Generational Identity, Educational Change, and School Leadership

Generational identity plays a large role in how teachers view educational change and school reform. Teachers of the Boomer generation, an era characterized by optimism and innovation, tend to be more resistant to change than those of Generation X, for whom standardization represents the norm, not a shift. This volume reviews five decades of research on educational change and teachers’ varying responses to it from a generational perspective, providing school leaders with insight on how best to relate to these groups to achieve a common goal. Through ongoing professional development oriented by multigenerational grouping, teachers and school leaders can define success and create a multigenerational understanding of what good teaching and leadership look like.

Corrie Stone-Johnson is Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at University of Buffalo, SUNY, USA.