Back in 2009 when I started this blog there were a core group of researchers studying teachers' social networks, just beginning to get out publications on their research. To be frank, I didn't have that much news to post. Well now the time has come – a wave of publications with rich data, insights and conversations have come out, sparking dialog and some debate.
There are three books just out and one on the way (mine!) about educational networks.
Robert McCormick, Alison Fox, Patrick Carmichael and Richard Proctor authored Researching and Understanding Educational Networks, published by Routledge earlier this year. The book describes the outcomes of their research on teachers’ social networks. I found it most helpful from a methodological standpoint. McCormick et al. reflect upon the multiple conceptualizations of social networks offered by scholar and by their research participants, and discuss how these conceptualizations shaped their data analyses. Their conclusions are really in their problemetization of the multiple conceptions of support networks. I would recommend this book to scholars interested in mixed-method social network research.
Alan Daly’s edited book, Social Network Theory and Educational Change includes a range of studies using social network analysis to study educational reform in schools (including a chapter by my colleague Susan Yoon and I). The book has garnered rave reviews, and rightly so – Daly has effectively brought together some of the most cutting edge, knowledgeable and respected minds in the small-but-rapidly-growing area of social network research in schools. The book comes out in December, but you can pre-order it on Amazon if you’re like me and you just can’t wait!
Daly’s colleague in multiple studies has been Nienke Moolenaar, who has recently published her dissertation, Ties with Potential: Nature, Antecedents, and Consequences of Social Networks in School Teams, which is available in book form. You can email her to purchase it.
Of course, I can’t end this post without announcing the upcoming publication of my book from Teachers College Press. It is titled The Networked Teacher: How New Teachers Build Social Networks for Professional Support. It focuses on new teachers’ networks, and is aimed at a more general audience (teachers, mentors, administrators, and teacher educators, as well as scholars), as a practical guide to understanding the research and theory behind teachers’ social networks. It will also have a companion website for the book, where readers can share their experiences in developing or assisting teacher support networks and find additional information on the topic. Should be out in late 2011, if all goes to plan!
Stay tuned for my next post on recent or upcoming scholarly articles on teachers’ social networks!
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