Download or read book Maximizing the Policy Relevance of Research for School Improvement written by Angela M. Urick and published by IAP. This book was released on 2021-01-01 with total page 423 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Education policy and policy making is shaped through the activities of a complex network of educators, educational leaders, researchers, community members, as well as government and non-government officials and organizations. Educational researchers are a critical player in this complex network and their investigations of various educational phenomena can answer questions relevant to the design and implementation of education policy for school improvement. Educational research, however, often has limited influence in larger policy conversations and decisions (Orland, 2009), and this is due to many factors. Educational researchers can provide an evidence-based starting place for discussions about school improvement with the complex network of stakeholders engaged in policy development and implementation, but they must be more intentionally and systematically thoughtful about the connections of their work to policy and policy making. Furthermore, researchers can increase the relevance of their work for policy through the careful design and framing of research in collaboration with end-users, and an awareness of its implications. In so doing, researchers can spur the interest and dissemination of their findings to wider audiences. This book offers resources for education researchers, faculty, and advanced graduate students interested in maximizing the relevance of their research on policy for school improvement. In achieving this purpose, the book is organized into three sections: 1) A primer for education policy making in the United States; 2) Designing research to maximize education policy relevance; and 3) Engaging users of research to communicate its relevance to policymakers. This book is primarily for education researchers, faculty, and advanced graduate students seeking to improve the visibility and impact of their research on school improvement, particularly in the realm of educational policy and policy making. While this book is a volume in the book series for the American Educational Research Association Special Interest Group, Leadership for School Improvement, the importance and usefulness of the topics covered span education research more broadly. Further, the content of this book serves as a comprehensive guide for how education researchers, in general, can better situate their work to influence policy. The book is intended to be utilized by university scholars, graduate students in research or policy courses, post-doctoral fellows, as well as research associates or directors in various organizations relevant to education such as research consulting groups, non-profits which serve education causes, teacher unions, state agencies or state-level educator organizations/associations, and think tanks. Emerging or established researchers in any of these organizations who want to increase the relevance, significance and dissemination of their work into education policy will hopefully find this book useful.
Download or read book Maximizing the Policy Relevance of Research for School Improvement written by Angela Urick and published by . This book was released on 2021-02 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Thinking Ecologically in Educational Policy and Research written by Sarah Winchell Lenhoff and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2024-02-29 with total page 143 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book places a focus on educational ecosystems – that is, understanding the complex nature of educational experiences and promoting a coordinated set of policy and practice solutions to address interrelated problems that manifest in school and student outcomes. Educational policy and politics have been dominated by school improvement initiatives that locate educational problems and solutions in schools themselves, rather than in the systemic and structural roots of those problems: segregation, poverty, and histories of compounding inequality. Youth outcomes that we associate with schools (e.g., achievement, attendance, graduation) are the consequences of systemic structural and environmental factors that interact with the lived experiences of students in their communities and schools. This insightful volume provides examples of how to understand and analyse educational issues ecologically and evidence on the opportunities and challenges with forging cross-sector partnerships to address educational issues ecologically. Thinking Ecologically in Educational Policy and Research will be a key resource for practitioners and researchers of education leadership and policy, educational administration, educational research, educational studies and sociology. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Peabody Journal of Education.
