Critical Curriculum Leadership

Although traditional curriculum and instructional leadership frameworks have dominated educational administration training for almost thirty years, it has become increasingly clear that even the most recent frameworks have failed today’s leaders who struggle with the politics of curriculum decisions on a daily basis. Critical Curriculum Leadership is an examination of curriculum leadership in the wake of U.S. testing mandates and school reforms, all of which seem to support a particular set of conservative ideologies. Drawing from her own longitudinal ethnographic study and from existing literature and research in the field, Ylimaki explores the formation of curriculum leadership in relation to broader cultural and political shifts. She shows how traditional leadership frameworks have come up short, and makes the case for an alternative leadership theory at the intersection of educational leadership and curriculum studies. She provides analytical tools that inspire progressive education and offers critical theories, strategies, research examples, problem-posing cases, and research ideas essential for curriculum leadership in the present conservative era. Critical Curriculum Leadership will appeal to the many educational leadership scholars and practitioners who are interested in developing effective and socially just curricula in their schools and districts as well as curriculum scholars who are interested in leadership issues.

Curriculum Leadership: Strategies for Development and Implementation, Third Edition is a one-of-a-kind resource written for educational leaders, teachers, and administrators. Responding to the need for globally connected classrooms and innovative leadership, this unique text provides a rich and inclusive foundation of curriculum. The authors draw upon a wide range of research and experience to provide readers with creative, up-to-date curriculum strategies and ideas. In sharing innovative programs, learning experiences, and new approaches, they build a solid connection for curriculum development from theory to practice, helping future leaders in education meet the global challenges of our time.

This book provides educators with guidance on studying and practicing a curriculum problem solving artistry that is focused on deepening students’ subject matter understandings through democratic self and social understandings. The book begins with a discussion of seven principles of curriculum leadership, which provide a framework for the presentation of a theoretical platform that guides a four-phased process. The curriculum problem solving has four interrelated phases, and advice on studying and practicing each phase has been organized into separate chapters using a montage format incorporating inquiry prompts, supportive quotations, critical commentaries, practical tips, narrative illustrations, and study recommendations. There is a continuous recognition of the ways in which the four phases are folded into one another in highly interactive ways; hence, the problem solving approach is described as a fourfold process. The text concludes with an epilogue honoring the disciplined journey of understanding and the pursuit of professional virtues that are central to the cultivation of problem solving artistry. An ethical oath that was created by twenty Ohio teacher leaders serves as a collegial pledge to embrace this disciplinary commitment.

Curriculum Leadership Development is an up-to-date, user-friendly textbook offering unique approaches to help readers understand the complexity of curriculum leadership. It is grounded in current and relevant theory, research, legislation, and application in the closely related areas of curriculum leadership, development, and scholarship. The text solidifies the concepts of curriculum and leadership in experiential learning contexts, and promotes democratic action and critical thinking. Author Carol A. Mullen uses a descriptive, qualitative approach that integrates case study, data analysis, personal reflection, and lessons learned. Among the most important elements of the book are: *the inclusion of the voice and curricular experiences of the professional student who is a seasoned teacher or beginning adminstrator; *detailed illustrations of practitioners' experiences as curriculum makers and action researchers; *an articulation of the links among curriculum development, constructivist curricula, and mentoring scaffolds; and *practical exercises to accompany case studies. Graduate and advanced undergraduate students in education will find this textbook of value in their coursework, as will curriculum professionals who teach practicing teachers.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This volume argues for the need of a common ground that bridges leadership studies, curriculum theory, and Didaktik. It proposes a non-affirmative education theory and its core concepts along with discursive institutionalism as an analytical tool to bridge these fields. It concludes with implications of its coherent theoretical framing for future empirical research. Recent neoliberal policies and transnational governance practices point toward new tensions in nation state education. These challenges affect governance, leadership and curriculum, involving changes in aims and values that demand coherence. Yet, the traditionally disparate fields of educational leadership, curriculum theory and Didaktik have developed separately, both in terms of approaches to theory and theorizing in USA, Europe and Asia, and in the ways in which these theoretical traditions have informed empirical studies over time. An additional aspect is that modern education theory was developed in relation to nation state education, which, in the meantime, has become more complicated due to issues of ‘globopolitanism’. This volume examines the current state of affairs and addresses the issues involved. In doing so, it opens up a space for a renewed and thoughtful dialogue to rethink and re-theorize these traditions with non-affirmative education theory moving beyond social reproduction and social transformation perspectives.

Early childhood educators are keenly aware of the importance of a child’s transition to “real school.” This transition is occurring earlier in a child’s life now that school districts nationwide are moving to pre-kindergarten experiences for 3- and 4-year olds. Annually, more than one million children attend public school pre-k programs overseen by elementary school principals who, although veteran educational leaders, were not trained to oversee these programs. Although pre-k classrooms are rapidly growing and deserve special attention, school leaders must be reminded that early childhood means more than pre-kindergarten; it extends through third grade. School leadership needs to understand the principles of early childhood education to effectively support all children age three to grade three. Professional and Ethical Consideration for Early Childhood Leaders is a collection of innovative research that crafts an overall understanding of the importance of early childhood leadership in today’s schools. The book employs strategies to improve support for children in early childhood years, examines the different roles of early childhood leadership, analyzes best practices for implementation in early childhood contexts, and explores improvements for leadership preparation for schools with pre-k through third-grade children. While highlighting a wide range of topics including advocacy, cultural responses, and professional development, this publication is ideally designed for educators, administrators, principals, early childhood development teachers, daycare instructors, curriculum developers, advocates, researchers, academicians, and students.