This book aims to help teachers and those who support them to re-imagine the work of teaching, learning and leading. In particular, it shows how transformations of educational practice depend on complementary transformations in classroom-school- and system-level organisational cultures, resourcing and politics. It argues that transforming education requires more than professional development to transform teachers; it also calls for fundamental changes in learning and leading practices, which in turn means reshaping organisations that support teachers and teaching – organisational cultures, the resources organisations provide and distribute, and the relationships that connect people with one another in organisations. The book is based on findings from new research being conducted by the authors – the research team for the (2010-2012) Australian Research Council-funded Discovery Project Leading and Learning: Developing Ecologies of Educational Practice.

Disrupting the individualism of much conventional psychological research into learning, this book presents a situated, practice-based understanding of learning, based on the theories of situated learning and practice architectures, conceptualising learning as ontological transformation. While accepting that learning is consequential for learners, this book explores how learning matters for and in the world. The authors present a view of learning not just in the context of the lives of learners and those around them, but as part of the dynamic and organic site-ontological processes of world-historical and ecological change. While learners may be stars in their own lives and learning, they are also living, agentic beings who are part of Earth’s community of life and who respond to the changing world in ways that are consequential beyond their own lives. The book explores the place of learning from the point of view of the world as much as from the point of view of the learner. Distinctively, the book conceptualises learning as a social accomplishment and as a process that changes the worlds beyond individual learners. A groundbreaking contribution from the leading scholars in the field, this book will be of great interest to scholars, researchers, and post-graduate students of education, social science, and philosophy, and the specific fields of professional practice, practice theory, learning sciences, and sociology.

This book provides an overview of the Theory of Practice Architectures (TPA), and the associated Theory of Ecology of Practices, in a manner accessible for a broader audience. The authors are part of the authorial team that developed the Theory of Practice Architectures from a strong empirical base, with its initial publication in 'Changing Practices, Changing Education' (Kemmis et al., Springer, 2014). This book follows on from that publication with a singluar focus on the Theory of Practice Architectures, and shows how it can be used as a theoretical framework for a range of empirical research projects. It first outlines and describes both the Theory of Practice Architectures and the Theory of Ecology of Practices, illustrating them with a range of relevant practical examples. Then, it focuses explicitly on designing and undertaking empirical research, analyzing data and reporting findings using the Theory of Practice Architectures. In this way, this book shows specifically and overtly explicate ways that research can be designed, and how data can be collected and analyzed, drawing on the Theory of Practice Architectures as a foundational framework. It also showcases a range of specific examples to allow readers to see the ideas as they have been employed in practice.

This short book provides an introduction to the study of education, outlining the dual purpose of education – to help people live well and to help develop a world worth living in. It argues that education initiates people into forms of understanding, modes of activity, and ways of relating to each other and the world that not only help individuals to live good lives, but also help secure a culture based on reason, productive and sustainable economies and environments, and just and democratic societies. Subsequent chapters address the history of education in the West; explore how education reproduces the practices and forms of life in societies and groups, and also how it transforms them; and introduce the theory of practice architectures to explain what practices are composed of, and how they are enabled and constrained by local and more general conditions and circumstances. The book closes by showing how the theory of practice architectures unfolds to offer a theory of education – a theory that underpins the definition of education offered at the start of the book. Understanding Education is essential reading for anyone interested in the theory and practice of education.

In times of curriculum change, a book describing the importance of classroom talk, and how talk shapes thel earning encountered in lessons, is both necessary and timely. The role of talk is often overlooked as a key elementof effective pedagogy. This book will show how classroom practice unfolds in the dimensions of the language used inclassrooms, the activities encountered in classroom literacy learning and the relational arrangements for teaching and learning.

Middle leading refers to those teachers that both teach and have leadership roles, and thus can bridge the gap between the practices of learning and the managemant of schooling. Focusing on the practices of middle leaders, this book addresses the current lack of support and professional development for middle leaders in educational settings. Middle Leadership in Schools positions middle leaders as professional leaders, and an integral part of educational and professional development in schools and other educational institutions. Drawing on empirical research spanning four countries, this book provides readers with a conceptual framework to understand middle leading and shows how middle leading practices unfold in real educational contexts. This is a valuable resource that goes beyond a theoretical conversation about middle leaders to provide readers with practical applications based on extensive research undertaken by the authors. The book is divided into seven chapters, each of which include reflective discussion questions and recommended readings to promote collaborative engagement with the text. Chapters cover topics such as how middle leading is shaped in practice, its role in professional development and its impact on schools. Illustrating to middle leaders how they can develop their leadership skills, the book will also be of interest to school principals and other senior leaders as a guide to supporting their middle leaders.

Tracks the territory where teaching counts: the moment-by-moment interactions between teachers and students. The author points the way to creating a culture of learning both in the everyday classroom and among education practitioners.

In this paper we will examine mathematics education using practice theory. We outline the theoretical and philosophical ideas that have been developed, and in particular, we discuss the "sayings," "doings," and "relatings" inherent in the teaching and learning practices of mathematics education. This theorising is drawn from an empirical study that focused on the broader practices of education in schools. We exemplify these ideas with a small excerpt of data. Understanding mathematics education as a practice highlights the site-based nature and also ecological arrangement of practices, and we conclude by outlining some implications that emerge from this perspective.