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This book presents a new approach to school leadership – Holistic School Leadership, whereby school leaders lead schools through systems-thinking concepts and procedures. Facing growing complexity, change and diversity, school leaders need to regularly apply the systems view and perform at the systems level. This book proposes a holistic approach, providing school leaders with systemic principles of action for excellence in education. “What a wonderful book – once I started it, I couldn’t put it down. The book masterfully makes a systems leadership perspective accessible and grounded in the reality of the daily life of educators. Holistic School Leadership is a “must read” for anyone who has the responsibility for making schools better places, from professors to emerging teacher leaders.” Karen Seashore (Louis), Regents Professor of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, University of Minnesota “Shaked and Schechter have constructed a much needed bridge to the future of educational leadership, a future of systemic thinking and positivity.” Joseph Murphy, Professor of Education and Public Policy, Peabody College of Education, Vanderbilt University “Shaked and Schechter offer a comprehensive yet concise account of the meaning of systems thinking. The authors systematically develop their Holistic School Leadership approach with compelling examples, carefully attending to the perennial challenge of implementation. Important reading for scholars and practitioners of school leadership and management!" James P. Spillane, Olin Professor in Learning and Organizational Change, Northwestern University “This is the most important book on systems thinking since Senge’s (1990) seminal work on learning organizations. Shaked and Schechter demonstrate the critical and practical utility of systems thinking for school leaders—a must read for all reflective practitioners.” Wayne K. Hoy, Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University. “Holistic School Leadership provides an innovative and exciting look into a new perspective on educational leadership that holds tremendous potential in reshaping educational research, policy, and practice. The idea of interdependence alone makes this powerful new book required reading for anyone concerned with the future of education and educational leadership in particular. Give yourself, your colleagues, your students, and your system the gift of the wisdom in this book.” Alan J. Daly, Chair and Professor, Department of Education Studies, University of California, San Diego “In this informative book, Shaked and Schechter offer a fresh application of systems thinking to schools and to the work of school leaders. This book is a useful addition to the bookshelves of both those who prepare and those who support school leaders.” Megan Tschannen-Moran, Professor of Educational Leadership, College of William and Mary
This book examines the school as an operational organization through the lens of systems thinking. In this way it serves as an invitation to look again at schools and how they operate as learning systems. It begins by showing exactly why our inherited, industrial school model, can never be made to work effectively no matter how hard school leaders try or how well schools are judged. This book uses systems thinking to explain and describe the management unlearning and new learning needed to create deep and fundamental changes to the way schools operate as complete learning entities. It explains why the reinstatement of the personal tutor in a vertical system is essential to the creation of a learning organization within a complete home/school operational learning process; one capable of building a values driven and more purposeful school culture within a more relevant and coherent society.
This book provides school leaders and teachers with research-based theories and models on systems thinking and on inclusive education. It offers the ‘why’, ‘what’ and ‘how’ of inclusive teaching and learning with specific references to a range of special needs. It discusses topics such as a sustainable approach to inclusion, differentiation of learning programs and activities, and a range of assessment approaches to support teaching and learning. The book also presents the social aspects of inclusion and encourages teachers and school leaders to focus not only on the academic aspects of education but the social and emotional growth of the student. It highlights the value of parent input and promotes the forming of parent partnership to enhance student learning and wellbeing. Part One of the book gives practical suggestions on how school leaders can apply systems thinking to mobilise the school and school community to contribute to the ideals of Education For All. Part Two discusses a range of disabilities with each chapter covering the medical definitions and characteristics of the condition, the challenges faced by the student, their parents and teachers, and presents evidence-based strategies and classroom management tips to help teachers with their everyday classroom needs. The book helps to heighten school leaders’ awareness on how to use systems thinking to mobilise the school community to action. It strengthens teachers' confidence and builds their capacity in providing all students with access to flexible learning choices to help them achieve educational goals and develop a sense of belonging.
The Challenge for School Leaders identifies essential systems and their elements that enhance the school leader’s knowledge and skill to continually improve the academic program through a faculty collaborative process. The critical systems addressed are system elements, communication, curriculum, instruction, assessment, and collaborative decision making to determine causes of nonproductive systems and solutions to remove and solve these issues. The text includes a pre- and post-school assessment survey process that involves the faculty and administrators in evaluating their school, and identifying critical areas that need improvement. This survey has been statistically affirmed for high reliability and validity with respect to academic system behaviors correlated with high academic student performance. The continual improvement philosophy is the foundation of this text and collaboration is the method by which this concept is achieved. The value of each person is critical, and everyone is needed to improve the academic systems to serve the needs of the students and the faculty. The communication linkage system as well as curriculum-instruction-assessment integration is addressed and is essential to the improvement process. The analysis and improvement of the instructional process is the key to enhancing student academic performance. The concepts and practical suggestions along with the knowledge and skills to build an effective academic system for students is the aim of this study.
