Examining the Situative Progression of Teachers’ Novice-To-Expert Development in Education Policy

Figures & data

Figure 1. Quotations to support categories from Table 4 regarding current and future policy-advocacy.

Table 1. Coding results by conceptual (categories) and theoretical (novice/expert) frameworks.

Categories and Subcategories	Novice / Expert	Frequency and Percent
Growth in Policy Knowledge		39/116 (34%)
Cognizance of Bills, Laws, and the Policy Process	Novice	7*
Understanding Policy Infrastructure and Systems		6
District-School Level	Novice	4
State-National-Federal	Expert	2
A New Awareness in the Lack of…		18
Teacher Input at the State Legislature and State Level Agencies	Novice	4
Educators at the seat and spaces of Policy and Power	Novice	7
Diversity and Diverse Stakeholders and Perspectives at the seat of Policy and Power	Expert	7
Comprehending the Role of lobbying (among those not in education)	Expert	2
Determining the Importance of Nonprofit organizations to advocate for teachers, students	Expert	2
Commanding the use of Policy-Specific Language	Expert	4
Growth in Policy-Based Leadership		41/116 (35%)
Garnering Self-Reliance in Bills, Laws, and the Policy Process	Novice	5
Acknowledging the Importance of Community-based Stakeholders	Novice	7
Recognizing and Applying Their Teacher Voice	Novice	8
Gaining Confidence in Participating in Education Policy and/or Advocacy Spaces (e.g., Organizations)	Novice	8
Application of leadership in novel spaces or groups (to engage in teacher representation and education advocacy)		8
District-School Level	Novice	4
State-National-Federal	Expert	4
Instilling Leadership in Other Teachers	Expert	5
Growth in Policy-Related Networks and Networking		36/116 (31%)
Appreciating the Power of Coalitions to Advance Policy Activities	Novice	6
Determining Multiple Avenues to Enact Policy Change	Novice	6
Connecting Stakeholders to Galvanize Change Efforts	Novice	6
Following people, organizations, and events to Enhance Policy Knowledge and Networks	Novice	7
Joining Groups to Broaden (Teacher) Representation in Policy	Expert	5
Forging New Vertical/Horizontal Connections within their Networks	Expert	6

*Lisa indicated her single contribution to this category was from prior knowledge (and not gained in program).

Table 2. Summary of LPP experiences reported in the CoP; disaggregated by novice and expert.

	Novice	Expert	Totals (From Table 1)
Growth in Policy Knowledge	22	17	39
Growth in Policy-Based Leadership	32	9	41
Growth in Policy-Related Networks/ing	25	11	36
Totals	79	37	116

Table 3. Summary of LPP experiences reported in the CoP; disaggregated by teacher participant.

	Pseudonyms
	Michelle	Angela	Cenisa	Lisa	Mateo
Growth in Policy Knowledge	7	6	10	6	10
Growth in Policy-Based Leadership	6	8	10	6	11
Growth in Policy-Related Networks/ing	3	11	5	5	12
Total (N = 116)	16	25	25	17	33
Novice LPP Reported	14	15	18	10	21
Expert LPP Reported	2	10	7	7	12

Table 4. Reported post fellowship related to their participation in the CoP (N = 26).

Teacher	Category 1:	Category 2:	Category 3:	Category 4:
	Taking on Leadership Positions and Opportunities at their Schools, Districts, and Organizations	Conducting Research on Behalf of the School, District, Organization or for Themselves	Improving Education Equity in the P-20 System	Distributing their Policy Knowledge, Leadership, and Networks
Michelle (n = 4, 14%)	Joined committees including leadership on the campus.	N/A	Applied understanding of policy to enhance policy at her school.	Sharing best practices of her work at school with campuses (in district) and across the state.
Angela (n = 8, 31%)	Seeks out district officials to advocate on school issues	Locating student data sets to answer questions related to policy-advocacy	Spreading awareness of equity concerns and how extant policies are contributing to inequities.	Engaging with higher level leaders to better understand classroom issues.
Cenisa (n = 3, 12%)	Joined committees including leadership on the campus and district [task force].	Conducting research on district policies.	Joining organizations for advocating on behalf of minority students.	N/A
Lisa (n = 3, 12%)	Taking on policy leadership positions.	N/A	Including equity explicitly in professional development for teachers.	Educating other teachers on policy-advocacy.
Mateo (n = 8, 31%)	Joined committees including leadership on the campus and district [task force].	Conducting original research to redress policy issues.	Engaging in culture shifts to celebrate diversity and diverse students.	Sharing best practices of his work at school with campuses (in district) and across the state.