Intruding on Academe

Intruding on Academe
Author: Jack R. Van Der Slik
Publisher: SIU Press
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2001
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780809323494

In this fascinating, theoretically informed case study of policy-making, Jack R. Van Der Slik demonstrates partisan politics in action in Illinois. Specifically, he shows how major changes in governing state universities were enacted over the objections of members of the higher education community, who preferred to maintain the status quo. In 1991, Republican Governor Jim Edgar, enthusiastically aided by Lieutenant Governor Bob Kustra, began a political effort to decentralize the "system of systems", which had governed state universities since the 1960s. Despite partisan defeat of their plan in 1993, Edgar and Kustra managed to neutralize support for the status quo in the educational community. After their 1995 landslide reelection, which brought about Republican majorities in both houses of the legislature, Edgar and Kustra were so successful in achieving their goals that they actually had to restrain the legislature's enthusiasm for decentralization: the legislature wanted to extend decentralization to community colleges. To account for these policy shifts, Van Der Slik interviewed twenty-five significant players from the executive branch of Illinois government, from the legislature, and from the educational community. Grounding his study theoretically, he compared his findings to previous studies in American policy-making: Jack Kingom's 1984 notion of the crucial role of the "policy entrepreneur"; arguments in 1993 by Frank R. Baumgartner and Bryan D. Jones that public policies are inherently unstable and that discoverable phenomena can account for policy eruption; and research in 1995 by Charles O. Jones covering presidential transitions from Kennedy to Reagan. In thisanalysis of political give and take, Van Der Slik notes that elected officials proposed a solution to the problems of bureaucratic bloat and unresponsiveness that leaders of the higher education community would not support. Political leaders based their actions on bold intuition rather than on a rational consideration of the consequences. Given the possibility of change, Van Der Slik observes, politicians instinctively knew what policies to effect. To a remarkable degree, the political actions in Illinois fit the theoretical formulations of previous scholarship in national policy-making. As key participants recount their own actions and their observations, then, Van Der Slik places what happened in Illinois into a larger context.

Clueless in Academe

Clueless in Academe
Author: Gerald Graff
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 319
Release: 2008-10-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0300132018

Gerald Graff argues that our schools and colleges make the intellectual life seem more opaque, narrowly specialized, and beyond normal learning capacities than it is or needs to be. Left clueless in the academic world, many students view the life of the mind as a secret society for which only an elite few qualify. In a refreshing departure from standard diatribes against academia, Graff shows how academic unintelligibility is unwittingly reinforced not only by academic jargon and obscure writing, but by the disconnection of the curriculum and the failure to exploit the many connections between academia and popular culture. Finally, Graff offers a wealth of practical suggestions for making the culture of ideas and arguments more accessible to students, showing how students can enter the public debates that permeate their lives.

Academe

Academe
Author: American Association of University Professors
Publisher:
Total Pages: 562
Release: 2009
Genre: College teachers
ISBN:

The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education

The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education
Author: Kathryn Ecclestone
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 205
Release: 2019-02-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0429684487

The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education confronts the silent ascendancy of a therapeutic ethos across the educational system and into the workplace. Controversial and compelling, Kathryn Ecclestone and Dennis Hayes’ classic text uses a wealth of examples across the education system, from primary schools to university and the workplace, to show how therapeutic education is turning children, young people and adults into anxious and self-preoccupied individuals rather than aspiring, optimistic and resilient learners who want to know everything about the world. Remaining extremely topical, the chapters illuminate the powerful effects of therapeutic education, including: How therapeutic learning is taking shape, now and in the future How therapeutic ideas from popular culture have come to govern social thought and policies How the fostering of dependence and compulsory participation in therapeutic activities that encourage the disclosing of emotions, can undermine parents’ and teachers’ confidence and authority How therapeutic forms of teacher training undermine faith in the pursuit of knowledge How political initiatives in emotional literacy, emotional wellbeing and ‘positive mental health’ propagate a diminished view of human potential throughout the education system and the workplace. The Dangerous Rise of Therapeutic Education is an eye-opening read for every teacher and leader across the field of education, and every parent and student, who is passionate about the power of knowledge to transform people’s lives. It is a call for a debate about the growing impact of therapeutic education and what it means for learning now and in the future.

