This volume presents a rich account of the development of accreditation and evaluation in 20 European countries. The authors are leaders in the field and they have cooperated in this effort by writing richly different, often deep and insightful analyses of the situation in their country. The two editors have added a synopsis detailing the main trends, and sketching commonalities as well as contrasts in the developments across Europe. The book shows how accreditation is becoming a main mechanism in the steering of higher education all over Europe. The book is unique in its analysis of forces driving towards the spread of different models of accreditation in the emerging European Higher Education area. Readers will obtain an up-to-date picture of the state of affairs of accreditation in the framework of evaluation activities in Europe. They will gain an understanding of why accreditation and evaluation systems have evolved the way they have, and subsequently, they will obtain more realistic views on potentialities for European comparability and cooperation in this area.

This volume is of interest to researchers and policy-making staff in higher education, especially those involved at the level of national systems for quality assurance, accreditation, internationalization and the Bologna process. It is also of interest to Master/PhD students in (higher) education management.

Most schools become good, but very few become outstanding. Why is that? Because the journey to good and the journey to outstanding are qualitatively different. Getting to good is about compliance, systems and making sure a demanding list of actions are done every day - it's no small feat. Getting to outstanding is about creating a high-performing culture, something most leaders are not adequately trained to do, and it's the reason most schools struggle to break the glass ceiling of good. Every school can be outstanding. This book will show you what is really holding your school back and the three culture strategies you need to put in place to create a genuinely outstanding school. A school which delivers excellent education is holistic, has great results and prepares your students for their next steps whilst being a joy to work in. Sonia Gill has an impressive track record in supporting headteachers to create genuinely outstanding schools without focusing on the Ofsted framework; the schools she supports are far more likely to achieve 'outstanding' than those that don't.

School inspections still have the potential to spread fear and panic through even the best-run schools, but this practical book will remove all of the anxiety, with its proven advice to help ensure a successful inspection.

Ideal for all teachers, whether newly qualified or with decades of experience, FAQs for School Inspection will guide the reader calmly through the pre- and post-inspection stages, offering valuable insights into what can happen during the inspection itself. Covering recent legislative changes and everything to do with school inspection, it outlines the teacher/inspector relationship and gives advice on coping with the potential stresses of inspections.

Organised into logical sections, the book covers issues such as

• preparing for inspection
• being inspection-aware
• the effects inspection has on you personally
• what happens after inspection.

Complete with advice on using inspection to further personal and professional development, this ready-reference guide will allow teachers to play a confident and influential role in school inspection.

This open access book discusses challenges in school improvement research and different methodological approaches that have the potential to foster school improvement research. Research on school improvement and accountability analysis places high demands on a study's design and method. The potential of combining the depth of case studies with the breath of quantitative measures and analyses in a mixed-methods design seems very promising. Consequently, the focus of the book lies on innovative methodological approaches. The book chapters address design, measurement, and analysis developments as well as theoretical and conceptual developments. The relevance of the research presented in the chapters for educational accountability is discussed in the book's discussion chapter. More specifically, authors present one specific innovative methodological approach and clarify that approach with a concrete example in the context of school improvement, based on empirical data when possible. In this way, this book helps researchers designing complex useful studies.

Principals want all students to bridge the achievement gap. Sometimes they just don't know how to make it happen. This book looks at what successful principals do to close the achievement gap and move their schools from one that needs improvement to one that is succeeding for all students. With current federal legislation, a principal who does not reach the proficiency mandates on the prescribed timetable ends up with a great deal of second guessing and community outcry. How can a principal avoid that result and instead be recognized as someone who went above and beyond to be sure that all of the students crossed the gap successfully in the right place and at the right time? In this book, the authors provide principals with the "how" to exit Program Improvement, the "protocol for success" that professionals in other fields have access to on a daily basis. Principals reading this handbook will have at their fingertips detailed descriptions of the behaviors needed to build success.

In this volume the authors develop a systematic and chronologically based critique of the major concepts, figures and schools in organization. Themes discussed include: the development of scientific management and the responses of Gramsci and Lenin to it the meaning of Mayo and the Human Relations School the development of typological systems and contingency models of the organization key concepts of goals, environment and technology.

First Published in 1998. This is Volume XX of twenty-eight in the Sociology of Education series. This book seeks to portray the growth of inspection in England, in a framework of its relations with teaching on the one hand, with administration on the other. It traces the history of inspection in the organisation of schools from its beginnings, examines the position of inspectors and the work of inspection, and identifies the difference between the functions of Her Majesty's Inspectors and those of the inspectors to a local education authority

In this volume the authors develop a systematic and chronologically based critique of the major concepts, figures and schools in organization. Themes discussed include: the development of scientific management and the responses of Gramsci and Lenin to it the meaning of Mayo and the Human Relations School the development of typological systems and contingency models of the organization key concepts of goals, environment and technology.

