“But What If I Fail?” - A Meta-Synthetic Study of the Conditions Supporting Teacher Innovation

Oct 15, 2026

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A meta-synthesis investigates the conditions that support teacher innovation in schools, drawing on 27 studies that combine qualitative and quantitative methods. Using Hargreaves’s and Fullan’s concept of “professional capital,” the analysis develops nine emergent themes. The most significant themes highlight how teachers’ attitudes and beliefs shape innovation and how school structure influences whether teachers can initiate and sustain instructional innovations. Generalizability is limited by variation in methodologies and sample sizes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages39

Reading Time1 h 38 min

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Introduction

The Importance of Innovation

“But What If I Fail?”A Meta-Synthetic Study of the Conditions Supporting Teacher Innovation Sally Holdsworth Nipissing University Nancy Maynes Nipissing University Abstract This meta-synthesis investigates the conditions that support teacher innovation in schools. Twenty-seven articles that report on studies using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodology were selected for this analysis. The articles were analyzed using Hargreaves’s and Fullan’s concept of“professional capital” as a framework, and nine emergent themes were developed. Most significant among the themes were the impact of teacher attitudes and beliefs, and the importance of school structure on how teachers initiated and sustained innovations in teaching practice. This research is limited by the ability to generalize results. This limitation is due to the variety of methodologies and sample sizes employed by studies used for the meta-synthesis. This article offers a Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 40:4 (2017)©2017 Canadian Society for the Study of Education/ Société canadienne pour l’étude de l’éducation [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) discussion of the importance of local adaptation in supporting teachers to develop and sustain innovations that lead to positive school change. Keywords: teacher innovation, professional capital, meta-synthesis Résumé Cette méta-synthèse porte sur les conditions qui favorisent l’innovation dans les écoles de la part des enseignants. Vingt-sept articles sur des études faisant appel à une combinaison de méthodes qualitatives et quantitatives ont été choisis pour cette analyse. Le concept de « capital professionnel » de Hargreaves et Fullan a servi de cadre pour l’analyse des articles, à la suite de quoi neuf thèmes ont émergé, notamment l’impact des attitudes et des croyances des enseignants et l’importance de la structure de l’école sur lamanière dont les enseignants s’y prennent pour lancer et maintenir des innovations dans leurs pratiques pédagogiques. Cette recherche est limitée par la capacité de généraliser les résultats et ce, en raison de la variété des méthodologies et de la taille des échantillons employées dans les études faisant partie de la méta-synthèse. Dans cet article, les auteures discutent de l’importance des aménagements locaux qui aident les enseignants à développer et à mettre en œuvre des innovations qui entraînent des changements positifs à l’école. Mots-clés : innovation de la part des enseignants, capital professionnel, méta-synthèse Canadian Journal of Education / Revue canadienne de l’éducation 40:4 (2017) [www.cje-rce.ca](www.cje-rce.ca) Introduction To examine how schools and teachers initiate and sustain innovative practices (Hargreaves, 2004), this study involved a meta-synthesis of research studies which investigated the conditions needed to support true innovation; innovation which is both authentic and sustainable. Ironically, while pedagogy is moving toward a more individualized, student-centred approach, professional development in some jurisdictions (e.g., the United States) in the last two decades has become increasingly prescriptive and standardized, thereby minimizing overt confidence in the professional skills of the teaching profession (Darling-Hammond, Wei, Andree, Richardson, & Orphanos, 2009) . The meta-synthesis that forms the basis for this study focused on examining current research about factors that contribute to creating a culture of innovation among teachers with the intention of providing a direction for future thought about school orientation and policy as it relates to ongoing professional learning and professional practice for teachers. The Importance of Innovation As a primary function, schools exist to enable students to achieve learning goals. In order to do this, educational institutions dedicate themselves to constant improvement, using data and best practices to increase the effectiveness and

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the meta-synthesis on teacher innovation?

It examines how schools and teachers initiate and sustain innovative practices and identifies conditions that support authentic and sustainable innovation.

How were the studies selected and analyzed?

Twenty-seven articles reporting studies using combined qualitative and quantitative methods were selected, then analyzed through Hargreaves’s and Fullan’s concept of “professional capital.”

Which themes were most significant in the findings?

The most significant themes are the impact of teachers’ attitudes and beliefs and the importance of school structure in how innovations are initiated and sustained in teaching practice.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Fans