Christine Forde

This book examines the significance of teacher expertise in the drive to improve quality and effectiveness. Scrutinising both key conceptual issues and current policy developments and approaches, the authors analyse educational systems from around the world and question how different cultural contexts and systems can implement measures to improve teacher effectiveness. The book analyses factors such as policy change and teacher evaluation as well as the regulation of the teaching profession to determine how these aspects can influence the expertise of individual teachers. As numerous policy interventions have tried to define and enhance teacher quality to raise pupil achievement, this book calls for an interrogation of this stance and signals a need to consider an alternative approach. This book will appeal to students and scholars of teacher effectiveness and professional learning, as well as researchers and policymakers.

Schools become increasingly complex organisations and, as their role in socialising young people is recognised, the task of leading the school community is receiving greater attention than ever before. School Leadership summarises current thinking about leadership in schools and suggests ways forward. School leadership is set in its social context. Is leadership associated with function within a bureaucratically ordered hierarchy, is it widely shared across communities or is it both? The school is considered both as an institution of the state and as an agency of democratic values. Ideas as to who the leaders are and what leadership involves are recast. The authors' recent experience with Headship preparation and development is discussed and analysed. Set in the Scottish experience this book provides examples of general issues facing many schools and school leaders across the world. School Leadership is required reading for head teachers, education administrators and for those aspiring to leadership roles in schools. This is a thoroughly revised and updated edition of a book that has been a key resource for School Leadership programmes since publication of the first edition in 2003.

With the increasing emphasis on continuing professional development for teachers and all educational practitioners, the use of portfolios to plan, chart and review professional development is now widespread. Drawing directly from their experience of developing portfolios and portfolio-based assessment, and from current research, this book enables the reader to: - design and plan a portfolio - chart and analyse relevant professional experiences - reflect critically on practice - assess performance against standards and competences frameworks - present evidence of practice and achievements - plan their continuing professional development There are Chapter Objectives, Key Questions and Tasks in every chapter, which adds to the practical focus of the book. An essential read for teachers, teaching assistants, any practitioner assembling a Continuing Professional Department (CPD) portfolio, those working towards further qualifications such as Chartered Teacher status, newly qualified and probationary teachers and anyone involved in supporting and mentoring CPD.

With the increasing emphasis on continuing professional development for teachers and all educational practitioners, the use of portfolios to plan, chart and review professional development is now widespread. Drawing directly from their experience of developing portfolios and portfolio-based assessment, and from current research, this book enables the reader to: - design and plan a portfolio - chart and analyse relevant professional experiences - reflect critically on practice - assess performance against standards and competences frameworks - present evidence of practice and achievements - plan their continuing professional development There are Chapter Objectives, Key Questions and Tasks in every chapter, which adds to the practical focus of the book. An essential read for teachers, teaching assistants, any practitioner assembling a Continuing Professional Department (CPD) portfolio, those working towards further qualifications such as Chartered Teacher status, newly qualified and probationary teachers and anyone involved in supporting and mentoring CPD.

'Wow, this book has some inspiring ideas... It comes at a perfect time as schools try to mesh school improvement with performance management, new standards for various career stages and staff development... Well written, with an attractive layout and a consistently clear voice, it draws on wide and up-to-date research and writing from all parts of the United Kingdom... There are no easy answers in this book, but plenty of powerful ideas that might help us ask useful questions about how CPD encourages a commitment to professional and personal growth, and increases self-confidence, job satisfaction and enthusiasm for working with children and colleagues. This is what being a professional is all about' - Times Educational Supplement, Book of the Week Teaching professionals need to be able to successfully respond to change, and when necessary drive change within schools. To accomplish this, teachers need to be secure in their understanding of their place within the profession and their teaching identity. The focus of this book is upon enabling teachers to explore new ways of working with children, with colleagues and with communities. This book provides teachers working towards Advanced Skills Teacher or Chartered Teacher status, and those on other Continuing Professional Development courses, with an essential text to assist in this process of personal and professional reflection and development planning. The authors focus upon the social, cultural and political aspects of professional development, and explore issues of professional identity.

'Wow, this book has some inspiring ideas... It comes at a perfect time as schools try to mesh school improvement with performance management, new standards for various career stages and staff development... Well written, with an attractive layout and a consistently clear voice, it draws on wide and up-to-date research and writing from all parts of the United Kingdom... There are no easy answers in this book, but plenty of powerful ideas that might help us ask useful questions about how CPD encourages a commitment to professional and personal growth, and increases self-confidence, job satisfaction and enthusiasm for working with children and colleagues. This is what being a professional is all about' - Times Educational Supplement, Book of the Week Teaching professionals need to be able to successfully respond to change, and when necessary drive change within schools. To accomplish this, teachers need to be secure in their understanding of their place within the profession and their teaching identity. The focus of this book is upon enabling teachers to explore new ways of working with children, with colleagues and with communities. This book provides teachers working towards Advanced Skills Teacher or Chartered Teacher status, and those on other Continuing Professional Development courses, with an essential text to assist in this process of personal and professional reflection and development planning. The authors focus upon the social, cultural and political aspects of professional development, and explore issues of professional identity.

`This book makes an important contribution to the debate on how school and individual performance may be enhanced. It would be of value to any teachers, education manager or academic who is interested in the issues of improvement in school performance'- Scottish Educational Review `....there is much to commend this book. The diagrams are very clear and `lift' the text so that creative thought, rather than mere comprehension, becomes possible' - Nurturing Potential Managing the performance of staff has become a key concern in education. It is a controversial area with a number of approaches based on very different assumptions. This book provides an overview of some of the key issues in developing professional performance and examines critically some of the strategies that can be used to enhance it. - The first section of the book sets out the development of performance management. - The second section deals with theoretical issues. - The third section adopts a case study approach mapping out and critiquing a range of strategies that can be used to improve performance. - Current issues such as work-based learning, performance related pay, the assessment of performance and the use of standards are examined. Performance Management in Education is a valuable resource for practitioners, those involved in professional development, and academics in the field of school leadership and administration.

`This book makes an important contribution to the debate on how school and individual performance may be enhanced. It would be of value to any teachers, education manager or academic who is interested in the issues of improvement in school performance'- Scottish Educational Review `....there is much to commend this book. The diagrams are very clear and `lift' the text so that creative thought, rather than mere comprehension, becomes possible' - Nurturing Potential Managing the performance of staff has become a key concern in education. It is a controversial area with a number of approaches based on very different assumptions. This book provides an overview of some of the key issues in developing professional performance and examines critically some of the strategies that can be used to enhance it. - The first section of the book sets out the development of performance management. - The second section deals with theoretical issues. - The third section adopts a case study approach mapping out and critiquing a range of strategies that can be used to improve performance. - Current issues such as work-based learning, performance related pay, the assessment of performance and the use of standards are examined. Performance Management in Education is a valuable resource for practitioners, those involved in professional development, and academics in the field of school leadership and administration.