Principals want all students to bridge the achievement gap. Sometimes they just don't know how to make it happen. This book looks at what successful principals do to close the achievement gap and move their schools from one that needs improvement to one that is succeeding for all students. With current federal legislation, a principal who does not reach the proficiency mandates on the prescribed timetable ends up with a great deal of second guessing and community outcry. How can a principal avoid that result and instead be recognized as someone who went above and beyond to be sure that all of the students crossed the gap successfully in the right place and at the right time? In this book, the authors provide principals with the 'how' to exit Program Improvement, the 'protocol for success' that professionals in other fields have access to on a daily basis. Principals reading this handbook will have at their fingertips detailed descriptions of the behaviors needed to build success.

Written for heads and teachers, this forward-thinking book examines exactly what the relationship between inspection and self-evaluation means for schools and explores some of the underpinning issues, featuring examples of best practice from successful schools. It is full of useful advice on topics such as how schools can juggle ongoing self-evaluation with OFSTED's expectations, how to use web sources to best advantage and what can be learnt from experience to lessen the anxiety in the relationship and make it more of a friendly and formative experience for all parties. Drawing on case studies from primary, secondary and special schools, this all-round overview should be of immediate interest to practitioners while also offering students and aspiring heads and teachers a valuable source of detailed information about the processes of inspection and self-assessment.

Effective LEAs and School Improvement examines the ways in which Local Education Authorities can support and challenge schools to raise educational standards. The book includes case studies of effective LEAs and interludes from heads and governors on their experience of working with LEAs.
Effective LEAs and School Improvement enables Local Education Authorities to learn from existing good practice and to reflect upon their current situation and plan ahead to meet future demands. It is essential reading for all LEAs concerned with raising educational standards.

This text traces the development of different forms of inspection. It draws on a range of sources such as research and inspection evidence, writing by key figures, teachers' own experiences, newspaper headlines and other comments. The book includes summary questions and other signposts for the reader, as well as a fully annotated bibliography. It also pays attention to other types of school self-evaluation.
James Learmouth explores the impact of inspection on schools in difficulties, and outlines the ways in which research and other evidence suggests that schools improve.

In February 1994 Northicote School, situated in a deprived area of Wolverhampton, was the first in the country to be named and shamed, OfSTED called the school 'appalling in almost every way'. Then Geoff Hampton took over as head - five years later he was awarded a knighthood for transforming the fortunes of this failing school; and its pupils. This book pulls out the key points from the five year programme and shares successful strategies with other heads, governors and teachers. Full of clear advice and guidance fro new and experienced headteachers, containing sections on: Managing the reactions of staff and pupils to an unfavourable OfStED report Finding a positive route to improvement _ Action planning _ Staff and pupil issues _ The role of the headteacher _ Changing the culture of the school _ Involving the wider community _ _ This story is inspirational but it is grounded in the practical realities facing headteachers and senior management teams in education today. The reader cannot fail to be motivated by what has been achieved.

Focusing on the Improving Schools Project in South Wales, Effective Change in Schools explores the process of successful and substantial educational change. The 32 schools which took part in the project all made significant changes in their practice in order to improve pupil achievement. This book describes and analyses the central features of that educational transformation process.
The authors include:
*information about the project, its aims and purposes
*fresh and innovative perspective on the change process in schools and the leadership and management of change
*examination of the key aspects of school effectiveness and improvement
*description of the strategies adopted by the schools to initiate change and an outline of the issues that the schools faced as they attempted to move forward
*consideration of the role of leadership in educational transformation and the essence of the successful leader.
This is an invaluable guide to anyone endeavouring to bring about change in their own school or who has an interest in educational management and leadership.

Focusing on the Improving Schools Project in South Wales, Effective Change in Schools explores the process of successful and substantial educational change. The 32 schools which took part in the project all made significant changes in their practice in order to improve pupil achievement. This book describes and analyses the central features of that educational transformation process.
The authors include:
*information about the project, its aims and purposes
*fresh and innovative perspective on the change process in schools and the leadership and management of change
*examination of the key aspects of school effectiveness and improvement
*description of the strategies adopted by the schools to initiate change and an outline of the issues that the schools faced as they attempted to move forward
*consideration of the role of leadership in educational transformation and the essence of the successful leader.
This is an invaluable guide to anyone endeavouring to bring about change in their own school or who has an interest in educational management and leadership.

This comprehensive guide book for governors specifically focuses on providing clear guidance on issues facing schools now. Topics covered include:
*the Home-School agreement
*the school day, the school year
*citizenship
*literacy and numeracy provision
*school self-evaluation and the light-touch inspection.
The book addresses issues that are new to all governors.

The authors explore teachers' perceptions of the causes of their stress, the experience and effects of stress, and the process of recovery and self renewal. The book is based on interviews with numerous primary school teachers clinically diagnosed as suffering from stress-related illness. These interviews are comlmented by an organisational study of two primary schools, one a 'low' stress school, the other a 'high'stress school.
The findings inform policy recommendations aimed at preventing at source occupational stress in the teaching adn 'caring' professions, as well as offering advise to inividuals suffering from stress.

