Towards Schools as Learning Organisations
Edited by Rudi Schollaert
June 2002
Garant
Distributed by
ISBN: 9044113062
299 pages, 6 ¼ x 9 ½"
$52.50 Paper Original
Other titles in this series: Disclosing the Treasure Within, The Keys to the Treasure Within
The sociological turmoil of post-modern society has led the mission of schools to be questioned in an unprecedented way. Schools are expected to meet a host of often contradictory demands, while at the same time having to compete for public funding with many other deserving causes: health care, social security, public works, an ageing population…
All this has resulted in increased accountability, a call for school effectiveness and a public demand for quality education. The problem with quality, however, is that it is all in the eye of the beholder. National and international quality indicators tend to focus on what is readily measurable, and therefore represent a reductionist view of education.
This book makes a plea for a richer interpretation of quality in education, a plea for tapping into the 'treasure within,' the commitment and competence of the whole community that constitutes a school. It is the result of an intensive brainstorming effort among educatators and practitioners all over Europe, working together within the context of the Comenius network "The Treasure Within."
Contents:
Part 1. Quality in Education
Chapter 1. Some Assumptions about Quality in Education
Chapter 2. Trust the Treasure: From Controlling to Supporting Quality in Schools
Part 2. The Teacher as Reflective Practitioner
Chapter 3. Practitioner Research: An Opportunity to Enhance Quality in Schooling
Chapter 4. Practitioner Research in the Primary School: A Case Study and a 'Jolly Good Effort'
Chapter 5. Critical Reflection as a Means of Teacher Empowerment
Chapter 6. Teachers as Reflective Practitioners
Part 3. Team Building
Chapter 7. School Teams Make the Change
Chapter 8. Team Building Among Educational Staff: A Way to Individualise Learning
Chapter 9. Team Building and Team Work in Primary Schoool Lucija
Part 4. The Teacher as Change Agent
Chapter 10. Give Change a Better Chance: A Check List for Change Agents
Chapter 11. Why Are Teachers So Unwilling to Change?
Part 5. School Networks as Vehicles for Professional Development
Chapter 12. Networkds of Secondary Schools in the Netherlands:
Learning Communities in the Context of Innovation
Chapter 13. Teachers' Learning in a School Network: A Case Study: AVIMES Project
Part 6. Quality Management in Schools: Strategies and Instruments
Chapter 14. The Stresa School Quality Project: A Case Study
Chapter 15. Starting a School Quality Project: A Questionnaire
Chapter 16. The Seeds of Success: Self-Evaluation and Departmental Support
Chapter 17. DISO: A Diagnostic Instrument for Secondary Schools
Chapter 18. Criteria for School Quality and its Indicators
Part 7. Involvement of Pupils and Parents
Chapter 19. Improving the Quality of Educaiton through Structured Dialogue with Parents
Chapter 20. Feedback from Parents of School Leavers to the School: How Do You Rate Our School?
Chapter 21. Student Democracy, or Are Students Agents of Change?
Part 8. The Process of Learning and Teaching
Chapter 22. How to Map Understanding
Chapter 23. The Writer Within
Chapter 24. Team Building in International Projects: From Idea to Project
Conclusion. The Uses of Variety: Reflections on the Treasure
Education
Leadership
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