School of Education

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Christopher Day

Professor of Education, Faculty of Social Sciences

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Biography

Christopher Day is Professor of Education and member of the Centre for Research on Educational Leadership and Management (CRELM).

He is also Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Sydney, Australia; Chair Professor of Education, Beijing Normal University, China.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

During the last twenty years, he has led and continues to lead national, European and international research and development projects in the areas of teachers' work and lives and school and system leadership, and to collaborate in these with colleagues in Europe, North and South America, China and Australasia, including invited keynote addresses at several national and international conferences.His abiding interests remain in teacher quality, successful school leadership, improvement and change; and, within these, understanding how schools, school networks and universities may provide effective management and support for teachers' and principals' long-term professional development, wellbeing and effectiveness through research and teaching.

EDITORSHIPS

He is founding Editor-in-Chief of 'Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice' (TTTP); and a member of the Editorial Boards of The British Educational Research Journal (BERJ), Teaching and Teacher Education (TATE), and the Journal of Educational Administration (JEA).

RESEARCH

His national research projects include research on variations in teachers' work, lives and effectiveness; teacher effectiveness, continuing professional learning and development; the impact of the leadership of improving and successful schools on pupil outcomes; leading schools in challenging urban contexts; and teacher and school resilience and retention. International projects include a 9 country European project on the work of principals of successful schools in challenging urban contexts; a two country project on policy enactment; and an International Baccalaureate schools' project on the leadership of the primary years programme.He is currently directing an 25 country international research network on successful school principalship (ISSPP).

PUBLICATIONS

His books have been published in several languages and include: Teacher Resilience during the Pandemic: Courage, Care and Resilience (2024); School-University Partnerships in Action: the promise of change (2021); Teachers Worlds and Work: Understanding Complexity, Building Quality (2017);A Decade of International Research on School Leadership (2016);Successful School Leadership: Lessons from the Field (2014); Resilient Teachers, Resilient Schools(2014); The International Handbook of Teacher and School development (2012) ; New Understandings of Teachers' Work: Emotions and Educational Change (2011);Successful School Leadership: Linking with Learning and Achievement (2011); The New Lives of Teachers (2009); Teachers Matter (2007) Open University Press; Successful Principalship: International Perspectives (2007); A Passion for Teaching (2004); International Handbook of the Continuing Professional Development of Teachers (2004);. Effective Leadership for School Improvement (2003) ; Theory and Practice in Action Research (2002) (Co-edited) Oxford, Symposium Books; Developing Teachers: The Challenges of Lifelong Learning (Falmer Press, 1999).

His is Adjunct Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, North East Normal University, China and East China Normal University.

HONOURS

In recognition of his work internationally in the field of research on the continuing professional development of teachers, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Linkoping, Sweden, in 1993; in 2010; the Michael Huberman Award for Excellence in Research on Teachers by the American Educational Research Association.In 2009, he was awarded a higher doctorate (D.Litt) by the University of Nottingham. In 2012 he was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences, and in 2017 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Education University of Hong Kong.

RESEARCH STUDENT SUPERVISION

Christopher Day supervises research students working for research degrees in these areas: School Leadership and Change; Teachers' Work and Lives; Continuing Professional Development; Leadership; Teacher Thinking; Reflection; Qualitative Research; Action Research; Biography and Narrative; School Development, Change and Improvement.He would be interested in receiving applications for 2024- in those areas.

Expertise Summary

Teacher professionalism; chool leadership; schools in challenging circumstances; teachers' work and lives; teacher identities; teacher commitment; teacher resilience; school-university partnerships; leadership of school clusters; change at system and school level; policy enactment.

Teaching Summary

Teacher learning and development

School improvement

Successful school leadership

Teacher professionalism and school change

Research Summary

His current research focuses on teacher retention, successful principals, and the governance and leadership of school Trusts ( clusters); teacher professionalism, teachers' work, lives and… read more

Chris is a founding member of the Centre for Research in Educational Leadership and Management. His research supervision areas include:

  • successful school leadership
  • teacher professionalism
  • schools serving high need communities
  • teachers' work, lives and effectiveness
  • school change and improvement
  • teacher identity, agency
  • trust in schools
  • teacher and school resilience and retention
  • the professional learning and development of teachers
  • mixed methods research
  • case study research
  • narrative research

Research proposals: please email Chris if you would like to discuss the appropriateness of your research topic. See also: School of Education research supervision areas.

Current Research

His current research focuses on teacher retention, successful principals, and the governance and leadership of school Trusts ( clusters); teacher professionalism, teachers' work, lives and effectiveness, teacher identity, commitment and resilience.

Past Research

His nationally funded research projects include research on variations in teachers' work, lives and effectiveness; the evaluation of school based continuing professional development; the nature and impact of the leadership of improving and successful schools on pupil outcomes; leading schools in challenging urban contexts; effective classroom teaching; and teacher and school resilience and retention. Recent internationally funded projects include a 9 country European project on the work of principals of successful schools in challenging urban contexts; a two country project on policy enactment; and an International Baccalaureate schools' project on the leadership of the primary years programme.He is currently directing an 27 country international research network on successful school principalship (ISSPP), and leading research projects on i) teacher professionalism during Covid-19; ii) leadership in multi-academy trusts in England; iii) university-schools-school partnerships for school change in China; iv) the leadership of system change in Australia; and vi) teacher retention.

Future Research

Teacher resilience,retention, well-being and effectiveness

Successful school leadership

Teacher identity

Teacher commitment

Leadership of schools in disadvantaged contexts

Leadership of Multi-Academy Trusts

Trust in schools

School of Education

University of Nottingham
Jubilee Campus
Wollaton Road
Nottingham, NG8 1BB

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