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Book Review: Transformative Teachers: Teacher Leadership and Learning in a Connected World

In Transformative Teachers: Teacher Leadership and Learning in a Connected World, Kira J. Baker-Doyle, a professor at Arcadia University School of Education, provides teachers and those who support the work of teaching with a nuanced portrayal of the characteristics and practices of transformative teachers in the current age of connectivity. According to Baker-Doyle, a transformative teacher is a “passionate public intellectual committed to pursuing social justice and equity for all students through his [or her] craft” (p. 4). Although the author’s definition of transformative teacher is closely related to the term’s historical meaning, she has modified it to include teachers in the digital age who use “connected technologies and participatory practices” to lead grassroots educational change (p. 4). In this highly informative and timely book, Baker-Doyle presents a developmental framework for transformative teaching that is informed by her own research on transformative teachers as well as the extant literature on teacher leadership and adult learning. Transformative Teachers is a refreshing contribution to the literature on teaching. As noted in the foreword by Katherine Schultz, Dean of the School of Education at the University of Colorado-Boulder: “In contrast to so many of the portraits and reports in the mainstream media, Kira Baker-Doyle provides an optimistic view of the teaching profession and the possibilities for its transformation through the leadership of teachers themselves” (p. xi). Even within the field of education, challenges in teaching (e.g., retention, effectiveness, and equity) are still perceived as problems to be solved through top-down leadership. Baker-Doyle’s exploration of teachers as capable drivers of ground-up change and innovation is significant in countering this dominant narrative. Equally laudable is the author’s intentional effort to avoid approaches that “mythologize hero teachers,” and instead, “share the stories and voices of everyday teachers who take a social justice stance and act on it” (p. 8). In doing so, Baker-Doyle underscores the inclusivity and attainability of transformative teaching. A vast terrain is covered in this information-rich text. In Part I, “What Is a Transformative Teacher?” Baker-Doyle describes the principles that guide transformative teaching and the cultural movements that led to these principles. The author’s developmental framework for transformative teaching is presented here and illustrated through fascinating profiles of 15 transformative teachers. In Part II, “Designing, Organizing, and Leading in a Connected World,” the author discusses three cultural tools transformative teachers use to promote social justice in their teaching: making, hacking, and connecting. Each chapter ends with examples of practitioners who have employed these cultural tools. Finally, in Part III, “Transformative Teachers and Educational Change,” Baker-Doyle looks more broadly at the power of “teacher-led, networked social movements” (p. 11) and the ways in which stakeholders in education can support and advance transformative teaching. Among the book’s strengths is the detailed contextual background of transformative teaching. While Baker-Doyle’s intended audience includes “teachers, teacher educators, education advocates, and scholars” (p. 5), this text is especially valuable to scholars as the author excels in tethering the work of transformative teaching to academic theory and to larger cultural and social movements. Even teachers who are actively engaged in transformative teaching practices will likely gain insight they may not acquire through participation alone. Baker-Doyle’s attention to context helps all readers appreciate the significance of transformative teaching in the current climate of public education. The author writes: