Martin Thrupp argues that there has to be a much bigger educational and social justice agenda to school improvement than the managerial approaches typically taken by government policy. He critiques those school improvement texts, courses and consultancies which mostly frame their analyses within the terms of current policy and therefore act to apologise for it. An alternative, more critical approach to school improvement is developed in the book and the author also provides examples of practical strategies to be employed within this approach. >
Does an effective school really come about through the actions of teachers and school leaders, or does it also require an advantaged student intake? This question reflects a longstanding research debate about whether or not the social class mix of a school's student intake has much effect on individual achievement. Schools Making a Difference: Let's Be Realistic! presents new evidence which suggests that school mix is likely to be important because of the way many school processes are deeply influenced by student intake characteristics. Low socioeconomic schools face numerous intake-related constraints which make them highly resistant to improvement efforts. By suggesting that 'failing' schools are often overwhelmed rather than ineffective, this book provides a sympathetic reappraisal of the performance of teachers and school leaders in such schools. It also offers a critical response to the often unrealistic claims of the school effectiveness and school improvement movement and a fresh critique of market reforms in education.
This book deals with the development of New Zealand’s standards system for primary school achievement, ‘Kiwi Standards’, which took effect from 2010 onwards and is becoming increasingly embedded over time. The approach, where teachers make ‘Overall Teacher Judgements’ based on a range of assessment tools and their own observations rather than using any particular national test, has created predictable problems with moderation within and across schools. It has been claimed that this ‘bold’ Kiwi Standards approach avoids the narrowed curriculum and mediocre outcomes of high-stakes assessment in other countries. Yet this book suggests it just produces another variant of the same problems and demonstrates that even a relatively weak high-stakes assessment approach still produces performative effects. The book provides a blow by blow account of the development of a policy including the continuous repositioning of New Zealand’s Government as it has sought to justify the policy in the face of opposition from educators. Indeed the Kiwi Standards tale provides a world-class example of teachers fighting back against policy, with the help of academics. There is an indigenous Māori aspect to the story as well. Finally, this book also provides comparative international perspectives including responses from well-known US, English and Australian academics.
For academics and students, 'Education Management in Managerialist Times' offers a critical guide to existing educational management texts and makes a strong case for redefining educational management along more socially and politically informed lines.
The Professional Practice of Teaching in New Zealand contains a wealth of information that pre-service teachers need to know in order to learn to teach effectively. Written specifically for the New Zealand setting, it highlights the range of knowledge and skills that teachers require in order to make a positive difference to their students’ lives. This new edition has been fully updated to exemplify the latest research and align with the current New Zealand context. New chapters on topics such as effective teaching in modern learning environments, Maori learners and diverse learners add new depth to the text and sit alongside a new introductory chapter that welcomes students to the profession of teaching in New Zealand. Throughout the text many case studies, activities and stories from real-life teachers and students help readers to link the theory to their classroom practices.
The Professional Practice of Teaching in New Zealand contains a wealth of information that pre-service teachers need to know in order to learn to teach effectively. Written specifically for the New Zealand setting, it highlights the range of knowledge and skills that teachers require in order to make a positive difference to their students’ lives. This new edition has been fully updated to exemplify the latest research and align with the current New Zealand context. New chapters on topics such as effective teaching in modern learning environments, Maori learners and diverse learners add new depth to the text and sit alongside a new introductory chapter that welcomes students to the profession of teaching in New Zealand. Throughout the text many case studies, activities and stories from real-life teachers and students help readers to link the theory to their classroom practices.
Does an effective school really come about through the actions of teachers and school leaders, or does it also require an advantaged student intake? This question reflects a longstanding research debate about whether or not the social class mix of a school's student intake has much effect on individual achievement. Schools Making a Difference: Let's Be Realistic! presents new evidence which suggests that school mix is likely to be important because of the way many school processes are deeply influenced by student intake characteristics. Low socioeconomic schools face numerous intake-related constraints which make them highly resistant to improvement efforts. By suggesting that 'failing' schools are often overwhelmed rather than ineffective, this book provides a sympathetic reappraisal of the performance of teachers and school leaders in such schools. It also offers a critical response to the often unrealistic claims of the school effectiveness and school improvement movement and a fresh critique of market reforms in education.
“This closely argued and lively polemic is recommended for all policymakers and practitioners concerned with educational leadership and change” BJET “Thrupp and Willmott have produced a very important book regarding knowledge claims around issues of policy and practice…. I will be recommending my masters and doctoral students to read the book so that as practitioners they may relish the opportunity to engage with issues of knowledge production. Thrupp and Willmott’s book is directly relevant to every day practice in teaching and learning across the educational system, and it should be required reading for all training programmes because it enables trainees to know and understand the knowledge structures that are being used to control their work and identities.”BJES "... will stir a lot of debate and be seminal to debates about the direction of education management for some time to come." Mike Bottery, Hull University "...a genuinely readable and accessible book that critically engages with school management literature." InService Education Journal This important and provocative book is not another 'how to' educational management text. Instead it offers a critical review of the extensive educational management literature itself. The main concern of the authors is that educational management texts do not do enough to encourage school leaders and teachers to challenge social inequality or the market and managerial reforms of the last decade. They demonstrate this problem through detailed analyses of texts in the areas of educational marketing, school improvement, development planning and strategic human resource management, school leadership and school change. For academics and students, Education Management in Managerialist Times offers a critical guide to existing educational management texts and makes a strong case for redefining educational management along more socially and politically informed lines. The book also offers practitioners alternative management strategies intended to contest, rather than support, managerialism, while being realistic about the context within which those who lead and manage schools currently have to work. This controversial new title brings a new insight to the educational management debate.
Martin Thrupp argues that there has to be a much bigger educational and social justice agenda to school improvement than the managerial approaches typically taken by government policy. He critiques those school improvement texts, courses and consultancies which mostly frame their analyses within the terms of current policy and therefore act to apologise for it. An alternative, more critical approach to school improvement is developed in the book and the author also provides examples of practical strategies to be employed within this approach. >
The nineteen essays in this collection reflect the importance of change as an aspect of medieval society. They are arranged in six subject areas: Communities; Reformers; Careers, Rank, and Power; The Communication of Ideas; Money; and Views of Society.
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