In a political and economic climate in which school performance is made public, performance tables and inspectors' reports can only tell a partial story.
This is a unique book. It tells the story of one school seen through the eyes of a pupil, a parent, a teacher, a headteacher and a critical friend. The story is a compelling journey through the process of school improvement; theories of school effectiveness and school improvement are progressively clarified.
This book is based on a well-known and well-documented research project that represents eighteen European countries, which clearly sets it in a European Policy context. It includes a wealth of practical tools for raising standards for teachers and school managers to refer to, and guidance on how to use them.
This eagerly awaited follow-up to Schools Must Speak for Themselves by John MacBeath (RoutledgeFalmer 1999) is a vital and useful source of good ideas, challenging insights and practical strategies for real schools.


eBook available with sample pages: 0203165853

The UK government's education policy is based on the setting of targets, yet the fear and loathing that an Ofsted inspection can generate is widely known. This text critically assesses the role, impact and effect of the inspection body and dissects its usefulness.

During the 1990s school inspection became a controversial political issue. This history of HMI since World War II shows how its independence derives from the work of the 19th century inspectors and examines the relationship between HMI and school, local education authorities and the government. The later chapters study the effect of the 1988 and 1992 Education Acts and conclude with an analysis of proposals for the future of school inspection.

In recent decades, governing practices in education have become highly contradictory: deregulation and decentralisation are accompanied by re-regulation and increased centralisation, contributing to considerable governing tensions in and across different national systems and within the emergent European education policy space. On the one hand there is the persistence of performance monitoring through target-setting, indicators and benchmarks, and on the other, the promotion of self-evaluation and light touch regulation that express a softer governance turn, and promote self-regulation as the best basis for constant improvement.

Drawing on research undertaken into three national systems, this edited volume explores the attempts to manage these tensions in Europe through the development of inspection as a governing practice. Inspectorates and inspectors offer key locations for the exploration of governing tensions, positioned as they are between the international, the national, and the local and institutional, and with responsibility for both regulation and development. All three national systems offer contrasting approaches to inspection, all of which have changed considerably in recent years. "

Governing by Inspection" positions inspection in the framework of changing education policy and politics, and in a period of intensive policy development and exchange in Europe. It will be key reading for academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of education, political science and social policy."

This book offers a unique and critical explication of teachers' understanding and experience of care during a period of regulatory scrutiny and 'notice to improve'. Written following research in a primary school in the north of England, it draws on the findings of an institutional ethnography to reveal the institutional mediation of the teachers' everyday work. Written from a critical interpretivist standpoint, the focus moves away from care as essentialist practice by foregrounding the teachers' talk, through 'I' poems, to explicate the political mediation of care. Care is understood, experienced and operates in a social milieu. It is not fixed and, importantly, is not understood as a practice or an emotional exchange between one person and another. In this book, Joan Tronto's (1993) argument for a 'political ethic of care' is utilised as a conceptual framework for understanding teachers' experiences. It is an alternative to approaches that individualise a teacher's caring practices as only belonging in the intimate, proximal domains of care giving and care receiving.

School evaluation is often linked to issues of accountability, performance assessment, regulation and inspection, where the work of teachers and/or the functioning of the school becomes the subject of critique. School Evaluation with a Purpose explores the latest thinking surrounding external and self-evaluation in schools. Examining teacher professionalism, reflective practice and what really matters in education, it considers the key challenges around current evaluative practice and puts forward alternative methods of evaluation, placing reflective practice and teacher professionalism at its heart. Exploring the stories of evaluation and the practice of resilient schools and school leaders in five European contexts, the book aims to support and promote the agency of teachers, school leaders and students. This book will be of particular interest to school leaders internationally, researchers, master's students of Education and Education Leadership, and policymakers responsible for law enforcement in the field of school inspection.

School evaluation is often linked to issues of accountability, performance assessment, regulation and inspection, where the work of teachers and/or the functioning of the school becomes the subject of critique. School Evaluation with a Purpose explores the latest thinking surrounding external and self-evaluation in schools. Examining teacher professionalism, reflective practice and what really matters in education, it considers the key challenges around current evaluative practice and puts forward alternative methods of evaluation, placing reflective practice and teacher professionalism at its heart. Exploring the stories of evaluation and the practice of resilient schools and school leaders in five European contexts, the book aims to support and promote the agency of teachers, school leaders and students. This book will be of particular interest to school leaders internationally, researchers, master's students of Education and Education Leadership, and policymakers responsible for law enforcement in the field of school inspection.

Written for heads and teachers, this forward-thinking book examines exactly what the relationship between inspection and self-evaluation means for schools and explores some of the underpinning issues, featuring examples of best practice from successful schools.

It is full of useful advice on topics such as how schools can juggle ongoing self-evaluation with OFSTEDa (TM)s expectations, how to use web sources to best advantage and what can be learnt from experience to lessen the anxiety in the relationship and make it more of a friendly and formative experience for all parties. Drawing on case studies from primary, secondary and special schools, this all-round overview should be of immediate interest to practitioners while also offering students and aspiring heads and teachers a valuable source of detailed information about the processes of inspection and self-assessment.