Leadership of Assessment, Inclusion, and Learning


Book Description

This book provides pragmatic strategies and models for student assessment and ameliorates the heightened sense of confusion that too many educators and leaders experience around the complexities associated with assessment. In particular, it offers guidance to school and district personnel charged with fair and appropriate assessment of students who represent a wide variety of abilities and cultures. Chapters focus on issues that directly impact the educational lives of teachers, students, parents, and caregivers. Importantly, the confluence of assessment practices and community expectations also are highlighted. Assessment is highly politicised in contemporary society and this book will both confirm and challenge readers’ beliefs and practices. Indeed, discerning readers will understand that the chapters offer them a bridge from many established assessment paradigms to pragmatic, ethical solutions that align with current expectations for schools and districts. In Part One, readers engage with concepts and skills needed by school learning leaders to guide optimal assessment practices. Part Two delves into student assessment within and across disciplines. Part Three provides pragmatic approaches that address assessment in the context of inclusive intercultural education, pluralism, and globalisation.




Leaders of Their Own Learning


Book Description

From EL Education comes a proven approach to student assessment Leaders of Their Own Learning offers a new way of thinking about assessment based on the celebrated work of EL Education schools across the country. Student-Engaged Assessment is not a single practice but an approach to teaching and learning that equips and compels students to understand goals for their learning and growth, track their progress toward those goals, and take responsibility for reaching them. This requires a set of interrelated strategies and structures and a whole-school culture in which students are given the respect and responsibility to be meaningfully engaged in their own learning. Includes everything teachers and school leaders need to implement a successful Student-Engaged Assessment system in their schools Outlines the practices that will engage students in making academic progress, improve achievement, and involve families and communities in the life of the school Describes each of the book's eight key practices, gives advice on how to begin, and explains what teachers and school leaders need to put into practice in their own classrooms Ron Berger is Chief Program Officer for EL Education and a former public school teacher Leaders of Their Own Learning shows educators how to ignite the capacity of students to take responsibility for their own learning, meet Common Core and state standards, and reach higher levels of achievement. DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of the e-book file, but are available for download after purchase.







Inclusive Leadership


Book Description

In a time of increasing divisiveness in politics and society there is a desperate need for leaders to bring people together and leverage the power of diversity and inclusion. Inclusive Leadership: Transforming Diverse Lives, Workplaces, and Societies provides leaders with guidance and hands-on strategies for fostering inclusion and explains how and why it matters. Inclusive Leadership explores cutting-edge theory, research, practice, and experience on the pivotal role of leadership in promoting inclusion in diverse teams, organizations, and societies. Chapters are authored by leading scholars and practitioners in the fields of leadership, diversity, and inclusion. The book is solidly grounded in research on inclusive leadership development, diversity management, team effectiveness, organization development, and intergroup relations. Alongside the exhaustive scholarship are practical suggestions for making teams, groups, organizations, and the larger society more inclusive and, ultimately, more productive. Leaders and managers at all levels, HR professionals, and members of diverse teams will find Inclusive Leadership invaluable in becoming more effective at cultivating inclusive climates and realizing its many benefits—including innovation, enhanced team and organizational performance, and social justice. For more, visit: https://inclusiveleader.com




Your Students, My Students, Our Students


Book Description

Winner of AM&P EXCEL Bronze Award Your Students, My Students, Our Students explores the hard truths of current special education practice and outlines five essential disruptions to the status quo. Authors Lee Ann Jung, Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and Julie Kroener show you how to - Establish a school culture that champions equity and inclusion. - Rethink the long-standing structure of least restrictive environment and the resulting service delivery. - Leverage the strengths of all educators to provide appropriate support and challenge. - Collaborate on the delivery of instruction and intervention. - Honor the aspirations of each student and plan accordingly. To realize authentic and equitable inclusion, we must relentlessly and collectively pursue change. This book—written not for "special educators" or "general educators" but for all educators—addresses the challenges, maps out the solutions, and provides tools and inspiration for the work ahead. Real-life examples of empowerment and success illustrate just what's possible when educators commit to the belief that every student belongs to all of us and all students deserve learning experiences that will equip them to live full and rewarding lives.




Intentional Leadership for Effective Inclusion in Early Childhood Education and Care


Book Description

Intentional leadership can unite, motivate and empower all educators to work towards the common goal of creating a truly inclusive culture in which all children, with or without disabilities, are supported and enabled to fully participate in every aspect of daily life and learning. This book recognises diverse manifestations of special educational needs, from communication difficulties and delays in learning, to social and physical disabilities, and considers the ways in which these needs might be embraced within inclusive mainstream settings. Key to this is robust and purposeful leadership that removes barriers to learning, changes existing attitudes and values, motivates staff and foregrounds holistic learning opportunities and experiences. Chapters draw on theoretical models, reflect on international and national policies, and consider topics including: the image of the child physical, aesthetic and temporal aspects of the learning environment relational pedagogy long-, medium- and short-term planning the role of assessment collaborative working with parents, families and other professionals. In-depth descriptions of behaviours and leadership strategies, practice scenarios and activities support the reader’s understanding. Intentional Leadership for Effective Inclusion in Early Childhood Education and Care is a comprehensive guide for students, teachers and practitioners involved in Early Childhood Education and Care, Social Care and Early Intervention programmes.




