Teachers as Educational Change Agents: What Do We Currently Know? A Systematic Review

• In Event: School Improvement Through Agency and Creative Strategies

Abstract

Change agents are individuals who can successfully transform aspects of how organisations operate. In education, teachers as change agents are increasingly seen as vital to the successful operation of schools and self-improving school systems, world wide. To date, however, there has been no systematic investigation of the nature and role of teacher change agents. To address this knowledge gap, we undertook a systematic review into five key areas regarding teachers as change agents. After reviewing 70 outputs we found that current literature predominantly positions teacher change agents as the deliverers of top-down change, with the possibility of bottom-up educational reform currently neglected.

Authors

• Chris Brown, Durham University

• Robert White, Durham University

• Anthony J. Kelly, University of Southampton