The Respect program is a whole school approach to prevent and reduce problem behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate which conditions in schools helped them to continue the program successfully after the end of the 1-year implementation period. The study also looked at the actual continuation after the program end. Especially, we looked at which strategies and structures promoted change beyond the implementation phase. The project groups at four Norwegian schools implementing the program were interviewed at the end of the implementation period and again 2 years later. The main findings suggest that involvement in the Respect program enables schools to implement change. However, it is challenging for the schools to continue the work afterwards. The one school that successfully continued the work after the program was characterized by strong and supportive leadership, leadership at many levels, they made plans and saw them through, renewed activities and new members of staff were introduced to and included in the work according to the program principles. These elements were more or less lacking at the other three schools, at least after the active program period. A main finding is that a 1-year program period is not long enough for most schools to implement and continue an extensive whole school program like Respect.
Background: Improvement in classroom interaction is a significant part of teacher profession that is often overlooked. The Norwegian Ministry of Education established a national initiative to develop lower secondary schools in the fields of reading, writing, numeracy and classroom management from 2012 until 2017. It provides a context where teachers' collective and individual learning in classroom interaction was explored. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe teachers' perceptions of their collective and individual learning and explore the facilitators for learning possibilities in classroom interaction. Sample, design and method: A qualitative study was conducted in 14 Norwegian secondary schools, among 76 teachers. Data were based on focus group interviews and logs. A thematic approach was used to analyse the data. Results: The results indicated that teachers' learning regarding classroom interaction is highly individual. Teachers' reflections around their own practices after the lessons or sharing experiences with other colleagues were two common methods for teachers to develop in the area of classroom interaction. When it came to teachers' collective learning, the results indicated that teachers did not feel responsible for organising collective work; instead, they expected the school leadership to take control. Three factors turned out to be important for teachers that either inhibit or promote teachers' development in the area: 'time', 'systematic work' and 'school leadership'. Conclusion: Collective and individual learning may complement each other and strengthen the learning outcome for teachers, and subsequently increase student learning. Collaboration between individual teachers and collective groups might not only improve teacher professional growth, but also develop school as an organisation. The findings suggest that the school principal may be an influential factor for teachers' collective and individual learning regarding classroom interaction.
This paper investigates early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions' opportunities to build a learning organization and master future innovations by focusing on core components, implementation drivers, leadership, and collective collaborative systems.The paper is based on results from semi-structured interviews with ten ECEC leaders from three different municipalities in Norway that had taken part in the Being Together (BT) innovation five years earlier.Three areas were identified as crucial for the continuation of ECEC teachers' capacity building: (1) a strong focus on implementation processes and sustainability; (2) transformational leadership; and (3) developing professional learning communities. Potential challenges to building capacity in ECEC institutions include the variety of educational backgrounds among ECEC staff members in Norway and too little time to create professional learning communities.
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