Role models in education: A social network perspective on teachers’ professional learning

This project investigates the role of role models and role-model behavior in teachers’ informal professional learning. While formal learning activities are well-studied, little is known about informal learning processes. Actors within teachers’ networks can be important sources of informal learning, yet theoretical frameworks explaining how role models contribute are lacking, especially for teachers from ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds. The project aims to advance both theory—by developing an integrated framework explaining how and why role models influence informal learning, taking cultural and ethnic diversity into account—and methodology, by creating social network techniques that facilitate research on role models and their behavior in professional contexts.