Understanding Academic Freedom

Understanding Academic Freedom
Author: Henry Reichman
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2021-10-05
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1421442159

"This book offers the first comprehensive introduction to academic freedom, surveying its history and application to research, teaching, and public expression, as well as its treatment in the legal arena and its applicability to students"--

Management Skills in Schools

Management Skills in Schools
Author: Jeff Jones
Publisher: Paul Chapman Educational Publishing
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2005
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781412901109

`This is a useful book and well written reflecting the author's considerable experience in the field' - National School Improvement Network News `Management Skills in Schools is a terrific digest of many important issues, built around a clear structure that helps the reader absorb information quickly. For the sheers scale of the references to educational gurus, it's worth the cover price: here is everything you need to quote' - Geoff Barton, Friday Magazine, Times Educational Supplement `This book provides an invaluable resource for everyone who is concerned with leadership and management in schools. As well as dealing with key issues and concepts it gives practical advice on strategies and techniques which can be deployed. It will enhance and complement existing skills as well as importing new ideas which will provide professional stimulus for the reader' - Sir Geoff Hampton, Dean of Education, Director of the Midlands Leadership Centre, University of Wolverhampton `For the discerning leader wanting to develop their personal management skills this is a "must have" resource. Whether working through Personal Management Skills independently or used as a professional development tool with a group of middle managers in a school this book will make a difference to how leaders work in schools' - Coleen R Jackson, Director, Roehampton Education Leadership Centre University of Surrey Roehampton `This is a timely collection of resources for those in middle management positions in schools. It brings together ideas on self management in addition to a comprehensive collection of materials on leading teams of staff. Particularly noteworthy are the sections on strategic decision making, action research in school improvement, and dealing effectively with conflict' - Brian Fidler, Professor of Education Management, The University of Reading Team leadership is vital element of school success, whether at the level of department, the curriculum area, the key stage, the phase, or in relation to pastoral and leadership teams. The Team leader must be skillful in creating cultures of success, and personal management skills are at the heart of getting the best from team members. In this book Jeff Jones shows how managers in education can contribute to school improvement, and focuses on the essential personal and practical management skills needed to instill a positive team culture, and support colleagues effectively. This book is an essential resource for those who lead and manage teams, at all levels within schools. Dr Jeff Jones has been a senior consultant and head of training and consultancy unit at the Centre for British Teachers CfBT in Reading since 1998, and is the well known author of such books as Monitoring and Evaluation for School Improvement, (2000), and Performance Management for School Improvement (2001)

More Than a Score

More Than a Score
Author: Jesse Hagopian
Publisher: Haymarket Books
Total Pages: 338
Release: 2014-11-10
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1608464369

"Jesse Hagopian brought a rare moment of truth to the corporate-dominated Education Nation show when he spoke on behalf of his colleagues at Garfield High in Seattle. He instantly became the voice and face of the movement to stop pointless and punitive high-stakes testing."—Diane Ravitch, author of Reign of Terror In cities across the country, students are walking out, parents are opting their children out, and teachers are rallying against the abuses of high-stakes standardized testing. These are the stories—in their own words—of some of those who are defying the corporate education reformers and fueling a national movement to reclaim public education. Alongside the voices of students, parents, teachers, and grassroots education activists, the book features renowned education researchers and advocates, including Nancy Carrlson-Paige, Karen Lewis, and Monty Neill. Jesse Hagopian teaches history and is the Black Student Union adviser at Garfield High School, the site of the historic boycott of the MAP test in 2013. He is an associate editor of Rethinking Schools, and winner of the 2013 "Secondary School Teacher of Year" award from the Academy of Education Arts and Sciences. He is a contributing author to Education and Capitalism: Struggles for Learning and Liberation and 101 Changemakers: Rebels and Radicals Who Changed US History, and writes regularly for Truthout, Black Agenda Report, and the Seattle Times Op-Ed page.

The Future of Academic Freedom

The Future of Academic Freedom
Author: Henry Reichman
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
Total Pages: 377
Release: 2019-04-02
Genre: Education
ISBN: 142142858X

The issues Reichman considers—which are the subjects of daily conversation on college and university campuses nationwide as well as in the media—will fascinate general readers, students, and scholars alike.

Education Is Not an App

Education Is Not an App
Author: Jonathan A. Poritz
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2016-08-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317436350

Whilst much has been written about the doors that technology can open for students, less has been said about its impact on teachers and professors. Although technology undoubtedly brings with it huge opportunities within higher education, there is also the fear that it will have a negative effect both on faculty and on teaching standards. Education Is Not an App offers a bold and provocative analysis of the economic context within which educational technology is being implemented, not least the financial problems currently facing higher education institutions around the world. The book emphasizes the issue of control as being a key factor in whether educational technology is used for good purposes or bad purposes, arguing that technology has great potential if placed in caring hands. Whilst it is a guide to the newest developments in education technology, it is also a book for those faculty, technology professionals, and higher education policy-makers who want to understand the economic and pedagogical impact of technology on professors and students. It advocates a path into the future based on faculty autonomy, shared governance, and concentration on the university’s traditional role of promoting the common good. Offering the first critical, in-depth assessment of the political economy of education technology, this book will serve as an invaluable guide to concerned faculty, as well as to anyone with an interest in the future of higher education.