How Schools Improve

How Schools Improve PDF Author: Per Dalin
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
Educational reform is a complex and lengthy process, involving individuals at all levels of the system. A considerable amount is known about the management of educational change in developed countries, but there has previously been little research to guide those in less developed countries. The How Schools Improve study is based on research carried out by the World Bank and IMTEC from 1987 to 1992, which was set up specifically to learn from reform successes rather than failures in order to provide clear advice for policy and practice. The report is based on detailed study of 31 primary schools in Colombia, Ethiopia and Bangladesh, all placed in their regional and national contexts. This fieldwork is presented in three chapters, each of which summarizes the findings in one of these countries. There are details of the process of change in the form of case studies for particular schools and discussions of prospects for the future. The book goes on to analyse the findings in the field and to use this analysis in providing a programme for the implementation of reform and its development. How Schools Improve is an essential guide to policy planning and implementation. It will be of enormous interest and value, internationally, to academics, head-teachers and administrators who are involved in school improvement.

How Schools Improve

How Schools Improve PDF Author: Per Dalin
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 408

Get Book

Book Description
Educational reform is a complex and lengthy process, involving individuals at all levels of the system. A considerable amount is known about the management of educational change in developed countries, but there has previously been little research to guide those in less developed countries. The How Schools Improve study is based on research carried out by the World Bank and IMTEC from 1987 to 1992, which was set up specifically to learn from reform successes rather than failures in order to provide clear advice for policy and practice. The report is based on detailed study of 31 primary schools in Colombia, Ethiopia and Bangladesh, all placed in their regional and national contexts. This fieldwork is presented in three chapters, each of which summarizes the findings in one of these countries. There are details of the process of change in the form of case studies for particular schools and discussions of prospects for the future. The book goes on to analyse the findings in the field and to use this analysis in providing a programme for the implementation of reform and its development. How Schools Improve is an essential guide to policy planning and implementation. It will be of enormous interest and value, internationally, to academics, head-teachers and administrators who are involved in school improvement.

Learning to Improve

Learning to Improve PDF Author: Anthony S. Bryk
Publisher: Harvard Education Press
ISBN: 161250793X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
As a field, education has largely failed to learn from experience. Time after time, promising education reforms fall short of their goals and are abandoned as other promising ideas take their place. In Learning to Improve, the authors argue for a new approach. Rather than “implementing fast and learning slow,” they believe educators should adopt a more rigorous approach to improvement that allows the field to “learn fast to implement well.” Using ideas borrowed from improvement science, the authors show how a process of disciplined inquiry can be combined with the use of networks to identify, adapt, and successfully scale up promising interventions in education. Organized around six core principles, the book shows how “networked improvement communities” can bring together researchers and practitioners to accelerate learning in key areas of education. Examples include efforts to address the high rates of failure among students in community college remedial math courses and strategies for improving feedback to novice teachers. Learning to Improve offers a new paradigm for research and development in education that promises to be a powerful driver of improvement for the nation’s schools and colleges.

Making Schools Work

Making Schools Work PDF Author: Eric A. Hanushek
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 9780815717683
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 236

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Book Description
Educational reform is a big business in the United States. Parents, educators, and policymakers generally agree that something must be done to improve schools, but the consensus ends there. The myriad of reform documents and policy discussions that have appeared over the past decade have not helped to pinpoint exactly what should be done. The case for investment in education is an economic one: schooling improves the productivity and earnings of individuals and promotes stronger economic growth and better functioning of society. Recent trends in schooling have, however, lessened the value of society's investments as costs have risen dramatically while student performance has stayed flat or even fallen. The task is to improve performance while controlling costs. This book is the culmination of extensive discussions among a panel of economists led by Eric Hanushek. They conclude that economic considerations have been entirely absent from the development of educational policies and that economic reality is sorely needed in discussions of new policies. The book outlines an improvement plan that emphasizes changing incentives in schools and gathering information about effective approaches. Available research and analysis demonstrates that current central decisionmaking has worked poorly. Concentrating on inputs such as pupil-teacher ratios or teacher graduate degrees appears quite inferior to systems that directly reward performance. Nonetheless, since experience with such alternatives is very limited, a program of extensive evaluation appears to be in order. Attempts to institute radical change on the basis of currently available information involve substantial risks of failure. Many people today find proposals such as charter schools, expanded use of merit pay, or educational vouchers to be appealing. Yet there is little evidence of their effectiveness, and widespread adoption of these proposals is sure to run into substantial problems of implementation. Instead of choosing the "right" approach, this book advocates a more systematic approach of experimentation, evaluation, and change. In addition to Hanushek, the contributors are Charles S. Benson, University of California, Berkeley; Richard B. Freeman, Harvard University; Dean T. Jamison, UCLA: Henry M. Levin, Stanford University; Rebecca A. Maynard, University of Pennsylvania; Richard J. Murnane, Harvard University; Steven G. Rivkin, Amherst College; Richard H. Sabot, Williams College; Lewis C. Solmon, Milken Institute for Job and Capital Formation; Anita A. Summers, University of Pennsylvania; Finis Welch, Texas A&M University; and Barbara L. Wolfe, University of Wisconsin.

