Hard Questions on Global Educational Change


Book Description

This new book, from internationally renowned education scholar Pasi Sahlberg and his colleagues, focuses on some of the most controversial issues in contemporary education reform around the world. The authors devote a chapter to each of these “hard questions”: Does parental choice improve education systems?Is there a future for teacher unions?What is the right answer to the standardized testing questionCan schools prepare children for the 21st-century workplace?Will technology save schools?Can anyone be a teacher?Should higher education be for the public good?What knowledge and skills should an educator have? Each educational change question sheds much-needed light on today’s large-scale education policies and related reforms around the world. The authors focus on what makes each question globally significant, what we know from international research, and what can be inferred from benchmark evidence. The final chapter offers a model for policymakers with implications for teaching, learning, and schooling overall. “This is an impressive and engaging book. If you care about the impacts of technology, testing, and teacher education designs, then this book will stretch your thinking and challenge your assumptions.” —Andy Hargreaves, Boston College “Fascinating case studies open up our imaginations and provide clues for the most sustainable pathways forward for educators in the years to come.” —Dennis Shirley, Boston College “Features enlightening chapters with an international perspective for educators and teacher educators alike. Highly recommended.” —David C. Berliner, Arizona State University




Hard Questions on Global Educational Change


Book Description

This new book, from internationally renowned education scholar Pasi Sahlberg and his colleagues, focuses on some of the most controversial issues in contemporary education reform around the world. Each educational change question sheds much-needed light on todays large-scale education policies and related reforms around the world. The authors focus on what makes each question globally significant, what we know from international research, and what can be inferred from benchmark evidence. The final chapter offers a model for policymakers with implications for teaching, learning, and schooling overall.




Hard Questions on Global Educational Change


Book Description

This new book, from internationally renowned education scholar Pasi Sahlberg and his colleagues, focuses on some of the most controversial issues in contemporary education reform around the world. Each educational change question sheds much-needed light on todays large-scale education policies and related reforms around the world. The authors focus on what makes each question globally significant, what we know from international research, and what can be inferred from benchmark evidence. The final chapter offers a model for policymakers with implications for teaching, learning, and schooling overall.




Finnish Lessons


Book Description

“It is now time to break down the ideology of exceptionalism in the United States and other Anglo-American nations if we are to develop reforms that will truly inspire our teachers to improve learning for all our students—especially those who struggle the most. In that essential quest, Pasi Sahlberg is undoubtedly one of the very best teachers of all.” —From the Foreword by Andy Hargreaves, Lynch School of Education, Boston College Finnish Lessons is a first-hand, comprehensive account of how Finland built a world-class education system during the past three decades. The author traces the evolution of education policies in Finland and highlights how they differ from the United States and other industrialized countries. He shows how rather than relying on competition, choice, and external testing of students, education reforms in Finland focus on professionalizing teachers’ work, developing instructional leadership in schools, and enhancing trust in teachers and schools. This book details the complexity of educational change and encourages educators and policymakers to develop effective solutions for their own districts and schools.




FinnishED Leadership


Book Description

Improve overall school performance from start to Finnish! Exploring and analyzing how Finland consistently places at or near the top of international student assessments, especially PISA, has become popular in recent years. Pasi Sahlberg now explores this phenomenon from the perspective of the educational leader. With the culture of general and educational leadership in Finland as a backdrop, this resource is packed with strategies and tools that travel well. Rooted in four main ideas, this book covers topics such as: Enhancing equity is an essential component of success Physical activity is crucial for substantial learning Embedding ideas into your current leadership practices takes perseverance




Finnish Lessons 3.0


Book Description

The first two editions of Finnish Lessons described how a small Nordic nation built a school system that provided access to a world-class education for all of its young people. Now available in 30 languages, this Grawemeyer Award–winning book continues to influence education policies and school practices around the globe. In this Third Edition, Pasi Sahlberg updates the story of how Finland sustains its exemplary educational performance, including how it responds to turbulent changes at home and throughout the world. Finnish Lessons 3.0 includes important new material about: teachers and teacher educationteaching children with special needsthe role of play in high-quality educationFinland’s responses to growing inequality, slipping international test scores, and the global pandemic In the midst of national education reforms and global changes driven by public health crises and economic turbulence, Finnish Lessons 3.0 encourages teachers, students, and policymakers to think big and bold when they look for new solutions to improving their schools and entire education systems. This edition provides an even deeper dive into the present world of education in Finland in light of the most recent education statistics and international data, including PISA 2018, TIMSS 2016, and TALIS 2018. “Finland’s approach to education reform shows we must address student inequality before we can expect student excellence.” —The 2013 Grawemeyer Award Committee “The story of Finnish educational success as told in Finnish Lessons is remarkable . . . this is an important book and educators need to read it.” —Educational Researcher “Provides solid background on the historical context that allowed Finland’s education system to transform into a powerhouse.” —Education Review




