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Inspiring teaching: learning from exemplary practitioners
Open accessAbstract
Purpose: – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the concept of “inspiring teaching” based on case studies of exemplary practitioners in England to inform professional development and collaborative learning and support school improvement. Design/methodology/approach: – The study adopted a mixed methods design involving multiple perspectives. Data sources included interviews with teachers, two systematic classroom observation schedules and qualitative field notes from classroom observations. Quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated to allow for triangulation and synthesis. Findings: – The “inspiring” sample of teachers exhibited many strengths in terms of the characteristics of more effective teaching identified in previous literature. However, the integration and synthesis of evidence also reveals core features of inspiring practice and highlighted the strong emotional and reflective components that distinguish inspiring practice, including: positive relationships; good classroom/behaviour management; positive and supportive climate; formative feedback; high-quality learning experiences; enjoyment, and high levels of student engagement and motivation. Research limitations/implications: – This small-scale study was based on a purposive sample of 17 teachers in England therefore results cannot necessarily be generalised to other contexts. Practical implications: – The research findings and approaches can be used to support teachers’ professional development and provide resources to promote collaboration in developing professional learning communities. Originality/value: – The investigation provides new evidence on the characteristics, practices and views of inspiring teachers. The use of multiple perspectives and integration of findings provides new evidence to inform and support the development of professional learning communities.
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“When young people feel valued and supported by adults, they are more likely to participate meaningfully and less likely to seek belonging in risky or antisocial contexts (Sammons et al., 2016).”
From Beyond the Classroom: Strengthening Pupil Engagement, Attendance and Belonging through Alternative Education and Community Partnerships (2025) · cites this paper as Sammons et al., 2016
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“When school is experienced as unsafe, unsupportive, or irrelevant, avoidance and disruptive behaviour are more likely to emerge (Sammons et al., 2016; Thapa et al., 2013).”
From Beyond the Classroom: Strengthening Pupil Engagement, Attendance and Belonging through Alternative Education and Community Partnerships (2025) · cites this paper as Sammons et al., 2016
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Research works printed but not linked: 26
- Bowman, R.F. (2007), “How can students be motivated: a misplaced question?”, The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas , Vol. 81 No. 2, pp. 81-86. · DOI
- Bryan, R.R. , Glynn, S.M. and Kittleson, J.M. (2011), “Motivation, achievement, and advanced placement intent of high school students learning science”, Science Education , Vol. 95 No. 6, pp. 1049-1065. · DOI
- Bryson, C. and Hand, L. (2007), “The role of engagement in inspiring teaching and learning”, Innovations in Education and Teaching International , Vol. 44 No. 4, pp. 349-362. · DOI
- Burke, R.W. and Nierenberg, I. (1998), “In search of the inspirational in teachers and teaching”, Journal for a Just and Caring Education , Vol. 4 No. 3, pp. 336-354.
- Christensen, C.M. , Horn, M.B. and Johnson, C.W. (2008), Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation will Change the Way the World Learns , McGraw Hill, New York, NY.
- Collins, P.M. (2006), “Inspiring high student performance through an integrated philosophy of education”, Performance Improvement , Vol. 45 No. 8, pp. 31-33. · DOI
- Day, C. (2004), A Passion for Teaching , Routledge Falmer, London and New York, NY.
- Hargreaves, A. (2003), Teaching in the Knowledge Society: Education in the Age of Insecurity , Open University Press, Buckingham.
- Hargreaves, A. and Fullan, M. (2012), Professional Capital: Transforming Teaching in Every School , Teachers College Press, New York, NY and London.
- Hobbs, L. (2012), “Examining the aesthetic dimensions of teaching: relationships between teacher knowledge, identity and passion”, Teaching and Teacher Education , Vol. 28 No. 5, pp. 718-727. · DOI
- Kington, A. , Sammons, P. , Brown, E. , Regan, E. , Ko, J. and Buckler, S. (2014), Effective Classroom Practice , Open University Press, Maidenhead.
