Images Of Educational Change

This important book takes a fresh look at educational change - a concept which is in frequent use but rarely examined for the variety of meanings it conveys. It brings together the ideas of major educational change theorists from three continents, and invites the reader to explore the idea of educational change at a number of levels and from a variety of perspectives. There is much talk about the pace of social change in, and the growing complexity of, industrial societies. In this book a number of well-known international researchers attempt to analyse the meaning of contemporary social change for education. Particular emphasis is given to the implications for: * the personal and social development of students * schools as organizations * the school curriculum * the teaching profession * educational policy formation * education research

This important book takes a fresh look at educational change - a concept which is in frequent use but rarely examined for the variety of meanings it conveys. It brings together the ideas of major educational change theorists from three continents, and invites the reader to explore the idea of educational change at a number of levels and from a variety of perspectives.

First published in 1982, this work revolutionized the theory and practice of education reform. Now 25 years later, the fourth edition of Fullans groundbreaking book continues to be the definitive compendium to all aspects of the management of educational change--a powerful resource for everyone involved in school reform.

“It is now time to break down the ideology of exceptionalism in the United States and other Anglo-American nations if we are to develop reforms that will truly inspire our teachers to improve learning for all our students—especially those who struggle the most. In that essential quest, Pasi Sahlberg is undoubtedly one of the very best teachers of all.” —From the Foreword by Andy Hargreaves, Lynch School of Education, Boston College Finnish Lessons is a first-hand, comprehensive account of how Finland built a world-class education system during the past three decades. The author traces the evolution of education policies in Finland and highlights how they differ from the United States and other industrialized countries. He shows how rather than relying on competition, choice, and external testing of students, education reforms in Finland focus on professionalizing teachers’ work, developing instructional leadership in schools, and enhancing trust in teachers and schools. This book details the complexity of educational change and encourages educators and policymakers to develop effective solutions for their own districts and schools.

ANDY HARGREAVES Department of Teacher Education, Curriculum and Instruction Lynch School of Education, Boston College, MA, U.S.A. ANN LIEBERMAN Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Stanford, CA, U.S.A. MICHAEL FULLAN Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada DAVID HOPKINS Department for Education and Skills, London, U.K. This set of four volumes on Educational Change brings together evidence and insights on educational change issues from leading writers and researchers in the field from across the world. Many of these writers, whose chapters have been specially written for these books, have been investigating, helping initiate and implementing educational change, for most or all of their lengthy careers. Others are working on the cutting edge of theory and practice in educational change, taking the field in new or even more challenging directions. And some are more skeptical about the literature of educational change and the assumptions on which it rests. They help us to approach projects of understanding or initiating educational change more deeply, reflectively and realistically. Educational change and reform have rarely had so much prominence within public policy, in so many different places. Educational change is ubiquitous. It figures large in Presidential and Prime Ministerial speeches. It is at or near the top of many National policy agendas. Everywhere, educational change is not only a policy priority but also major public news. Yet action to bring about educational change usually exceeds people's understanding of how to do so effectively.

The International Handbook of Educational Change is a state of the art collection of the most important ideas and evidence of educational change. The book brings together some of the most influential thinkers and writers on educational change. It deals with issues like educational innovation, reform, restructuring, culture-building, inspection, school-review, and change management. It asks why some people resist change and what their resistance means. It looks at how men and women, older teachers and younger teachers, experience change differently. It looks at the positive aspects of change but does not hesitate to raise uncomfortable questions about many aspects of educational change either. It looks critically and controversially at the social, economic, cultural and political forces that are driving educational change. School leaders, system administration, teacher leaders, consultants, facilitators, educational researchers, staff developers and change agents of all kinds will find this book an indispensable resource for guiding them to both classic and cutting-edge understandings of educational change, no other work provides as comprehensive coverage of the field of educational change.

Social Geographies, as spatial location, is a factor relevant to understanding the variety of people’s interpretations and appropriations of educational innovations and changes. Their location in the social space also influences their response to change. In the field of educational change, social space means for example, skin colour, gender distribution of teachers in one school, children’s self-cultural representations or parents’ religious attitudes. By using the notion of Social Geographies in the context of educational change, the authors address the following questions: How initiatives in a classroom or department are influenced by the surrounding context of the school, the district or the nation; How innovation spreads or diffuses from one school to another; How and whether reforms can be scaled up from a few schools to a whole system; How seemingly standardised reforms affect schools differently depending on where they are located; How schools influence one another; How the identities of, and interrelationships among, schools are affected by technology, principles of market competition and choice, and other initiatives. This volume is relevant to educationalists, policy-makers, teachers, and students interested in a more complex approach to understand and intervene in educational change processes.

ANDY HARGREAVES Department of Teacher Education, Curriculum and Instruction Lynch School of Education, Boston College, MA, U.S.A. ANN LIEBERMAN Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, Stanford, CA, U.S.A. MICHAEL FULLAN Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, Canada DAVID HOPKINS Department for Education and Skills, London, U.K. This set of four volumes on Educational Change brings together evidence and insights on educational change issues from leading writers and researchers in the field from across the world. Many of these writers, whose chapters have been specially written for these books, have been investigating, helping initiate and implementing educational change, for most or all of their lengthy careers. Others are working on the cutting edge of theory and practice in educational change, taking the field in new or even more challenging directions. And some are more skeptical about the literature of educational change and the assumptions on which it rests. They help us to approach projects of understanding or initiating educational change more deeply, reflectively and realistically. Educational change and reform have rarely had so much prominence within public policy, in so many different places. Educational change is ubiquitous. It figures large in Presidential and Prime Ministerial speeches. It is at or near the top of many National policy agendas. Everywhere, educational change is not only a policy priority but also major public news. Yet action to bring about educational change usually exceeds people's understanding of how to do so effectively.