Management Skills in Schools


Book Description

`This is a useful book and well written reflecting the author's considerable experience in the field' - National School Improvement Network News `Management Skills in Schools is a terrific digest of many important issues, built around a clear structure that helps the reader absorb information quickly. For the sheers scale of the references to educational gurus, it's worth the cover price: here is everything you need to quote' - Geoff Barton, Friday Magazine, Times Educational Supplement `This book provides an invaluable resource for everyone who is concerned with leadership and management in schools. As well as dealing with key issues and concepts it gives practical advice on strategies and techniques which can be deployed. It will enhance and complement existing skills as well as importing new ideas which will provide professional stimulus for the reader' - Sir Geoff Hampton, Dean of Education, Director of the Midlands Leadership Centre, University of Wolverhampton `For the discerning leader wanting to develop their personal management skills this is a "must have" resource. Whether working through Personal Management Skills independently or used as a professional development tool with a group of middle managers in a school this book will make a difference to how leaders work in schools' - Coleen R Jackson, Director, Roehampton Education Leadership Centre University of Surrey Roehampton `This is a timely collection of resources for those in middle management positions in schools. It brings together ideas on self management in addition to a comprehensive collection of materials on leading teams of staff. Particularly noteworthy are the sections on strategic decision making, action research in school improvement, and dealing effectively with conflict' - Brian Fidler, Professor of Education Management, The University of Reading Team leadership is vital element of school success, whether at the level of department, the curriculum area, the key stage, the phase, or in relation to pastoral and leadership teams. The Team leader must be skillful in creating cultures of success, and personal management skills are at the heart of getting the best from team members. In this book Jeff Jones shows how managers in education can contribute to school improvement, and focuses on the essential personal and practical management skills needed to instill a positive team culture, and support colleagues effectively. This book is an essential resource for those who lead and manage teams, at all levels within schools. Dr Jeff Jones has been a senior consultant and head of training and consultancy unit at the Centre for British Teachers CfBT in Reading since 1998, and is the well known author of such books as Monitoring and Evaluation for School Improvement, (2000), and Performance Management for School Improvement (2001)




Managing Today’s Schools


Book Description

Successful principals today need skills in both management and leadership because both are essential to achieve success in all facets of running a school—one is not necessarily more important than the other. However, there are not many books solely devoted to school management. Most work on school management is part of larger works on school administration. Managing Today’s Schools: New Skills for School Leaders in the 21st Century is unique in that the focus on managerially operating a school does not hinder discussion on the interconnectedness between management and leadership. Additionally, emphasis is placed on 21st- century cutting-edge ideas about school management. Each chapter includes case study-type scenarios with thought-provoking questions that simultaneously summarize the chapter while also helping readers think about the ways they might put the ideas of the chapter into practice.




Dynamic Management and Leadership in Education


Book Description

This book presents a new integrated theory of dynamic management and leadership in one comprehensive approach. It offers a new way of looking at the field, drawing on a wide body of research and practice in the fields of leadership and management, across all sectors in education and more broadly. The book focuses on management against a backdrop of leadership theory. Including examples of practice and application in schools, colleges and universities, it uses a range of historical leadership approaches to scaffold different management techniques that are known to work in effective organisations. It explores the overlap between management and leadership as dynamic theoretical and practical activities, merging the two together into a holistic model that can be applied by managers working in educational settings. Its twenty-six chapters also consider the praxis of educational leadership and management from political, economic and ethical perspectives in relation to issues such as equity and widening participation, and outline how ‘managership’ impacts on student achievement. Offering a unique balance of theory and practice, across school, college and university sectors, the book will be of great interest to researchers, academics, graduate students and practitioners in the field of educational leadership and management, and will be important reading for all stakeholders in the area of educational effectiveness and improvement.




Using Data in Schools to Inform Leadership and Decision Making


Book Description

Our fifth book in the International Research on School Leadership series focuses on the use of data in schools and districts as useful information for leadership and decision making. Schools are awash in data and information, from test scores, to grades, to discipline reports, and attendance as just a short list of student information sources, while additional streams of data feed into schools and districts from teachers and parents as well as local, regional and national policy levels. To deal with the data, schools have implemented a variety of data practices, from data rooms, to data days, data walks, and data protocols. However, despite the flood of data, successful school leaders are leveraging an analysis of their school’s data as a means to bring about continuous improvement in an effort to improve instruction for all students. Nevertheless, some drown, some swim, while others find success. Our goal in this book volume is to bring together a set of chapters by authors who examine successful data use as it relates to leadership and school improvement. In particular, the chapters in this volume consider important issues in this domain, including: • How educational leaders use data to inform their practice. • What types of data and data analysis are most useful to successful school leaders. • To what extent are data driven and data informed practices helping school leaders positively change instructional practice? • In what ways does good data collection and analysis feed into successful continuous improvement and holistic systems thinking? • How have school leadership practices changed as more data and data analysis techniques have become available? • What are the major obstacles facing school leaders when using data for decision making and how do they overcome them?




