by Ken Jones ... [et al (2007)
"Education in Europe is being transfromed by a new policy orthodoxy, affecting all aspects of the school. Private sector involvement, decentralisation and curriculum reform are everywhere part of a reshaping of the school in the name of the competitiveness of a European knowledge economy. But these changes are accompanied by controversy. New policies challenge ideas about the value and purpose of education that have deep roots in the systems created by reforming movements in the post-war decades." "Drawing from the experience of researchers and activists from six Western European countries, this book analyses the terms of the new orthodoxy, as developed by bodies such as the EU and the OECD. It explores the remaking of teaching and learning, and management and governance and looks at new patterns of access and inequality. It is appreciative of reform's political successes, and critical of the narrowness of its educational vision. Finally, it argues that the conflicts that surround policy change are not yet settled; the opposition encountered by national governments, and by the EU itself, may yet take schooling in new directions."--Jacket.
Terrence E. Deal, Kent D. Peterson
Explores the importance of school culture and the symbolic roles of leaders in shaping cultural patterns and practices in school communities; and presents numerous examples that demonstrate how culture influences school functioning.
Richard Lee Colvin
"Between 1998, when Alan Bersin became superintendent of the San Diego school system, and 2005, when he left that post, San Diego undertook a sustained and notably ambitious effort to reform its public school system. Bersin's efforts were controversial from the start, both within San Diego and throughout the United States. Yet everyone agreed that the San Diego story was an immensely important one--and that it was a harbinger of reform efforts to come throughout the United States. As an early and ambitious instance of the types of reforms that by now have been implemented in city schools across the nation, San Diego has received scattered attention within the scholarly and policy worlds. Yet till now there has been no comprehensive account of Bersin's tenure and the reforms he undertook during those seven stormy years. Tilting at Windmills fills that gap. A book that draws equally on Richard Lee Colvin's deep acquaintance with contemporary education reform and the unique circumstances of the San Diego experience, Tilting at Windmills is a penetrating and invaluable account of Bersin's contentious superintendency. At the heart of Colvin's researches are years of interviews with Bersin, who granted Colvin unprecedented insight into his experiences and thoughts about the reforms he initiated. The result is a detailed and nuanced narrative of the reform process in San Diego and its relationship to comparable school reform efforts throughout the country. The definitive account of the San Diego story, Tilting at Windmills is also a crucial contribution to our more general understanding of the education reforms that have swept the nation during the past fifteen years."--Back cover of book.
Nancy Fichtman Dana, Diane Yendol-Hoppey
This how-to guide to teacher research and inquiry takes educators from 'Where do I Begin?' through publishing results, with detailed attention to every step in between. It covers questioning, sharing insights and processes, research methods, analysing data, developing reports, and communicating findings to the ecucational community.
John I. Goodlad
"The Agenda for Education in a Democracy proposed by the authors is more than an effort to simply revitalize a faltering civics curriculum. It is about restoring a shared humanity to the educational process. It is about the need to make caring, compassion, freedom, dignity, and responsibility central to the mission of schooling. It is about placing power and responsibility - a concept more demanding of the individual than is accountability - in the hands of those who need and deserve it. It is about taking the idea of excellence seriously. It is about taking democracy seriously. It is about having real faith in real people to do what is right, just, and honorable."--Jacket.