Jenni Donohoo - Collective Efficacy: How Educators′ Beliefs Impact Student Learning

We knew that collective efficacy mattered, but Donohoo, in this easy-to-read, research-based book, makes it abundantly clear that schools need to focus on working together and believing in each others ability to make a difference. Donohoo combines a synthesis of the research around collective efficacy with practical strategies and tools for how to create the right conditions for this skill set to flourish in schools.

Jennifer Abrams, Educational Consultant and Author of Having Hard Conversations, Hard Conversations Unpacked, and The Multi-Generational Workplace Palo Alto, CA

In Collaborative Inquiry for Educators: A Facilitators Guide to School Improvement (2013), Donohoo described what collaborative inquiry is and how to do it. In The Transformative Power of Collaborative Inquiry: Realizing Change in Schools and Classrooms (2016), Donohoo and Velasco explained how collaborative inquiry can bring change to individuals and systems. Now in her new book, Collective Efficacy: How Educators Beliefs Impact Student Learning, Donohoo shares the personal impact collaborative inquiry can have on teaching collectively and individually.

In a time when educators are under increased scrutiny and criticism, Donohoo builds a case using research and experiences as the foundation of how collaborative inquiry can improve the disposition and practice of teachers. Sprinkled with thought-provoking questions throughout the book, Donohoo encourages teachers and leaders to reflect on their practice to determine their own path to build a personal philosophy and collective belief set that all children can succeed.

Martin Chaffee, Leadership Consultant for School Administrators, Oakland Schools, Waterford, MI

Collective efficacy beliefs can be inferred from the conversations we have in schools. If we do not provoke such conversations, question assumptions, and consider new possibilities, we remain in a stuck state. Donohoos work is both timely and important. It interrogates the concept of collective teacher efficacy, providing a clarity and understanding that feeds into a framework that will change those conversations, ensuring school movement and a culture of shared and high expectations.

Simon Feasey, Head Teacher (School Principal), Bader Primary School, Thornaby-on-Tees, Stockton, UK

Acclaimed staff developer and experienced educational consultant Jenni Donohoo puts the sword to the mistaken idea that the best way to improve teaching is by evaluating individuals. Donohoo takes an old ideacollective efficacystrengthens it with a rigorous research base, and brings it alive through her countless observations of teachers practice.

Collective Efficacy is about the overwhelming power that teachers have to improve student learning and achievement when they work together, explore every avenue open to them, and persist relentlessly once they have found the best ways forward. This book will turn many peoples assumptions about how best to improve student achievement on their head. Probably one of the very best education books of the year.

Andy Hargreaves, Brennan Chair in Education, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA

Jenni Donohoo has written a timely, compelling, and wonderfully practical book that will help leaders develop a stronger sense of collective efficacy in their schools. As Donohoo points out so clearly, what we as a collective believe we can achieve together makes a significant difference. Our beliefs impact our actions which, in turn, impact our collective sense of competence, confidence, and responsibility as professionals. Our actions can also change our beliefs through the work we do together. Collective Efficacy offers many strategies, including the use of protocols for leaders that can be used to nurture school cultures where collective efficacy through impactful collaboration can take root, grow, and thrive. While what we do as individual educators in our classrooms will always be important, what we can accomplish as a collaborative collective of professionals can change learning and growth trajectories for a whole school community.

Beate Planche, EdD, Educational Consultant, Collaborative Learning Services, Coach, and Co-Author of Leading Collaborative Learning: Empowering Excellence Newmarket, ON

A powerful guide for leaders wanting to unleash the impact of teachers! Donohoo masterfully bridges the theorypractice divide, providing compelling evidence of why and how educators beliefs impact student learning and the results when teachers build their collective efficacy. The blend of practical strategies and a compelling four-stage collaborative leadership inquiry model make this a must read for every education leader.

Joanne Quinn, Co-Author of Coherence: The Right Drivers in Action for Schools, Districts, and Systems, and Consultant, Michael Fullan Enterprises and New Pedagogies for Deep Learning, Toronto, ON

Collective efficacy has been a rather elusive topic ever since Professor John Hattie indicated that this subject would top his list of 150 influences in his Visible Learning research. Dr. Jenni Donohoo has seized the opportunity to take this work deeper and has, for me at least, provided the first really clear and comprehensive analysis of what efficacy is all about.

This book is a thorough examination of the subject of efficacy in all its forms dating back to the work of Albert Bandura, who really first made mention of this notion. Dr. Donohoo has worked hard to uncover the extensive research base for the subject of efficacy and makes a sound case for the impact of collective efficacy in schools and organizations.

Dr. Donohoos previous work on collaborative inquiry is enhanced by this, her most recent examination of the collaborative process, which is her current passion and the focus of much of her writing and presenting.

What adds great value apart from the extensive research base to support this notion of efficacy is the manner in which she makes this work come alive with suggestions for practical application. While there is lots of theoretical background, Dr. Donohoo has taken time to make it applicable and practical for collaborative teams with robust resources filled with useful protocols teams can apply immediately.

This is a very helpful and valuable resource for any school leader and any group who see themselves working in a collaborative, team environment.

Ainsley B. Rose, President, Thistle Educational Development Inc., and Corwin Author Consultant West Kelowna, BC

Collective Efficacy

How Educators Beliefs Impact Student Learning

• Jenni Donohoo

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