachers who use this developed scale may grasp the strengths and weaknesses of their own MLO, which leads to self-improvement. The perspectives emphasized in lesson observation are the same when creating lesson plans and implementing lessons, leading to lesson improvement. Furthermore, based on the characteristics of teachers revealed, new training programs regarding MLO can lead to higher-quality lesson studies.

Professional learning networks (PLNs) involve teachers’ collaboration with others outside of their school to improve teaching and learning. PLNs can facilitate teachers’ professional growth and school improvement. This study aims to explore the drivers for participation within PLNs, the enactment process and the impact of PLN participation on teachers, students and schools in Greece.

A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted to explore the lived experience of primary school teachers participating in PLNs.

The findings showed that individuals who were open to change were driving innovation to address a need or a lack in their daily practice that was not satisfied within their usual community of practice. The key element of the participation was peer collaboration with openness of communication without attendant accountability pressures. The change was mainly identified in teacher skills and the school climate. An individual could bring change only if the school is already open to change. In some cases, resistance to change in schools was identified before enactment or during enactment. The transformation of teachers’ and leaders’ stances is discussed, enabling the opportunity to maximise school improvement.

The study examines PLNs as European Union-funded initiatives that are developed by teachers in centralised education systems under the phenomenological research paradigm. It explores the PLNs in a different setting compared to the existing conceptual theory of change for PLNs.

This paper presents the results of empirical research on the effects of teaching practice on student teachers’ teaching competence and psycho-emotional development using the “most significant change” narrative investigative technique.

Following a qualitative research approach, the study was conducted during the academic year 2021–2022 in two phases (January and May) with the participation of 73 student teachers of the Department of Theology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) during their mentored teaching practice. Student teachers’ narratives were collected and analysed using the most significant change technique (Davies and Dart, 2005). Content analysis was conducted with the contribution of seven independent judges.

The results indicate that the Teaching Practice course with the guidance of mentors has a direct and positive effect on student teachers’ teaching competence. Mentors also seem to have a positive effect on student teachers’ psycho-emotional development. The research also confirms the reliability of the most significant change narrative technique for investigating the effect of related educational interventions.

The study empirically validates the usefulness and potential of the investigative narrative most significant change technique for evaluating the effects of teaching practice on student teachers’ professional development with the guidance of experienced mentor teachers. The results of the study also have implications for the design and evaluation of teacher practice programmes.

This study aims to explore the communicative features of teacher talk in English for General Purposes (EGP) vs. English for Academic Purposes (EAP) classes in Iranian contexts based on the Self-Evaluation Teacher Talk (SETT) framework.

For the purposes of this study, EAP and EGP classes run by three language instructors and three content instructors were observed and interviews with teacher participants were conducted. The data were analyzed by content analysis, and emerging overarching themes were recorded.

The findings of this study indicate that the translation of texts into Persian was the dominant theme in classes run by content instructors who were less aware of the communicative features of teacher talk. However, one of the content instructors who was familiar with the communicative features of teacher talk as well as general language instructors were found to be highly aware of the potential of their teacher talk to encourage communication in his classes. The innovative and communicative features in the language/content instructor suggest the importance of teacher agency in bringing change in education at the micro-level. This study has implications for various agencies involved in teaching EAP, EGAP and English for Specific Purposes (ESAP), raising awareness regarding the communicative features of teacher talk as a driving force leading learners and teachers to more communicative opportunities in language classrooms. The findings suggest that teacher talk is an essential component of classroom discourse, shaping students' linguistic and academic development, and that teacher agency is crucial in promoting communicative opportunities in language education. To boost communication, the authors recommend translanguaging with a focus on both communication and optimal use of the mother tongue in EAP classes.

There is little empirical evidence on the communicative aspects of teacher talk in higher education. This study can inspire more parallel research on EAP settings in higher education with a focus on communication and teacher talk features.

The purpose of this study is to explore beginning teachers’ diverse challenges and how these are related to self-directed professional learning through social media.

The authors conducted a content analysis of 2,445 “New Teacher” tagged posts shared in the r/Teachers subreddit. With 1,246 posts relevant to beginning teachers’ challenges, the authors used a socio-ecological model to analyze and categorize the challenges.

Results showed that posts reflected diverse and complex challenges. Such challenges were found to be interrelated and associated with employment status, highlighting teacher marginalization issues. Results also show that most posts sought resources or advice rather than merely complaining about their situations, meaning that beginning teachers leveraged the anonymity and shared affinity offered by r/Teachers to overcome their challenges as self-directed professional learners.

