Teacher Agency: An Ecological Approach

Recent worldwide education policy has reinvented teachers as agents of change and professional developers of the school curriculum. Academic literature has analyzed changes in how teacher professionalism is conceived in policy and in practice; this book provides a fresh perspective on this issue, drawing upon an ecological theory of agency. Using this model for understanding agency, the book explores empirical findings from the 'Teacher Agency and Curriculum Change' project, funded by the UK-based Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Drawing together this research with the authors' international experiences and perspectives,Teacher Agency addresses issues - both theoretical and practical - that have international significance. The book illustrates how teacher agency should be understood not only in terms of individual capacity of teachers, but also in respect of the cultures and structures of schooling.

Mark Priestley is Professor of Education in the School of Education at the University of Stirling, UK. He is a member of the Council of the British Educational Research Association (BERA), and chairs BERA's Academic Publications Committee.

Gert Biesta is part-time Professor of Education, Brunel University London, UK, and Visiting Professor (Art Education) at ArtEZ Institute of the Arts, the Netherlands. He is editor-in-chief of Studies in Philosophy and Education.

Sarah Robinson is Associate Professor at the Centre for Teaching Development and Digital Media in the Faculty of Arts at Aarhus University, Denmark.