Download or read book Compassionate Leadership for School Improvement and Renewal written by Kara Lasater and published by IAP. This book was released on 2024-01-01 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Compassionate Leadership for School Improvement and Renewal aims to equip educational leaders with the knowledge, skills, and learning experiences necessary to approach their work from an intentional stance of compassion. Schools serve as both sites and sources of suffering; yet compassionate leadership can facilitate healing for students, educators, and community members. The moment is right to move the field toward a compassion-centered approach to leadership. In recent years, people around the world have experienced unfathomable loss and suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic, persistent inequities and subsequent social justice protests, war and violence, and catastrophic natural disasters. These events created perpetual anxiety, stress, fear, uncertainty, loss, and grief for millions of people—including educators. Now perhaps more than ever, people need to give and receive compassion. The purpose of the volume is to build educational leaders’ capacity to demonstrate compassion, foster collective compassion within their schools and districts, establish organizational environments in which compassion is routinely given and received, and, subsequently, transform schools into sites of healing. Ultimately, through the unique contributions of each chapter, this volume offers a path toward school improvement that is both renewing and sustaining. ENDORSEMENTS: "As a former school counselor and school administrator, my view about compassionate leadership is one grounded in relational practice. This may be obvious to some, but unfortunately lost on many. This thoughtful volume edited by Kara Lasater and Kristina LaVenia explores a desperately needed reformulation of school leadership for our times. Compassionate leadership takes enormous courage because it works against much of the institutional ethos that forms and frames the role, thinking, and behaviors of those ostensibly charged to both manage and lead schools." — William C. Frick, University of Oklahoma "The education system is in its most challenging period in decades, perhaps in the past century. The need now is to address student, staff and organizational suffering. Lasater and LaVenia et. al., offer antidotes in this volume by providing up to date research, theory and insight to cultivate, conceptualize and practice compassionate educational leadership. For those who teach and lead with their heart, this book is essential reading." — Joseph A. Polizzi, Sacred Heart University "In an increasingly challenging educational landscape, leaders find themselves facing teacher shortages, student trauma, and learning loss. Schools could easily become institutions rife with secondary trauma and burned out professionals operating in stark contrast to the unifying motivations that drew each of us into this profession. This volume reminds us that among the many skill sets leaders must employ, organizational and leader compassion fulfills a fundamental human need and unlocks a means by which schools can transform from professional survival to the joyful work of changing lives for the better." — Joshua Ray, Greenwood Public Schools
Download or read book The Emerald Handbook of Evidence Informed Practice in Education written by Chris Brown and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2022-01-31 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Generating understanding into how to more routinely foster evidence-informed teaching practice globally, this ground-breaking handbook is vital reading for educational researchers, and especially those working close to practice, in all settings.
Download or read book Supporting Leaders for School Improvement Through Self Care and Wellbeing written by Bradley W. Carpenter and published by IAP. This book was released on 2024-01-01 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: School leadership instability is particularly problematic for scholars and practitioners concerned with PK-12 school improvement, as second only to teachers, campus leadership has been identified as a primary factor in students' academic success (Young et al., 2007). Yet, while principals play an indispensable role in students' academic success, the job has become considerably more stressful as the role of a school leader continues to evolve. Specifically, added responsibilities, increased work intensity, and the ever-present menace of high stakes accountability have intensified the stress levels encountered by today's school leaders (Carpenter & Brewer, 2012; Chaplain, 2001; Darmody & Smyth, 2016; Wang, et al., 2018). This intensification negatively impacts a school’s teaching staff and its students, as the overall quality of the school experience can deteriorate if principals are unable to meet their potential due to the burnout and fatigue associated with chronic stress (Darmody & Smyth, 2016; Devos, et al., 2007). For principals to fully realize their ability to serve as catalysts for school improvement, they should be allowed to prioritize physical, mental, cognitive, and emotional health. Desired levels of wellbeing occur in the absence of chronic physical, social, psychological, emotional, economic, and cognitive distress (La Placa, et al., 2013). As authors in this volume demonstrate, many school leaders have commenced specific practices targeting cognitive, emotional, and behavioral wellbeing to cope with occupational stress and flourishing- or, at the very least, surviving in such a challenging environment. Among coping strategies leaders have adopted include mindfulness and other wellbeing interventions/strategies intended to facilitate healthier lifestyles, relieve stress, and improve personal resilience (Aviles & Dent, 2015; Mahfouz, 2018; Wells, 2015). Recently, there has been a call to consider educational leadership through a positive human flourishing lens. Research in this area focuses on integrating wellbeing practices in professional development programs for teachers and school administrators to highlight the positive effects of personal and collective wellbeing in schools (Cherkowski & Walker, 2014). For example, empirical studies have examined how incorporating mindfulness practice promotes positive adaptive skills, stress resilience, and social and emotional skills needed in a school environment (Abenavoli, et al., 2013; Benn, et al., 2012; Dvor a kova et al., 2017; Jennings, 2015; Meiklejohn et al., 2012; Mahfouz et al., 2018). New understandings about the relationship between school administrators' wellbeing and school improvement efforts should ignite interest within the field. As such, this book’s chapters are organized into four distinct sections that provide: (a) an overview of the field (Section I), (b) an empirical argument for why such research is essential (Section II), (c) wellbeing models to be considered for use in the PK-12 setting (Section III), and, (d) specific wellbeing practices and frameworks currently being in PK-12 (Section IV).