Unlocking Group Potential to Improve Schools

Unlocking Group Potential to Improve Schools PDF Author: Robert J. Garmston
Publisher: Corwin Press
ISBN: 1412998891
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
This field book shows educators how to improve schools by developing group culture, enhancing facilitators' skills, and equipping groups to resolve complex issues around student learning.

A Chance to Make History

A Chance to Make History PDF Author: Wendy Kopp
Publisher: Public Affairs
ISBN: 1610391047
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
The founder of Teach for America details the lessons learned during the organization's twenty-year existence and explains how the achievement gap in U.S. education can be closed.

How to Improve Your School

How to Improve Your School PDF Author: Tim Brighouse
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134648936
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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Book Description
This best-selling book takes a practical look at how improvements can be made in any school. It cuts through the jargon of the specialist and shows how ideas and intentions can be turned into direct actions that will help a school improve its performance and effectiveness. As well as addressing headteachers and governors, the book will also provide invaluable guidance for all those who work in and with schools. There are chapters on: *effective schools and how they have achieved their goals *leadership within schools *teaching and learning effectively *making critical interventions to secure improvement *how schools involve others to aid improvement. This is a book that no school will want to be without. It is essential reading for anyone involved in education. Tim Brighouse is Chief Education Officer for Birmingham City Council and is a national figure in education. David Woods is a Senior Education Adviser at the DfEE.

Improving Schools from Within

Improving Schools from Within PDF Author: Roland S. Barth
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9781555423681
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
"A humane blueprint for school reform that--instead of startingwith a 'deficiency' model of what teachers can't do and giving them'inservice' workshops ad infinitum--would build on the educationalstaff's existing strengths." --The New York Times BookReview Barth hows how communication, collegiality, and risk-takingamong adults can create an atmosphere of learning and leadershipfor all.

School Improvement

School Improvement PDF Author: Alma Harris
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134535112
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 148

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Book Description
This book aims to demystify the principles and practice of school improvement by demonstrating how successful classroom and school improvement occurs. It outlines the conditions, strategies and approaches that promote sustainable improvement and provides an overview of the main theoretical perspectives in this area. This accessible text will be useful for practitioners working within schools and with schools, offering clear guidance for those keen to raise standards and improve achievement. The What's In It For Schools? series aims to make educational policy issues relevant to practitioners. Each book in the series focuses on a major educational issue. The author sets the issue in context, looks at how it impacts on the daily lives of schools and teachers, and raises key questions. The books are grounded in sound theory, recent research evidence and best practice, and will make an excellent addition to any staffroom bookshelf.

Improving Urban Schools

Improving Urban Schools PDF Author: Chance W. Lewis
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1623962323
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
Although STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) has been diversely defined by various researchers (e.g. Buck Institute, 2003; Capraro & Slough, 2009; Scott, 2009; Wolf, 2008), during the last decade, STEM education has gained an increasing presence on the national agenda through initiatives from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Institute for Educational Sciences (IES). The rate of technological innovation and change has been tremendous over the past ten years, and this rapid increase will only continue. STEM literacy is the power to “identify, apply, and integrate concepts from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to understand complex problems and to innovate to solve them” (Washington State STEM, 2011, Internet). In order for U.S. students to be on the forefront of this revolution, ALL of our schools need to be part of the STEM vision and guide students in acquiring STEM literacy. Understanding and addressing the challenge of achieving STEM literacy for ALL students begins with an understanding of its element and the connections between them. In order to remain competitive, the Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy has recommended that the US optimize “its knowledge-based resources, particularly in science and technology” (National Academies, 2007, p. 4). Optimizing knowledge-based resources needs to be the goal but is also a challenge for ALL educators (Scheurich & Huggins, 2009). Regardless, there is little disagreement that contemporary society is increasingly dependent on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and thus comprehensive understandings are essential for those pursuing STEM careers. It is also generally agreed that PK-12 students do not do well in STEM areas, both in terms of national standards and in terms of international comparisons (Kuenzi, Matthews, & Mangan, 2006; Capraro, Capraro, Yetkiner, Corlu, Ozel, Ye, & Kim, 2011). The question then becomes what might PK-12 schools do to improve teachers’ and students’ STEM knowledge and skills? This book will look at equity and access issues in STEM education from PK-12, university, and administrative and policy lenses.

Improving Schools and Educational Systems

Improving Schools and Educational Systems PDF Author: Alma Harris
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000948773
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
School improvement has become a dominant feature of educational reform in many countries. The pressure upon schools to improve performance has resulted in a wide-range of improvement programmes and initiatives which can provide both inspiration and advice to everyone involved in school improvement. This book draws together the most effective school improvement projects from around the world in one comprehensive text, including detailed comparative analysis of a wide variety of initiatives. Drawing on examples from the UK, the USA, Canada, South Africa and Australia this book gives both an international snapshot and a coherent synthesis of initiatives that have given achievable results.