The elusive what and the problematic how : : the essential leadership questions for school leaders and educational researchers / / [edited by] Tony Townsend, Ira Bogotch.

• Author: International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement
• TeilnehmendeR: Townsend, Tony,; Bogotch, Ira,; International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (19th : 2006 : Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
• Place / Publishing House: Rotterdam, Netherlands ;, Taipei, Taiwan : : Sense Publishers,, [2008]; ©2008
• Year of Publication: 2008
• Language: English
• Series: Educational Leadership and Leaders in Contexts 3.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource.
• Notes: The essays presented in this book are chiefly revisions of papers which were presented at the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement held in 2006.
• Other title: Preliminary Material /; What are the Essential Leadership Questions in a Rapidly Changing World? /; What is Leadership? /; What is School Culture? /; What is Successful Leadership? /; Leading Schools in Poor Communities: What do we Know? /; Rebuilding New Orleans Public Schools: The Case of Algiers Charter School Association /; What is Cultural Competence? /; Leadership Moments: How to Lead /; School Culture: Does it Matter? /; How Distributed Leadership Emerges Within Danish Schools - Experiences With New Systems of Governance /; Leading Schools in Poor Communities: How do we Know? /; The Possibilities for Educational Research and Activism in Post-Katrina New Orleans /; Fostering Cultural Competence through School-Based Routines /; Conclusion: ‘What’ + ‘How’ equals ‘Whow’ /; The Editors and The Authors /; Index /
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• ISBN: 908790570X
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: [edited by] Tony Townsend, Ira Bogotch.

\'For the authors in this book, there can be no valid excuses for ignorance in any aspect of education as theory/practice. That is: - If we come to learn that all educational problems involve knowledge of complex systems and processes, then quick, simple solutions should not be an educator’s first or only expedient option. - If all education requires a measure of cultural and contextual understandings, then uniform, standardized programs and lessons will not meet the needs of all children or communities. - If educational change takes time and strenuous efforts to take hold, then why do we abandon and restart reforms efforts year after year? - If educational practices are best performed by those closest to the problems, then why do we not prepare and continuously develop teachers and administrators to grow intellectually and politically to make wise decisions? - If who a person is culturally and intellectually shapes who they are as educators, then why are our recruitment, selection, induction, and retention policies not influenced by this assumption? - If today’s best practices have not taken careful note of successes in the past, then how do we validly measure best practices in use today? - If one-time, standardized test scores are not adequate measures of a person’s worth, a teacher’s competency, or a school’s value to its community, then why do our policies and practices say otherwise? Unfortunately, our ignorance of the “what” and the “how” of education and educational leadership has persisted across contexts and history. Why? This book provides both theoretical and practical answers to these elusive and problematic issues.