Download or read book Catalytic Improvement Communities written by Jonathan Eckert and published by IAP. This book was released on 2024-01-01 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In chemistry, a catalyst accelerates change without being depleted. As we seek school improvement, we need sustainable, scalable changes, and therefore catalytic structures are ideal. From communities of practice to professional learning communities to Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) much has been made in the scholarly and consultancy literature about collaborative approaches to improvement. The benefit of improvement communities that operate in networks over professional learning communities or isolated communities of practice is that they allow for broader experimentation, more rapid iteration, and greater possibility for scaling improvement. Educators have many tools and protocols to support the various approaches to improvement, evidenced by the many tools the Carnegie Foundation has developed for NICs alone. However, we need to understand how these are being used in a wide range of contexts and iterations. This book answers three questions: 1) How can improvement communities act as catalysts? 2) How do improvement communities serve as discipline, creative inquiry? 3) Most importantly, how do improvement communities support flourishing individuals? These three questions serve as the drivers of three sections with practical recommendations and insights for teachers, administrators, and policymakers that will lead to more sustainable leadership practices and thriving educators, students, and communities.
Download or read book Educational Change and the Political Process written by Dana L. Mitra and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-06-15 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Educational Change and the Political Process brings together key ideas on both the system of educational policy and the policy process in the United States. It provides students with a broad, methodical understanding of educational policy. No other textbook offers as comprehensive a view of the US educational policy procedure and political systems. Section I discusses the actors and systems that create and implement policy on both the federal and the local level; Section II walks students through the policy process from idea to implementation to evaluation; and Section III delves into three major forces driving the creation of educational policies in the current era—accountability, equity, and market-driven reforms. Each chapter provides case studies, discussion questions, and classroom activities to scaffold learning, as well as a bibliography for further reading to deepen exploration of these topics. This new edition will explore recent Trump-era and post-Trump era US politics and policy changes as well as the politics of race.
Download or read book Policy Matters written by David C. Young and published by Emerald Group Publishing. This book was released on 2023-11-13 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Never have policy initiatives been so important than in today’s society. Neoliberal manifestations, climate change, civil rights movements, and governmental reactions to these issues have created a backdrop where greater education in policy analysis and development is vital.