Effective Educational Leadership


Book Description

`Keith Grint′s persuasive essay on the art of leadership in Effective Educational Leadership is uncannily accurate′ - Tim Brighouse, Times Educational Supplement `its unique contribution is the exploration of links between leadership discourses and the themes that have emerged from the school effectiveness movements since the 1980s. Riley and MacBeath provide one of the most valuable contributions to the volume by arguing that there are no generic recipes for educational leadership but ingredients which need to be carefully selected with a knowledge of specific contexts and needs. I would use this book with graduate students and practitioners seeking to develop a perspective about contemporary educational leadership. Its greatest contribution is its exploration of the links between effective leadership and effective education. The book also provides optimism in that many of the authors have not capitulated to the reductionist visions of the past two decades. There is still hope that educational theorists and practitioners view the life world as the true source of educational inspiration′ - Journal of Educational Administration `Leadership is the theme of this decade. This series provides an enormously valuable overview of all the critical issues involved in designing leadership as the main strategy for educational reform.... A great and timely collection′- Michael Fullan, Dean, OISE/University of Toronto `This book makes an excellent contribution to the current debate on Educational Leadership. It blends theory with practice and as such provides an important resource for many aspects of leadership development programmes at a variety of levels. Its ability to draw upon international perspectives along with examples beyond conventional educational parameters enhances its quality. The book contains a well documented account of how leadership has been studied which will appeal both to the academic reader, and to the professional provider of CPD in leadership, offering a wealth of information that can be practically adopted and adapted for a range of courses′ - Stephen Merrill, Journal of Inservice Education Educational management and administration studies focus on leadership as a key determinant of effective educational institutions; and currently, much leadership preparation is characterized by a rational skills-focused approach. Placing current thinking in leadership studies in its organizational and historical context, this book explores its implications for leadership preparation, leadership theory in action and examines some of the dilemmas and tensions facing educational leaders in practice. It draws on literature and research from both the private and public sectors. It is deliberately international in its content and focus, and examines a range of practice both within and outside education. Each chapter has a short introduction by the editors setting it in context. This book is for providers and students in higher educational institutions; for postgraduate level courses in educational management; and for leadership development provision for Headteachers induction programmes, NPQH and LPSH. It is also suitable for short courses and for practitioners occupying or aspiring to leadership roles in schools, colleges and other educational organizations.




Leading and Managing Education


Book Description

`One of the difficulties with the production of a book that describes the international terrain of leadership and management is that political and social contexts in which policy and practice occur are multi-dimensional. Yet the authors have successfully woven a narrative that engages the reader and helps shape our understanding of diverse ways in which leading and managing occurs in a range of countries. In particular I found the examples regarding schools, resources and teachers′ professional work from developing countries a disturbing component of what could be termed the trauma of leadership in those sites. These examples serviced to enrich my own understanding and provide further evidence that there can be no framework or paradigm for understanding leadership and management in a global context′ - Educational Review `Foskett and Lumby′s book forms an important and a timely contribution to comparative international studies of educational leadership.... In challenging a range of deeply embedded suppositions about leading and managing in education the authors remind us regularly that the mightiest task of even the most accomplished transformational leader, or radical government policy, is to transform values, attitudes and professional culture. So this exposition of similarities and contrasts in practices makes a useful contribution to the literature on educational leadership in this country and beyond′ - David Wood, Journal of Inservice Education This accessible book provides a critical review of educational leadership and management from an international perspective. It addresses the expectation that practitioners and students of educational management and administration will have an international perspective on their roles, responsibilities and tasks. Increasingly, teachers as education leaders are expected to keep pace with developments in other school and college systems, and to engage with international networks to debate and exchange practical experience. The book covers a series of key themes in educational leadership, drawing on a wide range of examples, including: - Learners and learning - People and communities in education - Managing strategy and resources - Learning futures and the changing challenges for educational leaders. In this context the authors: - Describe the international landscape of leadership and management. - Provide an overview of practice in different national settings. - Identify global patterns and trends. - Challenge some of the accepted norms in leadership and management. - Build managers′ confidence as part of a global community of professional educators. - Support informed choice about policy and practice from government to school. This is a key text for students of educational leadership and management as well as for managers and administrators in schools, colleges and other educational settings.




