Having It Both Ways: Building the Capacity of Individual Teachers and Their Schools

Abstract

In this article, Susan Moore Johnson calls for a balanced approach to improving teaching and learning, one that focuses on both teachers and the contexts in which they work. Drawing on over a decade of research on the experiences of new teachers, Johnson argues that focusing on the effectiveness of individuals while ignoring how their schools are organized limits our capacity to support teachers’ work and, thus, to improve the outcomes for our nation’s neediest students.