Download or read book Equity Access written by Denver J. Fowler and published by IAP. This book was released on 2023-05-01 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is significant in that it offers an in-depth historical analysis of educational leadership and educational policy in the United States and around the globe. The book focuses on how leadership preparation and practices as well as policy and procedures have affected and continues to effect all stakeholders including school leaders, teachers, and students. The aim of the book is to examine both the positive and negative implications (nationally and internationally) of: (1) trends in educational leadership preparation; (2) trends in educational leadership practices; (3) educational policy; and (4) the procedures and the intended/unintended consequences associated with such policies. ENDORSEMENTS: "Equity & Access: An analysis of Educational Leadership Preparation, Policy, & Practice provides an excellent lens into some of the field's most relevant and timely topics. This book provides practical resources on multiple levels. Specifically, it can help educators incorporate various concepts into practice. Additionally, readers will strengthen their knowledge base in leadership preparation. This book is a must-read and should be adopted in Educational Leadership programs across the country." — David Buckman, Augusta University "Centering equity and access at the heart of the educational leadership conversation makes this book volume a standout in the array of educational leadership texts. In a single-source, each author challenges learners to think through their motivations, and the consequences of their actions and decision-making in the real-world, as they also acquire practical skills and concrete knowledge. Never has the time been more appropriate than now, for a focused book like this one – a needed and welcome addition for those invested in the preparation and on-going development of educational leaders." — Stephanie James, Jacksonville University "Equity & Access serves as a stark reminder that, as practicing school leaders in the 21st Century, everything we do and every decision we make should be done so through the lens of what is equitable for all stakeholders including students, staff, parents, community members, and business owners." — James Wrede, Southern California Principal "Connecting theories of effective leadership to practical examples is not an easy task. It demands a rigorous interdisciplinary approach, thoughtful theory of change, and must be grounded to the lives of real people. This new edited volume, On Leadership, is alive with lessons! It provides a roadmap where educational equity is not merely the destination, but the journey." — Vajra M. Watson, Sacramento State
Download or read book Leading School Change written by Daniel R. Tomal and published by R&L Education. This book was released on 2013-07-01 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This CHOICE award winning author has teamed up with two national school change experts to write a comprehensive book on school change management. Everything you need to know on initiating and managing school change are covered: planning change, conditions for successful change, models for improvement, tools and strategies, understanding and using research data, implementing school initiatives, managing resources, getting student results and more. A comprehensive book covering all aspects of school district change management, evaluation, and improvement. Each chapter objectives are aligned with the new ELCC and ISLCC standards for university accreditation. Many federal and various state data sources are included. Provides a bend of theory and practical perspectives on how to implement and execute school change. Each chapter contains a comprehensive case study and exercises for practical application. Several supplemental resources are included in the appendices
Download or read book Leadership for School Improvement written by Cherie B. Gaines and published by IAP. This book was released on 2019-03-01 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As the inaugural issue in the Leadership for School Improvement (LSI) Special Interest Group (SIG) Book Series, this volume serves as a reflection on the foundations of the field of school improvement. Contents include connections between school improvement and the agency of principals, districts, universities, and policy. This volume will be placed in the school improvement literature with examinations of evolution, trends, policies, and future foci in the field of school improvement. This book is rich in research and literature about school improvement, school effectiveness, and school reform policy and implementation and thus holds significance for educational practitioners, scholars, and policy makers at all levels.
Download or read book Measuring School Capacity Maximizing School Improvement Policy Brief RB 53 written by Jessica K. Beaver and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 12 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is an oft-heard refrain in schools: "These schools lack the capacity they need." Or, "We need to build capacity in schools so that students can achieve." In district offices, statehouses, and elsewhere, the sentiment is repeated in various forms, but the term "capacity" is almost always used. What do education leaders mean when they use the word capacity? Some people use the word to mean the intangible behaviors or characteristics that are needed for a school to improve, while others use capacity as a synonym for ability or knowledge. Meanwhile, economists often talk about capacity in terms of quantities or outcomes that an organization is able to produce. Given the nearly ubiquitous use of the term in education policy discourse, the authors offer a common framework for analyzing capacity that educators, policymakers, and researchers alike can apply and understand with consistency. Their goal is not to provide an easy, new, one-sentence definition, but rather to create a shared language that can be applied to research and improvement efforts in schools. In this Policy Brief, they break capacity down into component parts, explaining how each one builds off the next and contributes to the overall concept. Their hope is that the four research-based components they suggest--human capital, social capital, program coherence, and resources (building on Hatch, 2009; Elmore, 2000; Fullan, 2000; Spillane & Thompson, 1997; Corcoran & Goertz, 1995)--will stimulate discussion of a widely accepted meaning of capacity in both research and practice. Their secondary goal is to demonstrate what it means to be a high-, medium-, or low-capacity school. Accordingly, they apply their components-based definition to data collected from 11 schools in Pennsylvania. After using the approach designed to assess school capacity, they classify each school as high, medium, or low and identify themes from the three resulting groups. This applied analysis allows them to provide a descriptive illustration of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges of each classification. (Contains 17 sources.).
