This best-selling book illustrates how schools can tell their own story. It draws on ground-breaking work with the National Union of Teachers to demonstrate a practical approach to identifying what makes a good school and the part that pupils, parents and teachers can play in school improvement. Its usefulness for and use by, classroom teachers to evaluate their practice will prove to be its greatest strength in an ever expanding effectiveness literature.

In the World Library of Educationalists series, international experts themselves compile career-long collections of what they judge to be their finest pieces - extracts from books, key articles, salient research findings, major theoretical and practical contributions - so the world can read them in a single manageable volume.John MacBeath has spent

Written for heads and teachers, this forward-thinking book examines exactly what the relationship between inspection and self-evaluation means for schools and explores some of the underpinning issues, featuring examples of best practice from successful schools.It is full of useful advice on topics such as how schools can juggle ongoing self-evaluation with OFSTED’s expectations, how to use web sources to best advantage and what can be learnt from experience to lessen the anxiety in...

`This is a well written and thoroughly researched book on an issue of vital importance. It places the experiences of individual teachers under pressure into the larger UK and worldwide context. Policy makers need to wake up to its messages′ - Sara Bubb, Institute of Education, University of LondonWhat is it really like to be a teacher in today′s demanding classrooms?Maurice Galton and John MacBeath spoke to teachers, parents and students in England, and compared their respo...

Examining a decade of research and practice, this book makes the case for a radical reappraisal of leadership, learning, and their interrelationship in educational policy. Discussing whether policy direction is progressively constraining the professionalism and initiative of teachers and school leaders, it challenges conventional understanding and argues the case for thinking differently about the way to lead learning.Based on the Leadership for Learning (LfL) Project, the book cla...

Self-evaluation in schools sits at the top of the national agenda in response to an awareness that performance tables and inspector's reports can only tell a partial story. Schools are now encouraged to raise questions about 'How are we doing?' and 'How do we know?'.Self-Evaluation: What's in it for Schools? demystifies school self-evaluation and encourages schools to be self-critical and self-confident. The book helps schools and teachers develop the necessary confidence ...

What has changed and what will change in the next decade? Reforming or Re-inventing Schools? revisits some of the key issues in school and system reform, with a reflection on developments in the English education system and internationally. It offers an insightful review and critique of education principles and their relationship to school practice, exploring some of the myths as well as examining the potential value of comparative data.Drawing on new evidence and intervie...

′An ideal text for challenging the thinking of those studying for NPQH… The conclusion by the authors suggests nine major points to consider if improvement for schools in extremely challenging circumstances is to happen and be sustained. These ′nine lesson for policy makers′ are very frank and pertinent points, let′s hope at least some of our policy makers read them!′ - ESCalate′Rarely does a book on education reform capture both the big and the small picture with such brilliant cl...

What lessons can we learn from the relationship between policy-makers and schools over the life of the ‘New’ Labour and its predecessor Conservative government? What happened to ‘Education, Education, Education’ as it travelled from political vision to classroom practice? What are the lasting legacies of 13 years of a reforming Labour government? And what are the key messages for a coalition government?These are the questions addressed to the architects of educational reform, their...

Learning how to learn is an essential preparation for lifelong learning. Whilst this is widely acknowledged by teachers, they have lacked a rich professional knowledge base from which they can teach their pupils how to learn.This book makes a major contribution to the creation of such a professional knowledge base for teachers by building on previous work associated with ‘formative assessment’ or ‘assessment for learning’ which has a strong evidence base, and is now being promoted ...

A Common Wealth of Learning takes a look at the millennium development goals that were set out at the start of the century. Utilising a far reaching set of case studies from a large percentage of commonwealth countries, this book looks at what the colonial legacy has left us with; and what we can do to progress. Chapters discuss;Partnerships for Leadership and LearningQuality Education and the Millennium Development Goals Revisited: Refl...

Leading schools is becoming almost daily a more complex and demanding job. Connecting Leadership and Learning reassesses the purpose of schools, the nature of learning and the qualities of leadership that make schools authentic places of learning.Starting with a review of what we can claim to know – and not know – about learning, leadership and their inter-relationship, this book explores what it means to lead schools that place learning at the centre. Drawing on research ...