Improving urban schools : leadership and collaboration / edited by Mel Ainscow and Mel West.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Ainscow, Mel.

West, Mel.

Series:

Education in an urbanised society

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Urban schools--Great Britain.

Urban schools.

Education, Urban--Great Britain.

Education, Urban.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

xiv, 168 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Berkshire ; New York : Open University Press, 2006.

Summary:

The improvement of urban schools is one of the major challenges facing practitioners and policy-makers today. Issues related to poverty create particular difficulties in urban schools, and the emphasis on market-led improvement strategies has tended to add to these challenges. In addition, strategies for 'raising standards', as measured by aggregate test and examination results, can result in marginalisation or exclusion of some groups of learners.

Drawing on research evidence, Improving Urban Schools addresses the question of how primary and secondary urban schools can be improved in a more inclusive way. The authors argue that urban schools and their communities have within them expertise that tends to be overlooked, and latent creativity that should be mobilised to move thinking and progress forward. They show that new approaches to leadership, various forms of collaborative school-to-school partnerships, and major changes in national policy development are needed to make use of this untapped energy. The book includes vivid accounts of these activities to shed light on what really happens in urban schools, and presents practical strategies for school leaders and practitioners who want to make a difference in urban schools.

Contents:

1 The challenge of urban school improvement / Mel West, Mel Ainscow 1

2 The experience of failure in urban primary schools / Maria Nicolaidou, Mel Ainscow 13

3 The development of leadership capacity in a school facing challenging circumstances / Andrew Morley 24

4 Leading developments in practice: barriers and possibilities / Mel Ainscow, Andy Howes 35

5 Achieving sustainable improvements in urban schools / Mel West, Mel Ainscow, Jacqui Stanford 46

6 Confounding stereotypes: risk, resilience and achievement in urban schools / Helen Gunter 58

7 Moving practice forward at the district level / Mel Ainscow, Andy Howes, Dave Tweddle 70

8 Supporting schools in difficult circumstances: the role of school to school cooperation / Mel Ainscow, Mel West, Maria Nicolaidou 81

9 Moving leadership practice in schools forward / Samantha Fox, Mel Ainscow 92

10 Collaboration with a city-wide purpose: making paths for sustainable educational improvement / Andy Howes, Mel Ainscow 104

11 Beyond the school gates: context, disadvantage and 'urban schools' / Alan Dyson 117

12 Drawing out the lessons: leadership and collaboration / Mel Ainscow, Mel West 130.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [145]-156) and index.

ISBN:

033521911X

9780335219117

0335219128

9780335219124

OCLC:

66264692