Educational Authorities and the Schools


Book Description

This book describes and analyses the organisation, functions and development of national educational authorities and agencies and the influence they have on local schools in 20 countries around the world. It examines the governing chain in the respective countries from both a theoretical and descriptive perspective. It does so against the background of the stability and rigour of the governing chains having been challenged, with some researchers considering the chain to be broken. However, the view that comes to the fore in this book is that the chain is still present and contains both vertical implementation structures and intervening spaces for policy interpretation. How schools become successful is important for the individual students as well as the local community and the national state. A vast quantity of research has looked at what happens in schools and classrooms. At the same time, national governance and politics as well as local prerequisites are known to exert influence on schools and their results to a high degree. Societal priorities, problems and traditions provide variety in how governance is executed. This book provides an international overview of the similarities and differences between educational agencies and how their work influences schools.




School Organisation & Administration


Book Description




Leading for Learning


Book Description

Leading for Learning Written by acclaimed school reform advocate Phillip C. Schlechty, Leading for Learning offers educators the framework, tools, and processes they need to transform their schools from bureaucracies into dynamic learning organizations. Schlechty explains how to move beyond some of the deeply ingrained and negative conceptions of schooling that guide so much of their practice. He shows educators how they can take advantage of new learning technologies by increasing their organization's capacity to support continuous innovation. "Clearly not for the fainthearted, Schlechty's engrossing appraisal of American education calls for a bold, truly fundamental transformation of how we run our public schools. Some books are thought-provoking; this one is action-provoking." —W. JAMES POPHAM, professor emeritus, UCLA "Dr. Schlechty has once again written an insightful book that educational leaders can use as a road map in transforming our schools into learning organizations designed to serve twenty-first century students." —DR. RANDY BRIDGES, superintendent, Alamance-Burlington School System, NC "Because education is ultimately a community responsibility, Schlechty's proposal to shift school systems from bureaucracies to learning organizations can open doors to citizens who are frustrated by the bureaucracy in their efforts to reclaim their role in education. This book is as much for them as it is for professional educators." —DAVID MATHEWS, president, Kettering Foundation "Anyone in a school leadership position—from the board room to the classroom—should read this engaging and thought-provoking book. It's a must-read for all immersed in or contemplating the transformation of public education." —CLAUDIA MANSFIELD SUTTON, chief communications and marketing officer, American Association of School Administrators







Organisation Of School Education


Book Description




Organizational Effectiveness And Improvement In Education


Book Description

This book focuses upon the relationship between effectiveness and improvement in schools and colleges. The main theories and research findings concerning organizational effectiveness and improvement are brought together within this single volume. The book aims to provide an understanding of the way in which organizational effectiveness is conceptualized, measured and realized in practice. It also explores the ways in which change associated with organizational improvement is effectively managed. The emphasis throughout the book is upon making theory accessible and of practical use to those concerned with organizational effectiveness and improvement. It will assist practitioners and managers to understand how improvement can be initiated, managed and sustained at all levels within the organization. This volume forms part of the Leadership and Management in Education series. This four book series provides a carefully chosen selection of high quality readings on key contemporary themes in educational management: professional development, reflection on practice, leadership, team working, effectiveness and improvement, quality, strategy and resources. The series will be an important resource for classroom teachers and lecturers as well as those holding designated management posts in schools and colleges and will provide a valuable basis for professional development programmes.







Organizing Schools for Improvement


Book Description

In 1988, the Chicago public school system decentralized, granting parents and communities significant resources and authority to reform their schools in dramatic ways. To track the effects of this bold experiment, the authors of Organizing Schools for Improvement collected a wealth of data on elementary schools in Chicago. Over a seven-year period they identified one hundred elementary schools that had substantially improved—and one hundred that had not. What did the successful schools do to accelerate student learning? The authors of this illuminating book identify a comprehensive set of practices and conditions that were key factors for improvement, including school leadership, the professional capacity of the faculty and staff, and a student-centered learning climate. In addition, they analyze the impact of social dynamics, including crime, critically examining the inextricable link between schools and their communities. Putting their data onto a more human scale, they also chronicle the stories of two neighboring schools with very different trajectories. The lessons gleaned from this groundbreaking study will be invaluable for anyone involved with urban education.




Knowledge Management for School Education


Book Description

​This book introduces the application of knowledge management (KM) theories, practices, and tools in school organization for sustainable development. Schools in Asia Pacific have long faced a variety of challenges in terms of sustainable development under the education reforms and curriculum reforms to meet the demands of a knowledge society. Schools are inevitably expected to develop human capital for the knowledge society within the competitive global economy, and to interact with its policy environment and know how to leverage pedagogical knowledge. The high speed of expansion change and expansion of knowledge have dramatically influence the development of flexibility of teacher and school works. The nature of teacher work becomes increasingly less routine, more analytical, and disruptive yet often come with a sense of urgency and need to be more collaborative. Teachers not only require data and information, but also knowledge and experience of individual, they also need to collaborative task execution, decision making and problem solving. Helping school leaders and teachers to manage their knowledge and become “know how” to cope with the change is important.




The Learning School


Book Description

Addressing the challenge of developing effective schools in this daunting yet exciting period of transformation in South Africa, this book aims to provide some insights and guidelines on how to proceed with school development. The values at the heart of this book are those central to a democratic South Africa and include the exercise of basic human rights by all individuals, a fair distribution of resources, participative decision making, access to necessary information on the part of people affected, and accountability on the part of those in authority. This is a handbook for principals, teachers, and other persons or groups interested in the holistic development of schools--particularly within the context of a developing South Africa.