The study examines how bottom-up, teacher-initiated partnerships between schools implementing international curricula in Poland navigate uncertainty and serve educational functions. Using focus group interviews with experienced teachers, the research explores the uncertainties teachers face when transitioning from national to international curricula, how partnerships facilitate overcoming these uncertainties, and how these collaborations contribute to building capacity for curriculum implementation. Findings reveal that teachers view uncertainty as a catalyst for growth rather than a deterrent, leveraging internal networking and peer partnerships to navigate challenges. These partnerships serve as knowledge hubs, fostering self-efficacy and resilience among educators. The study demonstrates how grassroots teacher collaborations can effectively address the complexities of implementing international curricula within an authoritarian educational context, highlighting the potential of such partnerships to drive educational transformation and professional development. This research contributes to understanding how bottom-up initiatives can empower teachers to navigate uncertainty and foster innovation in curriculum implementation.
AnsariDMalikS (2021) Teachers’ encountered uncertainty and instructional response: Evidence from teachers’ job crafting practices. Education and Urban Society53(10): 1004–1025.
2.
AntheunisMLVanden AbeeleMMSchoutenAP (2016) The effect of mobile messaging during a conversation on impression formation and interaction quality. Computers in Human Behavior62: 562–569.
3.
AntinluomaMSchenkeWDe JongL, et al (2018) Schools as professional learning communities. Journal of Education and Learning7/5: 76–91.
4.
AvantDDFinnemoreMSellSK (2010) Who Governs the Globe?Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
5.
BadiaAMenesesJMonereoC (2014) Affording permanent opportunities for urban teachers’ professional development: Rethinking critical inquiry in teacher education. Teaching Education25(2): 156–172.
6.
BainerBL (1997) A comparison of four models of group efforts and their implications for establishing educational partnerships. Journal of Research in Rural Education13(3): 143–152.
7.
BanduraA (1986) Social Foundations of Thought and Action: A Social Cognitive Theory. Hoboken, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
8.
BanduraA (1997) Self-efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company.
9.
BensonLHarkavyIPuckettJ (2000) An implementation revolution as a strategy for fulfilling the democratic promise of university-community partnerships: Penn-West Philadelphia as an experiment in progress. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly29(1): 24–45.
10.
BochslerDJuonA (2020) Authoritarian footprints in Central and Eastern Europe. East European Politics36(2): 167–187.
11.
BoixCSvolikMW (2013) The foundations of limited authoritarian government: Institutions, commitment, and power-sharing in dictatorships. The Journal of Politics75(2): 300–316.
12.
BonnetAGlazierJ (2023) The conflicted role of uncertainty in teaching and teacher education. Teachers and Teaching Theory and Practice. Epub ahead of print 26 October 2023. DOI: 10.1080/13540602.2023.2272650.
13.
BraunVClarkeV (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology3(2): 77–101.
14.
BrookfieldS (1995) Becoming a Critically Reflective Teacher. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.
15.
BrykASSebringPBAllensworthE, et al (2010) Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons from Chicago. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
CapobiancoBM (2007) A self-study of the role of technology in promoting reflection and inquiry-based science teaching. Journal of Science Teacher Education18(2): 271–295.
18.
CummingsJLTengBS (2003) Transferring R&D knowledge: The key factors affecting knowledge transfer success. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management20(1–2): 39–68.
19.
Darling-HammondLBransfordJ (eds) (2005) Preparing Teachers for a Changing World: What Teachers Should Learn and Be Able to Do. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
20.
Darling-HammondLHylerMEGardnerM, et al (2017) Effective Teacher Professional Development. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute.
21.
DuFourR (2011) Work together: But only if you want to. Phi Delta Kappan92(5): 57–61.
22.
DuignanPCollinsV (2003) Leadership challenges and ethical dilemmas in front-line organisations. In: BennettNCrawfordMCartwrightM (eds) Effective Educational Leadership. London: Paul Chapman Publishing, pp.281–294.
23.
EleziE (2021) Role of knowledge management in developing higher education partnerships: Towards a conceptual framework. Systems Research and Behavioral Science38(3): 279–293.