"Design is the rendering of intent." What if education leaders approached their work with the perspective of a designer? This new perspective of seeing the world differently is desperately needed in schools and begins with school leadership. Alyssa Gallagher and Kami Thordarson, widely recognized experts on Design Thinking, educational leadership, and innovative strategies, call this new perspective design-inspired leadership—one of the most powerful ways to ignite positive change and address education challenges using the same design and innovation principles that have been so successful in private industry. Design Thinking for School Leaders explores the changing landscape of leadership and offers practical ways to reframe the role of school leader using Design Thinking, one step at a time. Leaders can shift from "accidental designers" to "design-inspired leaders," acting with greater intention and achieving greater impact. You'll learn how viewing the world through a more empathetic lens—a critical first step on the path to becoming a design-inspired leader—can raise your awareness of the uniqueness of your teachers and students and prompt you to question the ways in which they experience your school. Gallagher and Thordarson detail five specific roles to help you identify opportunities for positively impacting students, teachers, districts, parents, and the community: Opportunity Seeker. Shifts from problem solving to problem finding. Experience Architect. Designs and curates learning experiences. Rule Breaker. Challenges the way things are "always" done. Producer. Gets things done and creates rapid learning cycles for teams. Storyteller. Captures the hearts and minds of a community. Full of examples of Design Thinking in action in schools across the country, Design Thinking for School Leaders can help you guide your school to the forefront of the new design + education movement, one that will move traditional education into the modern world and drive the future of learning.
How do the arts stack up as a major discipline? What is their effect on the brain, learning, and human development? How might schools best implement and assess an arts program? Eric Jensen answers these questions and more in this book. To push for higher standards of learning, many policymakers are eliminating arts programs. To Jensen, that's a mistake. This book presents the definitive case, based on what we know about the brain and learning, for making arts a core part of the basic curriculum and thoughtfully integrating them into every subject. Separate chapters address musical, visual, and kinesthetic arts in ways that reveal their influence on learning. What are the effects of a fully implemented arts program? The evidence points to the following: * Fewer dropouts * Higher attendance * Better team players * An increased love of learning * Greater student dignity * Enhanced creativity * A more prepared citizen for the workplace of tomorrow * Greater cultural awareness as a bonus To Jensen, it's not a matter of choosing, say, the musical arts over the kinesthetic. Rather, ask what kind of art makes sense for what purposes. How much time per day? At what ages? What kind of music? What kind of movement? Should the arts be required? How do we assess arts programs? In answering these real-world questions, Jensen provides dozens of practical, detailed suggestions for incorporating the arts into every classroom.
'Leadership & Sustainability' examines how the opportunity for new leadership can be leveraged to focus on sustainability of reform, & will identify barriers & strategies for moving in new directions. Fullan defines the meaning of 'sustainability' & the important part it plays in contemporary reform.
Leading Holistically explores systems thinking in educational leadership—a comprehensive framework that enables leaders to improve their practice by taking a holistic perspective, instead of relying on a one-size-fits-all solution to discrete aspects of their organization. Aiming to expand the existing literature on systems thinking in educational leadership and policy, renowned educational leadership scholars come together in this valuable book to examine systems thinking at the school, district, and state/national levels, providing strategies to guide educators toward success. This important book unpacks the complexity and nuances of systems thinking in educational leadership and policy, helping educators face the growing complexity, change, and diversity in education to realize the promise of improvement for all those connected to and involved in the important endeavor of education.
"David Stroh has produced an elegant and cogent guide to what works. Research with early learners is showing that children are natural systems thinkers. This book will help to resuscitate these intuitive capabilities and strengthen them in the fire of facing our toughest problems."—Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline Concrete guidance on how to incorporate systems thinking in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning—for everyone! Donors, leaders of nonprofits, and public policy makers usually have the best of intentions to serve society and improve social conditions. But often their solutions fall far short of what they want to accomplish and what is truly needed. Moreover, the answers they propose and fund often produce the opposite of what they want over time. We end up with temporary shelters that increase homelessness, drug busts that increase drug-related crime, or food aid that increases starvation. How do these unintended consequences come about and how can we avoid them? By applying conventional thinking to complex social problems, we often perpetuate the very problems we try so hard to solve, but it is possible to think differently, and get different results. Systems Thinking for Social Change enables readers to contribute more effectively to society by helping them understand what systems thinking is and why it is so important in their work. It also gives concrete guidance on how to incorporate systems thinking in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning without becoming a technical expert. Systems thinking leader David Stroh walks readers through techniques he has used to help people improve their efforts on complex problems like: ending homelessness improving public health strengthening education designing a system for early childhood development protecting child welfare developing rural economies facilitating the reentry of formerly incarcerated people into society resolving identity-based conflicts and more! The result is a highly readable, effective guide to understanding systems and using that knowledge to get the results you want.
Our fifth book in the International Research on School Leadership series focuses on the use of data in schools and districts as useful information for leadership and decision making. Schools are awash in data and information, from test scores, to grades, to discipline reports, and attendance as just a short list of student information sources, while additional streams of data feed into schools and districts from teachers and parents as well as local, regional and national policy levels. To deal with the data, schools have implemented a variety of data practices, from data rooms, to data days, data walks, and data protocols. However, despite the flood of data, successful school leaders are leveraging an analysis of their school’s data as a means to bring about continuous improvement in an effort to improve instruction for all students. Nevertheless, some drown, some swim, while others find success. Our goal in this book volume is to bring together a set of chapters by authors who examine successful data use as it relates to leadership and school improvement. In particular, the chapters in this volume consider important issues in this domain, including: • How educational leaders use data to inform their practice. • What types of data and data analysis are most useful to successful school leaders. • To what extent are data driven and data informed practices helping school leaders positively change instructional practice? • In what ways does good data collection and analysis feed into successful continuous improvement and holistic systems thinking? • How have school leadership practices changed as more data and data analysis techniques have become available? • What are the major obstacles facing school leaders when using data for decision making and how do they overcome them?