Download or read book Improving Quality in Education written by Bert P.M. Creemers and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-07-03 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores an approach to school improvement that merges the traditions of educational effectiveness research and school improvement efforts. It displays how the dynamic model, which is theoretical and empirically validated, can be used in both traditions. Each chapter integrates evidence from international and national studies, showing how the knowledge-base of educational effectiveness research can be used for improvement purposes. In a clear and practicable manner it outlines: Foundations of the improvement approach Research projects investigating the impact of the dynamic approach Guidelines and practical solutions to translating the approach into action Further developments for school improvement Exploring the crucial factors in the establishment of this environment, the authors outline a dynamic framework that helps schools collect data, through self-evaluation mechanisms, taking decisions about priorities for improvement, and developing appropriate policies and action plans. This approach emphasises educational targets and provides means to achieve them that are flexible enough to fit in with the circumstances of the individual school. The book draws upon research across the world, conducted especially in the United States, Europe, and Australasia, expertly showcasing how the dynamic approach can be used in a wide variety of educational settings A key book for all professionals working in education; academics, researchers, policy-makers, school advisors and practitioners will find it invaluable. Not only it is a must for graduate students, university libraries, and individual academics but also for school management teams, school support agencies and officials in educational policy.
Download or read book Improving Schools written by Shaun Rawolle and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-10-22 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This unique book explores school improvement policy – from its translation into national contexts and school networks to its implementation in leader and teacher practices in individual schools and classrooms within this network of schools and its impact on students’ learning. It draws on multiple conceptual and theoretical resources to explore the complexities attached to a school improvement process in a network of schools in Australia. These conceptual and theoretical resources include discourse, practice, representation and network, concepts common to both policy research as well as studies of leadership and classroom practice. They lead to a more detailed understanding of the intersections between educational policy and intervention processes, and the complex reality of school processes and teaching practices. In the book we trace the implementation of school improvement policies through its multiple phases, levels and contexts. Our data-collection and analysis methods draw on a variety of perspectives in the way different players perceive their roles and the nature of the initiative and the ways in which these intersect. The research findings are used to seek productive approaches to school improvement that combine policy integrity with local flexibility. The book contributes to the school improvement literature through its exploration of tensions between global and systemic settings and local practices and histories.
Download or read book School Effectiveness School Improvement written by David Reynolds and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2004-11-01 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The pressure on schools to improve and to raise achievement continues to be a dominant issue in both school and government policies. School Effectiveness and School Improvement seeks to develop the debate further, providing academics and practitioners alike with • a summary and discussion of research on school effectiveness and school improvement up to the present; • new perspectives on these fields, developed from other traditions of thinking and research; • a consideration of the role of organization theory; • an integrated view of these current perspectives; and • clear, practical implications for policy and practice.
Download or read book The Foundational Handbook on Improvement Research in Education written by Donald J. Peurach and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-03-30 with total page 619 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Foundational Handbook on Improvement Research in Education is a pathbreaking effort to build a field of research committed to producing the practical knowledge needed to advance educational access, quality, and equity. This is research distinguished by the use of inclusive, iterative approaches to analysis, design, implementation, and evaluation to understand and address educational opportunities, needs, and problems grounded deeply in school and community contexts. Designed for researchers, students, and educators, the handbook elaborates the intellectual foundations, explores the organizational and policy contexts, reviews approaches, and examines methods of improvement research. It features contributions from a plural community of researchers with expertise in the learning sciences, instructional improvement, organizational and policy studies, and research methodologies, many with extensive experience collaborating with teachers, leadership, families, and advocates in local problem solving and design.