The current study not only highlights diverse and complex challenges faced by beginning teachers but also sheds light on how they navigate their challenges in social media spaces. This research provides unique insights into how social media, particularly an anonymous affinity space – r/Teachers, can benefit teachers’ professional growth in today’s digital era.

This study investigated a teacher leadership program created by a partnership between a large US urban district, their teachers’ union and a university. We were part of an action-research partnership that examined the program’s implementation.

We employed a hermeneutic phenomenology methodology and mixed-method data collection methods and analysis strategies to understand the experiences of program participants. Data included interviews with program participants, union leaders and district administrators along with an analysis of projects that participants created during the program.

Teacher leadership programs were legitimized through diverse stakeholder collaboration, and involvement of a university partner was viewed as a value-add for teachers. Formalized teacher leadership programs professionalize teachers through expanding professional networks, developing leadership skills and lifting teachers’ voices. When teacher leader work is directed towards school improvement, teachers’ unique perspectives yield varied problems of practice and goals in ways that help schools address these problems.

This study has implications for districts seeking to create teacher leadership opportunities and for districts and universities seeking to partner for in-service professional learning opportunities.

This study underscores the role effective district-union-university partnerships can play in fostering pipelines for teacher leader development, which can better position school improvement efforts to be sustained over time.

Current academic research on teacher learning is increasing in number and deepening in quality, but at the same time, the heterogeneity is growing significantly. Similar work is challenging to cross-check regarding conclusions due to the different research foci. This paper aims to provide a reliable theoretical framework and offers solid insights based on the existing research.

Based on the Onion model, 67 core literature in English and Chinese were coded through qualitative meta-analysis methods to explore environmental, behavioral, competence, belief, identity, mission and other factors that may impact teacher learning.

It was found that the quantitative structure of the current relevant studies was in an inverted triangular shape with three levels of steps, respectively, which can be summarized as structural environment, core behaviors and dominant mission. The heterogeneity between the findings mainly originated from two situations, oppositional and complementary and some structural adjustments were made to the Onion model according to the coding results to better represent the interaction of influences between the levels. It also analyzes current research trends and the centrality of learned behaviors based on the coding results.

The design of teacher learning activities should combine theoretical, practical and inquiry learning to ensure that teachers are kept fresh and motivated by sustained and varied stimuli.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to analyze teacher learning influences through qualitative meta-analysis and create node saturation to analyze the results, resulting in highly credible and valuable research findings.

Despite the positive impact of professional learning communities (PLCs) in improving teaching practices, many teachers still struggle to effectively integrate information and communication technologies (ICTs) into their teaching and learning. Drawing from human capital theory and spillover effects, this paper examines how teachers PLCs can facilitate ICT integration.

Using a qualitative methodology, the researchers designed a phenomenological study. From semi-structured interviews, data were collected from 15 selected secondary school teachers from four selected secondary schools in Tanzania.

The study revealed that teachers use various strategies to enhance ICT integration in teaching practices, namely, community collaboration, practice-based approaches to ICT integration and the utilization of digital learning tools in instructional practices. Furthermore, the results showed several constraints on the ability of teachers’ PLCs to encourage ICT integration. These constraints were divided into three parts, i.e. major challenges at the macro, meso and micro levels.

The paper has the potential to inform policy and practice, particularly in the area of PLCs. Also, it helps to better understand the changing practices with ICTs through PLCs when there are insufficient resources for ICT integration.

To support teachers in using ICTs in their instructional practices, it is essential to build their capacities through PLCs to increase their confidence and competence in ICT integration.

This research was developed to identify artificial intelligence (AI) opportunities and challenges in higher education.

This qualitative research was developed using the six-step thematic analysis method (Braun and Clark, 2006). Participants in this study were AI PhD students from Tehran University in 2022–2023. Purposive sampling was used to select the participants; a total of 15 AI PhD students, who were experts in this field, were selected and interviews were conducted.

The authors considered the opportunities that AI creates for higher education in eight secondary subthemes (for faculty members, for students, in the teaching and learning process, for assessment, the development of educational structures, the development of research structures, the development of management structures and the development of academic culture). Correspondingly, The authors identified and categorized the challenges that AI creates for higher education.

Concerning the intended research, several limitations are significant. First, the statistical population was limited, and only people with characteristics such as being PhD students, studying at Tehran University and being experts in AI could be considered the statistical population. Second, caution should be exercised when generalizing the results due to the limited statistical population (PhD students from Tehran University). Third, the problem of accessing some students due to their participation in research grants, academic immigration, etc.

The innovation of the current research is that the authors identified the opportunities and challenges that AI creates for higher education at different levels. The findings of this study also contribute to the enrichment of existing knowledge in the field regarding the effects of AI on the future of higher education, as researchers need more understanding of AI developments in the future of higher education.