FlodenREClarkCM (1988) Preparing teachers for uncertainty. Teachers College Record90: 61–84.
28.
Gel’manVRossC (eds) (2010) The Politics of Subnational Authoritarianism in Russia. Farnham: Ashgate Publishers.
29.
GoddardRGoddardYTschannen-MoranM (2007) A theoretical and empirical investigation of teacher collaboration for school improvement and student achievement in public elementary schools. Teachers College Record109(4): 877–896.
30.
HasinoffSMandzukD (2018) Navigating Uncertainty: Sensemaking for Educational Leaders. Boston: Brill.
31.
HatchJA (1999) What preservice teachers can learn from studies of teachers’ work. Teaching and Teacher Education15(3): 229–242.
32.
HattonNSmithD (1995) Reflection in teacher education: Towards definition and implementation. Teaching and Teacher Education11(1): 33–49.
33.
HawleyWDValliL (1999) The essentials of effective professional development: A new consensus. In: Darling-HammondLSykesG (eds) Teaching as the Learning Profession: Handbook of Policy and Practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, pp.127–150.
34.
HelsingD (2000) Uncertainty and its impact on teachers: A review of three models in the literature. Unpublished Qualifying Paper. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate School of Education.
35.
HelsingD (2003a) Regarding uncertainty in teachers and teaching: Learning to love the questions. Harvard Educational Review73(1): 1–36.
36.
HelsingD (2003b) Regarding uncertainty in teachers and teaching: Learning to love the questions. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA.
37.
HelsingD (2007a) Regarding uncertainty in teachers and teaching. Teaching and Teacher23(8): 1317–1333.
38.
HelsingD (2007b) Style of knowing regarding uncertainties. Curriculum Inquiry37(1): 33–70.
39.
HelsingD (2007c) Uncertainty and its impact on teachers: A review of three models in the literature. Unpublished qualifying paper. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Graduate School of Education.
JohnsonSKraftMPapayJ (2012) How context matters in high-need schools: The effect of teachers’ working conditions on their professional satisfaction and their students’ achievement. Teachers College Record114: 1–39.
42.
JohnsonSMReinhornSKSimonNS (2017) Rethinking student teaching: Using instructional rounds for collaborative preparation. Harvard Educational Review87(1): 112–139.
43.
KosenkoK (2014) Uncertainty management theory. In: ThompsonTL (ed.) Encyclopedia of Health Communication. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Ltd, pp.1426–1427.
44.
KorthagenF (2017) Inconvenient truths about teacher learning: Towards professional development 3.0. Teachers and Teaching23(4): 387–405.
45.
LabareeDF (2000) On the nature of teaching and teacher education: Difficult practices that look easy. Journal of Teacher Education51(3): 228–233.
46.
LeekJ (2020) From educational experiment to the national programme. International baccalaureate programmes in Poland: Policy and practice perspectives. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education52: 475–491.
47.
LevinBBHeY (2019) Teacher beliefs, sources of teacher knowledge, and classroom action: Exploring the relationship between teacher uncertainties about the common core and teaching practice. AERA Open5(4): 1–17.
48.
LimJSGreenwoodCAKimJ (2020) Communicating outrage on social media: A two-study examination of criticisms of celebrities using the intergroup emotions theory and the uncertainty reduction theory. Journal of Language and Social Psychology39(2): 272–291.
49.
LittleJW (2002) Locating learning in teachers’ communities of practice: Opening up problems of analysis in records of everyday work. Teaching and Teacher Education18(8): 917–946.
50.
LomosCHofmanRBoskerR (2011) Professional communities and student achievement: A meta-analysis. School Effectiveness and School Improvement22(2): 121–148.
51.
LoughranJ (2014) Professionally developing as a teacher educator. Journal of Teacher Education65(4): 271–283.
52.
Mosley WetzelMHolyokeESAlexanderK, et al (2023) Coaching in Community: Pursuing Justice, Teacher Learning and Transformation. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
53.
Najwyższa Izba Kontroli (2023) Raport o stanie systemu edukacji w Polsce: Centralizacja a autonomia szkół. NIK, Warszawa. Available at: https://www.nik.gov.pl (accessed 10 January 2025).
