The Educational Imperative

The final section examines some of the intellectual forces shaping current arguments, and offers critical appraisals of some influential figures in the field: Herbert Read, Peter Fuller and David Holbrook.

Written with both the cultural and moral crisis and the challenge of the future in mind, Peter Abbs's book charts an open, clear, and positive way forward for education. Divided into four sections, the first examines the true and fitting ends of education and outlines a positive conception of education as an initiation into critical enquiry and the personal art of learning. The two middle sections consider aesthetic education. Abbs confronts government approaches to arts teaching and offers an alternative dynamic paradigm within which the creativity of the culture transmitted down the ages and the creativity of the individual seen as biologically given must be combined. The outcome of this is explored, in detail, in relation to the teaching of literature, creative writing and drama. The final section offers critical appraisals of influential figures in the arts field:; Herbert Reid, the late Peter Fuller and David Holbrook.

Achieve system wide progress --

The author has championed the cause of ecological literacy in higher education, helping to establish and shape the field of ecological design, and working to raise awareness of the threats to future generations posed by humanity's current unsustainable trajectory.This volume brings together his most important works.

Against this background this book explores the crucial role played by tertiary education towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It observes that tertiary education finds itself at a crossroad today, as national systems are pulled in several directions by a combination of factors—crisis factors, rupture factors, and stimulation factors—bringing about both opportunities and challenges. How these forces in the tertiary education ecosystem play out in each country will determine the new “perils” and “promises” that are likely to shape the contribution of tertiary education to economic and social development in the years to come.

Written with both the cultural and moral crisis and the challenge of the future in mind, Peter Abbs's book charts an open, clear, and positive way forward for education. Divided into four sections, the first examines the true and fitting ends of education and outlines a positive conception of education as an initiation into critical enquiry and the personal art of learning. The two middle sections consider aesthetic education. Abbs confronts government approaches to arts teaching and offers an alternative dynamic paradigm within which the creativity of the culture transmitted down the ages and the creativity of the individual seen as biologically given must be combined. The outcome of this is explored, in detail, in relation to the teaching of literature, creative writing and drama. The final section offers critical appraisals of influential figures in the arts field:; Herbert Reid, the late Peter Fuller and David Holbrook.

What is the role of politics in the classroom? How does the desire of the teacher shape the pedagogical process? Is teaching possible? Is learning possible? Pedagogy as Encounter engages with such larger issues. The majority of discussions, workshops, conference panels, articles, and books avoid meta-pedagogical issues by focusing on technique. Such “technique talk” examines schemes, methods, and procedures that do and do not work in the classroom. It answers the “how” question at the cost of ignoring these bigger queries. Pedagogy as Encounter consists of 120 vignettes arranged in eight chapters. Most of these are first person autobiographical stories that describe encounters with students and colleagues. They portray a teacher whose classroom disappointments lead him to radical experimentation. But there are also a few theoretical sections, as well as segments that are epigrammatic in nature. All of it is grounded in a Lacanian political psychology and in a critical global political economy. The theory, however, remains largely implicit and is confined to the footnotes. The body of the text is free of jargon and presented in a conversational voice.

"Fullan shows how moral leadership can reinvent the principalship and bring about large-scale school improvement. This is a masterfully crafted and accessible book by North America′s foremost expert on change." —Thomas J. Sergiovanni, Lillian Radford Professor of Education Trinity University, San Antonio, TX "Fullan challenges all who work in education to rethink the critical role of the principal as school leader in the current era of accountability. With clarity and insight, he offers a series of strategies to reshape the culture and context of leadership in schools to create learning communities where both students and teachers can excel." —Paul D. Houston, Executive Director American Association of School Administrators "Once again, the writing of Michael Fullan is a tour de force. The Moral Imperative of School Leadership is a must-read for those who want to make a difference!" —Gerald N. Tirozzi, Executive Director National Association of Secondary School Principals The time has come to change the context of school leadership! The role of the principal is pivotal to systemic school change. That is the fundamental message of The Moral Imperative of School Leadership, which extends the discussion begun in Fullan′s earlier publication, What′s Worth Fighting for in the Principalship? The author examines the moral purpose of school leadership and its critical role in "changing the context" in which the role is embedded. In this bold step forward, Fullan calls for principals to become agents as well as beneficiaries of the processes of school change. In an effort to make the position more rewarding and exciting, he shifts the principal′s role from one of a site-based superman or superwoman, and recasts it as one in which principals figure prominently both within their school and within the larger school system that surrounds them. Concepts explored in-depth include: Why "changing the context" should be the main agenda for the principalship Why barriers to the principalship exist Why the principal should be seen as the COO (chief operating officer) of a school Why the role of the principal should figure more prominently within the system What individuals and the system can do to transform school leadership to a powerful new force The challenge, and moral imperative, for today′s principal is to lead system transformations to resolve the top-down/bottom-up dilemma that exists in systemic change. To end the exodus from the principalship, and for great school leaders to evolve in large numbers, the time to redefine the position is now!