What does the term "followership" mean to you? Our guest, Claire Gaul, joined us to delve into what it means to be a follower in international schools. She wrote a blog post for our learning hub that really got Audrey and me thinking about how being a follower connects to leadership in international schools—a theme that runs through many of our shows.

Claire describes the interaction of followership and leadership as a type of dance. I think this description makes a lot of sense. Claire provides a 360-degree view of it in our discussion.

Claire Gaul teaches MYP Individuals and Societies at an international school in China. She is an avid runner and reader. Her favorite authors include Joan Didion and Elif Shafak. She has lived all over the world as both a student and a teacher. Claire has 11 year old twins (Luke and Leia), a husband, and a hamster who needs to be rehomed before Claire moves to India in July with her family.

Our guiding question for this show was, "What is followership in our schools, and how does it go hand in hand with leadership?"

Claire shares her thoughts and wisdom, with the following being a few of her main points:

• Her impetus for writing the blog post
• A definition of followership that includes constructive followership
• How to lean into being constructive
• The possible personal and professional costs of not having healthy boundaries regarding followership
• Suggestions to help our listeners gain perspective on themselves and their interactions with others
• Her recent recruiting experience

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Profiling Schools, Cities and Countries blog post

Claire’s blog post on our website.

Claire's Contact Information: LinkedIn

This episode was recorded on March 15th, 2025.

Categories: Wellness | Leadership | School Life | Recruiting

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Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.

Change. It can be exciting. It can also be tough. And it happens a lot in international schools. At first, new ideas and the buzz around implementing them can feel electrifying. But here’s the catch: often, the people involved, the processes, and the long-term sustainability of these ideas—whether they’re initiatives or programs—don’t quite make it past the starting line.

So, why does this happen? And how do we successfully navigate the twists and turns of the change process?

Audrey and David have been through countless new initiatives in schools over the years, and we have often wondered what makes some changes "stick" while others fall flat. That curiosity led us to Dr. Jim Reese. Many of you may know Jim, either as the previous facilitator of the Harvard Project Zero Summer Institutes or as a trusted consultant in your own school.

Jim lives in Washington, DC. After a long career teaching in international and U.S. schools, he now works as a consultant with schools, museums, and educational organizations. Jim has a long-term affiliation with Project Zero, a research group at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

In 2004, along with Dr. David Perkins from Harvard, Jim co-authored an article about managing change in a school to help it last. The article was called "When Change Has Legs: Four key factors help determine whether change efforts will be sustained over time." Each "leg" refers to one aspect of the change; all 4 are required for the change to last.

Our guiding question for the episode was, “What are proven ways to bring about sustainable change in international schools?”

The Four Legs of Sustainable Change are:

• Frameworks — Structures that guide and support learning
• Leaders — People who champion and drive the process
• Community — Collective buy-in and engagement from everyone involved
• Institutionalization — Embedding change so it becomes part of the school’s DNA

Resources cited in the episode:

When Change Has Legs

Harvard Project Zero

Edtech Co-Op Podcast interview with Jim (2015)

Professional Development Collaborative at Washington International School

Jim's Contact Information: LinkedIn

Categories: PD | Leadership | School Change

This episode was recorded on April 14th, 2025.

Remember to access our Educators Going Global website for more information and consider joining our Patreon community at patreon/educatorsgoingglobal!

Email us with comments or suggestions at educatorsgoingglobal@gmail.com

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Listen on your favorite podcast app: connect from our share page.

Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.

Let’s be honest. Teaching and learning have changed somewhat over the years, but schools as institutions can still “feel” very similar to how they did when my grandfather was a school superintendent back in the 1940s. So what are some ways we can reimagine school? It takes a real visionary to think outside of this rigid box, wouldn’t you say? Our guest on this episode, educator and author Paul Halford, is one such visionary. Paul guides us through his perspective on reimagining schools.

Paul Halford has worked in education for over 50 years including 35 in management. His diverse career included Catholic, Jewish, Anglican, Islamic, government, international and alternative schools. He has twice been nominated for National Excellence Awards. In 2004 and in 2006 his schools received National Awards for Excellence and Improvement. He has led International schools in Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Malaysia.

Our guiding question for this episode was: “How do educators and schools go about reimagining themselves?”

In this show, Paul covers several topics, including:

• Paul’s reasons for writing his book, My Educated Life: Lessons from Leading and Reimagining Schools
• Schools’ search for legitimacy
• Paul’s early career working at a parent-designed alternative school in Australia
• The importance of trust, care, and hope in schools, as modeled by school leaders
• Leadership tools to promote trust, care, and hope
• Connections to the work of school change pioneer Michael Fullan
• The process of reimagining schools moving forward

Resources mentioned in the episode:

My Educated Life: Lessons from leading and reimagining schools by Paul Halford

Michael Fullan The New Meaning of Educational Change

This episode was recorded on March 20, 2025.
Categories: School Life | Leadership | Change

Remember to access our Educators Going Global website for more information and consider joining our Patreon community at patreon/educatorsgoingglobal!

Email us with comments or suggestions at educatorsgoingglobal@gmail.com

Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or YouTube.

Listen on your favorite podcast app: connect from our share page.

Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.