Improving Schools

Improving Schools
Author: Shaun Rawolle
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2015-10-22
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9812879315

This unique book explores school improvement policy – from its translation into national contexts and school networks to its implementation in leader and teacher practices in individual schools and classrooms within this network of schools and its impact on students’ learning. It draws on multiple conceptual and theoretical resources to explore the complexities attached to a school improvement process in a network of schools in Australia. These conceptual and theoretical resources include discourse, practice, representation and network, concepts common to both policy research as well as studies of leadership and classroom practice. They lead to a more detailed understanding of the intersections between educational policy and intervention processes, and the complex reality of school processes and teaching practices. In the book we trace the implementation of school improvement policies through its multiple phases, levels and contexts. Our data-collection and analysis methods draw on a variety of perspectives in the way different players perceive their roles and the nature of the initiative and the ways in which these intersect. The research findings are used to seek productive approaches to school improvement that combine policy integrity with local flexibility. The book contributes to the school improvement literature through its exploration of tensions between global and systemic settings and local practices and histories.

Strategy Journeys

Strategy Journeys
Author: David Booth
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 135
Release: 2016-09-14
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317049306

Strategy Journeys starts from the premise that strategic planning suffers from a bad press: it can be seen as complex, technical, remote from the day-to-day reality of an organisation, undertaken by an elite specialist executive group, producing threatening changes whose rationale is barely understood – or, perhaps worse still, having no worthwhile impact at all. For many senior executives, strategic planning is too daunting a task, which is why they often seek help from those with the expertise to guide the process: they have a severe lack of confidence in their own ability to design, plan and implement such an important and major project. Yet organisations have never had greater need for a flexible, resilient and engaging approach to strategic planning than now. How do those leading an organisation know where to start, what approach to take and how to go about the process of strategic planning? David Booth aims to help them by demystifying the concept and propounding a ‘first principles’ approach to developing a strategic plan within the context of the individual organisation and with the flexibility to adapt the process to focus on what really matters. He suggests the key questions that should be asked when considering embarking on a strategic planning ‘journey’ to help design and guide the process.

Leading Maths

Leading Maths
Author: Peter Mattock
Publisher: Crown House Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2023-11-09
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1785837001

Leading maths at any school is a unique challenge and comes with pressures not experienced in many other subject areas. The relatively abstract nature of the subject content, combined with the contrasting societal and parental attitudes to mathematics, can complicate communication and stifle progress. Most pupils and parents will recognise the importance of maths but many feel it's perfectly acceptable to be "no good" at it. Leading maths in schools is about managing these contradictions and getting the very best out of every teacher and pupil. Offering a fresh perspective and practical strategies for maths teachers and leaders at any level, Leading Mathsexplores how to make the most of a maths leadership role and manage the daily pressures and demands that come with it. Backed up by specific examples from fifteen years of experience leading maths, Peter Mattock goes on to examine the more long-term, strategic view of maths leadership, including how leaders can work with their teams to develop high quality mathematics teaching and learning for all pupils. The book covers day-to-day issues that arise when leading maths, in particular results and accountability, as well as difficult situations more generally. It offers useful takeaways at the end of each chapter, with a summary of key points and advice from the chapter. Leading Maths explores how to manage an inspection, developing improvement plans and the appraisal process, before touching on taking maths leadership beyond one specific school and into system leadership. In addition to Peter's insight, Leading Maths also contains contributions from other experienced maths practitioners, including Becky Lawrence, Jemma Sherwood, Rhiannon Rainbow and Dave Tushingham. Becky examines some of the specific approaches to leading primary maths, whilst Jemma does the same from her perspective as a maths lead across a large multi-academy trust. Rhiannon and Dave then go on to discuss how to manage significant change from their experience of adapting curriculum and CPD during the COVID pandemic - including the beginnings of their (now famous) book club. An essential guide for current, new, or aspiring maths leaders.

The New Strategic Direction and Development of the School

The New Strategic Direction and Development of the School
Author: Brent Davies
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2003-12-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1134491158

Schools will not be able to continue to improve unless they move away from an over-concentration on the short-term and focus on the strategic nature of planning and development. The more targets, the less the effects - what we need is strategy and sustainability. This book links school improvement planning and strategic development for leadership enhancement as well as for management accountability. Short-term planning, in the form of target-setting plans aimed at improving standards, has gained increasing importance. While the book agrees that this is necessary, it puts forward the view that short-term planning is not sufficient for the longer-term development of the school. Sustainability and strategic development are of critical importance and for these the authors believe that a more holistic approach to planning is necessary. To that end, this book links short and longer-term planning in a framework, which supports the strategic development of the school. The authors are national experts in the field and in preparing this text have worked extensively with headteachers, deputy headteachers, governors and those participating in NPQH and masters programmes in educational leadership and management.

Strategic Workforce Planning

Strategic Workforce Planning
Author: Ross Sparkman
Publisher: Kogan Page Publishers
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2018-02-03
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0749482028

Strategic Workforce Planning is a practical guide to effectively assess, manage and prepare for current and future workforce requirements. It demystifies the often complex and seemingly technical world of strategic workforce planning to explain what it is, why it's necessary and most importantly, how to do it. Packed full of advice and real-world examples, Strategic Workforce Planning is a playbook for workforce planning from beginning to end. It enables HR professionals to answer core business questions including how do I analyze future hiring demand? How do I assess what skills will be required in the future? How should I prioritize investments like training and development? How do I assess the supply of talent around the world? How do I identify the business drivers that impact workforce demand? It also covers the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), automation and machine learning on the global workforce and how to deal with these implications. Whether you're a start-up, small business or a large corporate, this book will show you how to align people strategy with company strategy to ensure your organization maintains its competitive advantage.

Advances in Applied Strategic Mine Planning

Advances in Applied Strategic Mine Planning
Author: Roussos Dimitrakopoulos
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 784
Release: 2018-01-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3319693204

This book presents a collection of papers on topics in the field of strategic mine planning, including orebody modeling, mine-planning optimization and the optimization of mining complexes. Elaborating on the state of the art in the field, it describes the latest technologies and related research as well as the applications of a range of related technologies in diverse industrial contexts.