Teachers as change agents make the difference!

Teachers are key figures in realising successful changes in education. Teachers are increasingly being asked to use their ‘professional agency’ in their work and to function as ‘change agents’. Professional agency is a central part of the professionalism of (future) teachers, but the extent to which teachers use their agency varies per person. Real ‘change agents’ use their agency to change education, both at class and school level. They also use their professional agency to promote their professional development. Teachers as change agents are teachers who make a difference in educational practice at both class and school level. But which teachers make the difference? What characterises them? During this workshop the main results and conclusions of my doctoral research will be presented and the participants will discuss the meaning of this for education (in the broadest sense of the word). In particular, the question is asked: how can we make the acquired scientific knowledge transferable to educational and educational practice? In other words, how can we prepare future teachers during their training to become change agents and encourage current teachers in schools to become or remain change agents?