.gif){kind=spacer}
.gif){kind=spacer}
| About the book |
?All who are interested and concerned about educational reform and the improvement of schools will find this book a must read. It stimulates, it challenges, and it informs, such that the reader is most surely enriched by its plenitude.? Dr Shirley Hord, Scholar Emerita ?At last we have a book of international cases to add to the literature on networks! Policymakers and practitioners alike will find the reasons why networks are fast becoming the reform organizations of choice. The book elevates network understanding to a new level.? Ann Lieberman, Senior Scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
Drawing on research, each chapter offers a deeper understanding of topics such as distributed leadership, dialogue, organisational memory, trust, self-assessment and inquiry, and purpose linked to learning. The last section of the book focuses upon three of the most challenging dilemmas that face developing professional learning communities - developing professional learning communities in secondary school, building social capital, and sustaining professional learning communities. The authors provide pointers on why these challenges exist, offering rays of hope for ways forward. Professional Learning Communities is key international reading for education professionals, school practitioners, policymakers, academics and research students. It is a must-read for anyone interested in building capacity for sustainable learning and the ability to harness your community as a resource for change. |
| About the authors |
Karen Seashore Louis is Director of the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement and Professor of Educational Policy and Administration at the University of Minnesota. Her primary research interests focus on school improvement and school reform, especially improvement in K-12 leadership and policy over the last 30 years, particularly in urban secondary schools. She is the author of many books, including Professionalism and Community: Perspective on Reforming Urban Schools, with Sharon Kruse and Associates.
|
| Table of contents |
Series? editors? preface Acknowledgements List of contributors List of figures and tables Professional learning communities: Elaborating new approaches Part 1 Divergence The involvement of support staff in professional learning communities Extending the learning community: a broader perspective embedded in policy From professional learning community to networked learning community Beyond borders: can international networks deepen professional learning community? Part 2 Depth `Normalizing? problems of practice: converting routine conversation into a resource for learning in professional communities How leaders use artifacts to structure professional community in schools Developing collective understanding over time: reflections on building professional community Using assessment tools as frames for dialogue to create and sustain professional learning communities Transforming practice from within: the power of the professional learning community Part 3 Dilemmas Building professional learning communities in high schools: challenges and promising practices Building social capital in professional learning communities: importance, challenges and a way forward Sustainable professional learning communities Part 4 Afterword Professional learning communities: a reflection |