Leadership for Inclusive Education


Book Description

Inclusion is increasingly becoming one of the policy drivers shaping educational discourse and practice. What constitutes the term “inclusion” itself and how ideas derived from the different perspectives on inclusion impact school leadership practice point to a highly contested field of enquiry. Originally embedded in discourse relating to special education, ideas relating to inclusion are attracting much broader appeal within system reforms in many jurisdictions. This book seeks to keep the consideration of inclusion firmly in its broader context and to decouple it from the discourse relating to students with special educational/additional needs. This allows the authors to position their contributions more explicitly within discourses that draw on difference and diversity as unavoidable features of schools. Within this collection we address the current political dogmas in many countries that take a purely rational, managerial approach to leadership, arguing that this is not contributing to inclusion in schools. In doing this, the book seeks to shape current discourses on leadership by exploring perspectives which are likely to enhance our understanding of inclusion. Tolerance, respect, listening, clarifying language, being comfortable with differences and ambiguity and articulating and challenging the rationale behind “the way we do things around here” are key aspects of inclusive leadership, and also fundamental imperatives for writing this book. It will be useful to those in education who are engaged in further academic study in education or in reflective practice and to anyone taking advanced programmes in educational leadership and management. The international perspectives on the issue of inclusion informing this book ensure that this book will be essential for those engaged in a comparative analysis of leadership practice in different contexts or those concerned with the complexity of ensuring inclusive models of education.




How to Be an Inclusive Leader


Book Description

We know why diversity is important, but how do we drive real change at work? Diversity and inclusion expert Jennifer Brown provides a step-by-step guide for the personal and emotional journey we must undertake to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive. Human potential is unleashed when we feel like we belong. That's why inclusive workplaces experience higher engagement, performance, and profits. But the reality is that many people still feel unable to bring their true selves to work. In a world where the talent pool is becoming increasingly diverse, it's more important than ever for leaders to truly understand how to support inclusion. Drawing on years of work with many leading organizations, Jennifer Brown shows what leaders at any level can do to spark real change. She guides readers through the Inclusive Leader Continuum, a set of four developmental stages: unaware, aware, active, and advocate. Brown describes the hallmarks of each stage, the behaviors and mind-sets that inform it, and what readers can do to keep progressing. Whether you're a powerful CEO or a new employee without direct reports, there are actions you can take that can drastically change the day-to-day reality for your colleagues and the trajectory of your organization. Anyone can—and should—be an inclusive leader. Brown lays out simple steps to help you understand your role, boost your self-awareness, take action, and become a better version of yourself in the process. This book will meet you where you are and provide a road map to create a workplace of greater mutual understanding where everyone's talents can shine.




Leadership Strategies for Successful Schoolwide Inclusion


Book Description

Effective, schoolwide inclustion ensures the best outcomes for all students, but how can school teams knock down the barriers to inclusion and make sure it's happening across all classrooms? This concise book gives principals and other school leaders the solution they've been waiting for: a clear framework for leading inclusion efforts, monitoring their success, and facilitating consistent use of best practices. Develped by two veteran special educaiton experts with a combined 70 years of experience, this guidebook breaks the inclusion process into concrete, manageable goals and shows how to accomplish each one by applying the authors' four-step STAR model. Using this proven, research-based model, school leaders will collaborate with all members of the education team to: implement RTI to help all students make progress toward learning standards; align students' IEPs with the general curriculum; select approprite accomodations and modifications; conduct effective screening and progress monitoring for all students; include parents as collaborative partners; prepare stuents to direct their own IEP processes; and more. To meet each of these critical goals, school temas will refer to the book's handy STAR organizer, which lays out in chart form the specific steps needed to accomplish each task. Then they'll take action with suffested inclusion strategies and helpful photocopiable forms and tools, including a sample vision statement, and IEP meeting feedback form, a survey on professional develoment priorities, and self-assessment toosl so schools can see how effectively they're implementing the STAR model.




The What, Why and How of Assessment


Book Description

How do teachers develop their understanding of the foundation principles of assessment , stay up to date with the latest classroom approaches and have the confidence to evaluate and question the effectiveness of new methods? This professional resource for teachers supports them to understand the what, why and how of assessment. It provides key knowledge on the types and purposes of assessment and explores key themes such as validity, reliability and fairness. It explores assessment in practice offering practical support for busy teachers and takes an in-depth look at how qualifications are designed and developed and how examinations are marked, graded and regulated.