Description
The School Improvement Series of 5 Handbooks is aimed at building an effective school environment that encourages professional development in teachers and leaders. It offers tools and advice in leadership and mentoring and how to create a school that can adapt to changing circumstances.
The five handbooks in this series are as follows (also available individually):
- Building Culture – A Framework for school improvement: Building a school culture is one of the most complex and important concepts in education, yet it has often been a neglected vital component in school improvement. Culture gives a school its own identity; put simply, it is ‘the way we do business around here’. This book provides the reader with procedures for analysing and shaping the culture of a school, as well as outlining how school leaders can sustain culture for the future.
- Climate of Mentoring – Building teams for school improvement: Helping newcomers into the profession has always been a role embraced by some experienced teachers. Most educators can remember a colleague who provided support to help them grow into the teaching role. This book has been written to support school teams endeavouring to make mentoring part of their school culture It provides a series of guidelines for planning, implementing and measuring a teacher-mentoring program, and covers topics such as designing a school mentoring program, gaining the interest of staff, training mentors and using mentoring to improve teaching and learning practices. With case studies, activities, workshop outlines and frequently asked questions, A Climate of Mentoring provides a practical, whole-school approach to developing a mentoring program.
- Managing Change – Leading school improvement: This practical handbook provides insights into the nature of change in schools and the critical role that school leaders play in the process of change. Managing the change process ensures that school improvement efforts achieve their goals and that planned initiatives are actually implemented. This handbook covers topics such as self-analysis, effective planning and reflecting on achievements. It also provides a systematic and proven approach to school improvement enabling school leaders to approach the task with confidence.
- The Power of Coaching for School Improvement – Nurturing talent & building capacity: This book is part of a series of workshops on coaching conducted by the authors. They are determined to educate leaders and teachers in the concept of coaching and this book is designed to understand and explain coaching in an educational context to promote professional learning and growth. It aims to help leaders, teachers and other educators develop a culture of coaching in their schools. It provides a conceptual way of viewing coaching and how it can contribute to improving school life and clarifies how coaching as a form of professional learning can be applied to different contexts within schools.
- Reflective Practice – The Cornerstone for School Improvement: This handbook focuses on how Principals, Coordinators and Lead-Teachers can nurture effective instruction and interpersonal relationships through reflective practice. Reflection is the process through which leaders ensure effective professional practice, allowing them to analyse and diagnose problems, apply theoretical knowledge and manage the pressure of decision-making. This resource provides a thoughtful, comprehensive guide to reflective practice, explaining the meaning of reflection and how to benefit from it, as well as providing practical examples of how reflection can be implemented in schools to aid teachers and students.