Instructional Leadership and Leadership for Learning in Schools


Book Description

This book offers a nuanced understanding of how two different theories of leadership can be applied to achieve better results within schools. These leadership theories – Instructional Leadership and Leadership for Learning – have assisted our recent understanding of school leadership. This book interrogates the theories themselves as well as their impact on education systems around the world. It also looks at how they can be practically applied to educate school leaders within their schools and beyond, building partnerships with families, schools and other community agencies serving students. In doing so, the book considers the possibility that these theories are not opposed, but two sides of the same coin. Both are underpinned by the question ‘how do we provide the best educational experience for students?’. The answer to this question will determine the way leaders go about the task of leading schools. This important book will be of interest and value to students and scholars of educational leadership, as well as educational leaders themselves.




Leadership and Management Development in Education


Book Description

′This is a very good and much needed book. Written by a very experienced researcher and teacher in the education leadership world it brings together a wealth of understanding and insights in the field of leadership and management development in education′ - International Journal of Educational Management ′[T]his book is an excellent survey of practice on a truly international scale which many will find valuable′ - Educational Management Administration and Leadership ′Few people could be better qualified to write about this topic than Tony Bush. The book draws on a wealth of experience and detailed research. Typically, it is extremely well structured, written with great clarity, and combines the highest levels of scholarship with an accessible style that will enable it to appeal to a wide audience. This is a book that many in the field have been waiting for′ - Professor Mark Brundrett, Professor of Educational Research, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool ′This book is far and away the best international comparative study of leadership development for schools. There are countless books highlighting the importance of leadership but none have satisfactorily gone to the heart of the issue, especially for developed and developing countries, and Tony Bush has done it here. It is a sure guide to policymakers, practitioners and researchers who want to make a difference′ - Professor Brian J. Caldwell, Managing Director of Educational Transformations and former Dean of Education at the University of Melbourne, Australia Leadership is critical to educational development and specific preparation is vital if leaders are to maximise their effectiveness. In this major new text, Tony Bush draws on his extensive international experience and research to examine the case for leadership development and assess the different modes of preparation used in Europe, including the U.K., North America, Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and Africa. He also examines research on how leadership impacts on school and student outcomes and considers future directions for leadership and management development in education. This text is essential reading for students of educational leadership and management as well as for policy-makers, headteachers and principals.




Middle Leadership in Schools


Book Description

Middle leading refers to those teachers that both teach and have leadership roles, and thus can bridge the gap between the practices of learning and the managemant of schooling. Focusing on the practices of middle leaders, this book addresses the current lack of support and professional development for middle leaders in educational settings. Middle Leadership in Schools positions middle leaders as professional leaders, and an integral part of educational and professional development in schools and other educational institutions. Drawing on empirical research spanning four countries, this book provides readers with a conceptual framework to understand middle leading and shows how middle leading practices unfold in real educational contexts. This is a valuable resource that goes beyond a theoretical conversation about middle leaders to provide readers with practical applications based on extensive research undertaken by the authors. The book is divided into seven chapters, each of which include reflective discussion questions and recommended readings to promote collaborative engagement with the text. Chapters cover topics such as how middle leading is shaped in practice, its role in professional development and its impact on schools. Illustrating to middle leaders how they can develop their leadership skills, the book will also be of interest to school principals and other senior leaders as a guide to supporting their middle leaders.




Leading School Turnaround


Book Description

LEADING SCHOOL TURNAROUND Leading School Turnaround offers new perspectives and concrete, evidence-based guidelines for the educational leaders and administrators faced with the challenge of turning our low-performing schools around. Using the tools outlined in this groundbreaking book, school leaders can guide their schools to higher levels of achievement and sustained academic success. Based on research conducted in the United States, Canada, and England, Leading School Turnaround addresses in three parts the dynamic context of the turnaround environment, what turnaround leaders do, and the incredible challenges of moving from turnaround to "stay around." Filled with illustrative examples, the book outlines the best practices and behaviors successful turnaround leaders exercise. The authors include detailed information for applying the four main categories of turnaround leadership: direction setting, developing people, redesigning the school, and managing the instructional program. This important resource can help any school leader get their school back on the track to academic success.