Contemporary School Administration


Book Description

This book addresses career-related questions commonly asked by students beginning the study of school administration. As an introductory text, it presents a broad overview of school administration as a specialized field of study and as an applied field of professional practice. Special attention is given to describing the social, political, and economic contexts of contemporary practice. Chapter titles reflect the book's content: (1) "Perspective of Educational Administration"; (2) "Administration Roles in Professional Education"; (3) "The Study of School Administration"; (4) "School Administration: Requirements and Opportunities "; (5) "Control and Authority in Public Education"; (6) "Social, Political, and Historical Context of Private Education"; (7) "Organizational Dimensions of Schools"; (8) "The Roles of School in Society"; (9) "Administrative Strategies and Styles"; (10) "Behavior, Decision Making, and Reflective Practice"; (11) "Important Aspects of Practice"; (12) "Demands for School Reform"; (13) "Responses to Student Needs and Public Dissatisfaction"; (14) "Transforming the School"; (15) "Women and Minorities in School Administration"; and (16) "Planning Your Career." Each chapter contains implications for practice, points for further discussion, suggested activities, and list of references. (Contains a subject index.) (WFA).










Leadership Guide for Elementary School Improvement


Book Description

Learn how social workers use their professional expertise to assist people. This text is part of the Connecting Core Competencies Series. The Social Work Experience: An Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare introduces students to the profession of social work including eight major fields of practice, and provides in-depth discussion of social welfare policy, its history, contemporary issues, and probable future trends. The book helps students understand how social workers use their professional expertise to assist people in solving a wide variety of problems to improve their lives. There are three major parts: The first part, Social Work and its Context, comprises four chapters which introduce the profession of social work, provide theoretical perspectives underlying generalist practice, investigate the concept of social justice, and explore social welfare policy and its history. The second part, Professional Practice Settings, offers an in-depth discussion of eight fields of practice: family and children's services, mental health, health care, schools, older adult services, criminal justice, and developmental disabilities. The third and final part, A Look to the Future, views the profession through the eyes of futurists and explores the challenges and opportunities that await new social workers. A better teaching and learning experience This program will provide a better teaching and learning experience-for you and your students. Here's how: Personalize Learning - MySearchLab delivers proven results in helping students succeed, provides engaging experiences that personalize learning, and comes from a trusted partner with educational expertise and a deep commitment to helping students and instructors achieve their goals. Improve Critical Thinking - Discussions on values, ethics, human diversity, and generalist social work practice throughout stimulate students to think critically about varying issues. Engage Students - Case studies introduce each chapter and are carefully developed to illustrate the myriad of problems that social workers deal with in daily practice. Explore Current Issues - Includes new content on a variety of issues, including policy diversity, the environment, and much more. Apply CSWE Core Competencies - The text integrates the 2008 CSWE EPAS, with critical thinking questions and practice tests to assess student understanding and development of competency. Support Instructors - An Instructor's Manual and Test Bank, Computerized Test Bank (MyTest), BlackBoard Test Item File, MySearchLab with Pearson eText, and PowerPoint presentations are included in the outstanding supplements package. Note: MySearchLab does not come automatically packaged with this text. To purchase MySearchLab, please visit: www.mysearchlab.com or you can purchase a valuepack of the text + MySearchLab (at no additional cost): ValuePack ISBN-10: 0205223095 / ValuePack ISBN-13: 9780205223091







Leadership in Empowered Schools


Book Description

For courses in Introduction to Educational Administration, Principalship, Educational Leadership and Supervision. The revision of this popular text examines the important issues of educational leadership that relate to today's movement towards restructuring and creating empowering environments for teachers and their students. To better understand how to build empowering environments in schools, it examines two national studies conducted over six years in 26 schools. This body of research provides an empirical framework that is used to draw conclusions about leadership in schools striving to provide an empowering environment.




Schools That Change


Book Description

Through specific examples, qualitative research, and portraiture, the author illustrates how and why some schools are able to achieve significant, sustainable change while others cannot.




ABCs of School Leadership


Book Description

What are the experts saying? "This book is about courage; courage to take on leadership positions in education; to lead with morals, values, and ethics as guiding principles. The author speaks from experience and provides a practical, inclusive, and insightful guide for leaders in education." Mary Alice Anderson, Principal, Mill Pond Intermediate School, Yelm, Washington "The author provides a practical and realistic blueprint to follow for a successful career in educational administration." Wes Snow, Elementary School Principal, East Wenatchee, Washington "The book provides a guide that will assist future school leaders to develop a personal awareness of traits, abilities, proficiencies, values, and beliefs of successful school leaders." Rock White, High School Principal, Tenino, Washington




The Managerial Imperative and the Practice of Leadership in Schools


Book Description

With this significant new work, Larry Cuban provides a unique and insightful perspective on the bridging of the long-standing and well-known gap between teachers and administrators. Drawing on the literature of the field as well as personal experience, Cuban recognizes the enduring structural relationship within school organizations inherited by teachers, principals, and superintendents, and calls for a renewal of their sense of common purpose regarding the role of schooling in a democratic society. Cuban analyzes the dominant images (moral and technical), roles (instructional, managerial, and political), and contexts (classroom, school, and district) within which teachers, principals, and superintendents have worked over the last century. He concludes that when these powerful images and roles are wedded to the structural conditions in which schooling occurs, "managerial behavior" results, thus narrowing the potential for more thoughtful, effective, and appropriate leadership. Cuban then turns to consider this situation with respect to the contemporary movement for school reform, identifying significant concerns both for policymakers and practitioners. This honest, thought-provoking book by a leading scholar, writer, and practitioner in the field represents an invaluable resource--an insightful introduction for those just entering the field and a fresh, new perspective for those long-familiar with its complexities. Cuban's ethnographic approach to the development of his own career and viewpoint, as well as his highly readable style, make this a work of lasting value.