54.
OECD (2012) Preparing Teachers to Deliver 21st-century Skills. In Preparing Teachers and Developing School Leaders for the 21st Century: Lessons from around the World. Paris: OECD Publishing.
55.
OECD (2020) TALIS 2018 Results (Volume II): Teachers and School Leaders as Valued Professionals. Paris: TALIS, OECD Publishing.
56.
OECD (2023) Education at a Glance 2023: OECD Indicators. Paris: OECD Publishing.
57.
OECD (2024) Education Policy Outlook 2024: Reshaping Teaching Into a Thriving Profession From ABCs to AI. Paris: OECD Publishing.
58.
OstermanKFKottcampRB (2004) Reflective Practice for Educators: Professional Development to Improve Student Learning, 2nd edn.Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
59.
PariseLMSpillaneJP (2010) Teacher learning and instructional change: How formal and on-the-job learning opportunities predict change in elementary school teachers’ practice. The Elementary School Journal110(3): 323–346.
60.
PutnamRD (2000) Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
61.
RainsSABrunnerSRBorenJP, et al (2017) Revisiting the theoretical underpinnings of uncertainty reduction theory in computer-mediated communication: Integrating intuition and information acquisition. Journal of Language and Social Psychology36(6): 662–679.
62.
ReevesPPunWChungK (2017) Influence of teacher collaboration on job satisfaction and student achievement. Teaching and Teacher Education67: 227–236.
63.
RonfeldtMFarmerSOMcQueenK, et al (2015) Teacher collaboration in instructional teams and student achievement. American Educational Research Journal52(3): 475–514.
64.
SairanenALaatoSMartinezLG, et al (2022) Uncertainty reduction by internet searches: A study investigating parents’ online search activities relating to their children’s health issues. International Journal of Medical Informatics158: 104660.
65.
SchedlerA (2013) The Politics of Uncertainty: Sustaining and Subverting Electoral Authoritarianism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
66.
SchönDA (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York, NY: Basic Books.
67.
SeyfangGSmithA (2007) Grassroots innovations for sustainable development: Towards a new research and policy agenda. Environmental Politics16(4): 584–603.
68.
SliwerskiB (2020) (Kontr-)rewolucja oświatowa. Studium z polityki prawicowych reform edukacyjnych [Educational (counter-) revolution. A Study of the Politics of Right-wing Educational Reforms]. Łódź: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego.
69.
SpillaneJShirrellMHopkinsM (2016) Designing and deploying a professional learning community (PLC) organizational routine: Bureaucratic and collegial arrangements in tandem. Les dossiers des sciences de l’éducation35: 97–122.
70.
SrivastavaSCChandraS (2018) Social presence in virtual world collaboration: An uncertainty reduction perspective using a mixed methods approach. MIS Quarterly42(3): 779–803.
71.
TalbertJE (2010) Professional learning communities at the crossroads: How systems hinder or engender change. In: HargreavesALiebermanAFullanM, et al (eds) Second International Handbook of Educational Change. Cham: Springer, pp.555–571.
72.
TuranI (2019) Electoral authoritarianism: The rise and fall of competitive authoritarianism. Turkish Studies20(1): 1–22.
73.
UlmerRRSellnowTLSeegerMW (2013) Effective Crisis Communication: Moving From Crisis to Opportunity, 3rd edn. Thousand Oaks CA: SAGE Publications.
VangriekenKDochyFRaesE, et al (2015) Teacher collaboration: A systematic review. Educational Research Review15: 17–40.
76.
V-Dem Institute (2023) Democracy report 2023: The state of academic freedom in Europe. University of Gothenburg. Available at: https://www.v-dem.net (accessed 3 January 2025).
77.
VygotskyLS (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
ZakariaF (2017) The illiberal world disorder. Foreign Affairs96(1): 8–14.
80.
ZhongYLaiIKWGuoF, et al (2020) Effects of partnership quality and information sharing on express delivery service performance in the E-commerce industry. Sustainability12(20): 1–19.
