School Morale

Originally published in 1971, the author was concerned with a nexus of related ideas: group spirit, morale, discipline, discrimination, stigma. How, she asks, are these connected with leadership, both that of the assigned person in authority, lecturer or teacher, and that of the dominant spirits within the group? What is their relation to backwardness, and the place of the slow learner in the school morale system? Answering these and other questions, particularly around morale, the first part of the book contains a number of case studies and examples of varying degrees of complexity. These are intended to act as pointers or guides for the discussion of problems, which takes up the second half of the book.

In the book, Leadership, Violence and School Climate: Case Studies in Creating Non-Violent Schools, three important themes are emphasized namely, democratic leadership, violence and school climate. The book recognizes that safety should be the first issue of concern when addressing school violence. However, violence in schools should not be the sole concern of outside experts who advocate for lock downs, metal detectors and bullet proof glass. Through democratic school leadership violence can be reduced by those professionals actually working in schools. The book emphasizes that reduction in school violence originates from school leaders having a comprehensive understanding of the climate found in schools. Leadership, violence and school climate are connected through the use of democratic principles that address; crisis, trauma, empowerment, common ground, critical thinking, assertiveness and others. The book points out how schools can reverse their reactionary stance to violence, and become pro-active through the practice of democratic principles.

Examines the willingness and capacity of the Japanese to work and sacrifice to win the war, and how those attitudes changed as a result of the American bombing campaigns, including the atomic bombs, directed at the nation as a whole.