Empowered Educators in Finland


Book Description

BEST PRACTICES FROM FINLAND'S HIGH-PERFORMING SCHOOL SYSTEM Empowered Educators in Finland is one volume in a series that explores how high- performing educational systems from around the world achieve strong results. The anchor book, Empowered Educators: How High-Performing Systems Shape Teaching Quality Around the World, is written by Linda Darling-Hammond and colleagues, with contributions from the authors of this volume. Empowered Educators in Finland explores Finland's unique approach to teacher training that, combined with a national focus on equity and children, has led to strong student results on the OECD PISA and other international tests. Since the 1930s, every child born in Finland has been provided with a box of clothes, sheets, toys, diapers, and even a small mattress; the box itself can—and often does—serve as a simple crib. Intended to ensure that all Finnish children begin with the essentials, this box also serves as a clear symbol of the nation's emphasis on equality and opportunity. This book describes how what is commonly thought to be "just a part of Finnish culture" is actually the result of strong support for educators at all levels of government. From the Ministry of Education and Culture, to the Finnish National Board of Education, to regional and local policy makers, Finland has made deliberate choices to create and support a strong educational system. While there are unique political, cultural, and societal features of Finland—as with all countries—there are many lessons to be learned and practical ideas to be implemented across the world.




Research-based Instructional Practices of Effective Principals


Book Description

Extant literature on evidence-based instructional strategies mediated by elementary and secondary school leaders is surprisingly scant. Seeking to fill the gap, the editors of this book have curated the research and craft knowledge of eminent and emergent practitioner scholars who collectively provide a starting place for aspiring and practicing principals. Each author builds on research-based instructional practice in schools and districts in which they have worked, either as principals or as school-university or service-provider partners. They provide examples, action plans, frameworks, lessons learned, and strategies to successfully develop and implement research- based instruction and supporting structures in schools and classrooms. University principal-preparation program planners, public school district leaders, and alternative leadership- preparation providers will find this book eminently useful. Similarly, members of National Association of Elementary School Principals, National Middle School Association, National Association of Secondary School Principals, University Council of Educational Administration Leadership for School Improvement Special Interest Group, Learning and Teaching in Educational Leadership Special Interest Group, and American Education Researchers Association Division A will find relevance to their work.




The SAGE Handbook of Comparative Studies in Education


Book Description

Educational practices have rapidly changed in the last few decades, especially in how exchanges of information and learning are delivered and processed. Yet, while the field of international comparative studies has grown, there has not been an extensive study on the relationship between educational practices, students, and how practitioners are prepared and trained. This handbook explores international educational practices and behaviours through new research and a review of existing research, with chapters spread across six parts: Part I: Introduction to Research Practices in Comparative Studies of Education Part II: Research Methods Part III: Policy Transfer Research through International Comparisons Part IV: Use of Student time in Formal and Informal Settings Part V: School Practices from Early Childhood through Secondary School Part VI: Conclusion - Lessons from Large Scale Studies




Education, Communication and Democracy in Africa


Book Description

This innovative volume critically examines the intersection between democracy, education and communication in African educational domains. Providing a platform for multidisciplinary research, it advances scholarship in democratic citizenship education in African higher education through methodological and theoretical innovation. The book discusses the extent to which explicit or subtle communication frameworks that underlie policymaking, institutional culture, teaching and learning experiences in African higher education significantly engender democratic mind habits and practices in students as citizens. Chapters in the book examine how communication frameworks in pedagogy ought to navigate power imbalances between students on the one hand and the institution and academics on the other. The book also examines how (dis)empowering higher education policies are and whether they contribute to democratic equality. This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of education, democratic citizenship education, communication, and African studies.