- Lancer, J. (2015), “The meaning of quality professional learning for school improvement: articulating a coherent vision rooted in a theoretical perspective”, School Effectiveness and School Improvement , Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 639-667. · DOI
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- Muijs, D. and Reynolds, D. (2005), Effective Teaching: Evidence and Practice , SAGE Publications, London and Thousand Oaks, CA.
- Muijs, D. , Kyriakides, L. , van der Werf, G. , Creemers, B. , Timperley, H. and Earl, L. (2014), “State of the art – teacher effectiveness and professional learning”, School Effectiveness and School Improvement , Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 231-256. · DOI
- Richards, J. (2004), “Enchanting teachers among Us”, Childhood Education , Vol. 80 No. 3, pp. 128-133. · DOI
- Sammons, P. , Day, C. , Kington, A. , Gu, Q. , Stobart, G. and Smees, R. (2007), “Exploring variations in teachers’ work, lives and their effects on pupils: key findings and implications from a longitudinal mixed-method study”, British Educational Research Journal , Vol. 33 No. 5, pp. 681-701. · DOI
- Santolini, S. (2009), “Why we teach: autobiographies of traditionally and alternatively certified pre-service social studies teachers”, The Qualitative Report , Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 478-488.
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- Stoll, L. , Bolam, R. and Collarbone, P. (2002), “Leading for change: building capacity for learning”, in Leithwood, K. and Hallinger, P. (Eds), Second International Handbook of Educational Leadership and Administration , Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp. 41-73. · DOI
- Teddlie, C. , Creemers, B. , Kyriakides, L. , Muijs, D. and Yu, F. (2006), “The international system for teacher observation and feedback: evolution of an international study of teacher effectiveness constructs 1”, Educational Research and Evaluation , Vol. 12 No. 6, pp. 561-582. · DOI
- Van de Grift, W. (2007), “Quality of teaching in four European countries: a review of the literature and application of an assessment instrument”, Educational Research , Vol. 49 No. 2, pp. 127-152. · DOI
- van der Lans, R. , van de Grift, W. and van Veen, K. (2015), “Developing a teacher evaluation instrument to provide formative feedback using student ratings of teaching acts”, Edycational Measurement: Issues and Practices , Vol. 34 No. 3, pp. 18-27. · DOI
- Van der Zee, T. (2011), “Inspiration: a thought-provoking concept for RE teachers”, British Journal of Religious Education , Vol. 34 No. 1, pp. 21-34. · DOI
- Blake, J. (2006), “Burying literary treasure: developing inspirational approaches to a level literature”, English Drama Media (NATE) , No. 5, pp. 21-26.
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Cited by
Anwar, R. H., Zaki, S., Memon, N., & Thurasamy, R. (2021) · Sage Open · doi:10.1177/21582440211061378 · Cited by 31
Breslin, M., & Mitchell, J. (2025) · Scottish Educational Review · doi:10.1163/27730840-bja10032
Metadata
- Authors
- Sammons, P., Lindorff, A. M., Ortega, L., & Kington, A.
- Affiliations
- University of Oxford (GB)
- University of Worcester (GB)
- Venue
- Journal of Professional Capital and Community
- Publisher
- Emerald
- Published
- 2016-04-11
- Volume
- 1
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 124-144
- ISSN
- 2056-9548 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2317927904
- Cited by
- 50
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 29.59
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- eprints.worc.ac.uk
- Locations
- Journal of Professional Capital and Community (publishedVersion)
- Worcester Research and Publications (University of Worcester) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
- Social Sciences › Education › Evaluation of Teaching Practices
- Social Sciences › Education › School Leadership and Teacher Performance
- Keywords
- exemplary teachers, teacher professional development, professional learning communities, school improvement, classroom behavior management, formative feedback, student engagement, student motivation, teacher-student relationship, reflective practice, cooperative learning
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- Sammons, P., Lindorff, A. M., Ortega, L., & Kington, A. (2016). Inspiring teaching: learning from exemplary practitioners. Journal of Professional Capital and Community. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpcc-09-2015-0005
Data sources
Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.
Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.
