Patrick Sullivan

In "A New Writing Classroom," Patrick Sullivan provides a new generation of teachers a means and a rationale to reconceive their approach to teaching writing, calling into question the discipline's dependence on argument. Including secondary writing teachers within his purview, Sullivan advocates a more diverse, exploratory, and flexible approach to writing activities in grades six through thirteen. "A New Writing Classroom" encourages teachers to pay more attention to research in learning theory, transfer of learning, international models for nurturing excellence in the classroom, and recent work in listening to teach students the sort of dialogic stance that leads to higher-order thinking and more sophisticated communication. The conventional argumentative essay is often a simplistic form of argument, widely believed to be the most appropriate type of writing in English classes, but other kinds of writing may be more valuable to students and offer more important kinds of cognitive challenges. Focusing on listening and dispositions or "habits of mind as central elements of this new composition pedagogy, "A New Writing Classroom" draws not just on composition studies but also on cognitive psychology, philosophy, learning theory, literature, and history, making an exciting and significant contribution to the field."

Belonging Together describes current Indigenous affairs policy in Australia, concentrating on the period since the end of ATSIC in 2004. It provides a unique overview of the trajectory of current policy, with Sullivan advancing a new consolidated approach to Indigenous policy which moves beyond the debate over self-determination and assimilation. Instead, he suggests that the interests of Indigenous peoples, settlers and immigrants are fundamentally shared, and proposes adaptation on both sides, but particularly for the descendants of settlers and immigrants, to allow them to embrace the framing of their identity by Indigenous presence.

Today, the profession of social work is confronted with a number of critical issues. Many of these relate to theory development: the evaluation of practice effectiveness; the appropriate role of social work in policy development at the state, national, and international levels; emerging concerns about social work education; and so on. This volume seeks to draw together the current thinking on these issues, analyze them, and project areas for further analysis. Written by leading scholars in social work, this volume will be of value to social work educators, practitioners, students, and others in the social policy arena.