This book gives readers big ideas for how to think about applying systems thinking in education to create the conditions for sustainable, continuous development. The theory of Systems Thinking is explained and concretized through stories of its application at all levels of the educational system. Chapters are designed to help readers “unearth” the importance of Systems Thinking and understand its centrality to the sustainability of education as a social system.

This book gives readers big ideas for how to think about applying systems thinking in education to create the conditions for sustainable, continuous development. The theory of Systems Thinking is explained and concretized through stories of its application at all levels of the educational system. Chapters are designed to help readers “unearth” the importance of Systems Thinking and understand its centrality to the sustainability of education as a social system.

Every year, an average of 20% of schools replace their principals. This book will inform and enhance the process of recruiting new personnel with its insights and practical suggestions for a successful search. This book also offers current thinking and research to help school boards and policy makers retain the professional leaders they have. This book is a must-read for principals and board members alike. While the departure of ineffective principals can be beneficial for schools, frequent turnover negatively impacts students’ achievements. Today, when effective and powerful educational leadership is critical for quality teaching and student achievement, the numbers of principal candidates are diminishing and of incumbents waning. This book explores the central issues of principal development, appointment, and retention policies and practices. Its chapters ask what school boards, policymakers, and principals can do to ensure accountability, transparency, responsiveness, stability, equity, and inclusiveness to assure the longevity of school leaders within the system. Principal Recruitment and Retention presents the research findings of seventeen international scholars in the field over ten chapters. These scholars survey their respective situations from their home countries of United States of America, New Zealand, Israel and Turkey. The problems are similar; the solutions will be edifying.

Every year, an average of 20% of schools replace their principals. This book will inform and enhance the process of recruiting new personnel with its insights and practical suggestions for a successful search. This book also offers current thinking and research to help school boards and policy makers retain the professional leaders they have. This book is a must-read for principals and board members alike. While the departure of ineffective principals can be beneficial for schools, frequent turnover negatively impacts students’ achievements. Today, when effective and powerful educational leadership is critical for quality teaching and student achievement, the numbers of principal candidates are diminishing and of incumbents waning. This book explores the central issues of principal development, appointment, and retention policies and practices. Its chapters ask what school boards, policymakers, and principals can do to ensure accountability, transparency, responsiveness, stability, equity, and inclusiveness to assure the longevity of school leaders within the system. Principal Recruitment and Retention presents the research findings of seventeen international scholars in the field over ten chapters. These scholars survey their respective situations from their home countries of United States of America, New Zealand, Israel and Turkey. The problems are similar; the solutions will be edifying.

Leading and Learning for Effective Feedback in K-12 Classrooms provides practical applications for those who conduct teacher classroom observations and provide feedback for growth. Leaders will learn strategies to support content and program area teachers with effective feedback practices. The book supplements effective instructional practices and includes strategies for useful modifications of mandated uniform observation instruments. The collection of thirteen chapters in this edited text includes: Supervisory theories Developmental and differentiated feedback Applying human resource orientation to supervision Using classroom video for supervision Feedback for equitable change Feedback for culturally responsive instruction Teacher supervision in: STEM, literacy, early childhood education, gifted education, career and technical education, and virtual schools After reading Leading and Learning for Effective Feedback in K-12 Classrooms, readers will be equipped with foundational knowledge as well as specific feedback strategies for supervising programs and content areas. Readers will develop skills in providing effective feedback that promotes teacher growth leading to instructional strategies that increases student learning.

Leading and Learning for Effective Feedback in K-12 Classrooms provides practical applications for those who conduct teacher classroom observations and provide feedback for growth. Leaders will learn strategies to support content and program area teachers with effective feedback practices. The book supplements effective instructional practices and includes strategies for useful modifications of mandated uniform observation instruments. The collection of thirteen chapters in this edited text includes: Supervisory theories Developmental and differentiated feedback Applying human resource orientation to supervision Using classroom video for supervision Feedback for equitable change Feedback for culturally responsive instruction Teacher supervision in: STEM, literacy, early childhood education, gifted education, career and technical education, and virtual schools After reading Leading and Learning for Effective Feedback in K-12 Classrooms, readers will be equipped with foundational knowledge as well as specific feedback strategies for supervising programs and content areas. Readers will develop skills in providing effective feedback that promotes teacher growth leading to instructional strategies that increases student learning.

This book presents arguments for adopting a Systems way of Thinking about developing schools to become in sync with the times, both locally and globally. Systems Thinking and Quality Management both are natural approaches for educators to adapt schooling to the rapid changes of life today in a global context. The chapters include strong rationales for adopting a more natural way of thinking about schooling, one that prepares students for life as it is now evolving around the world. Stories of success are abundant, which offer evidence of the power of a systems approach to leading school development in the complex context of schooling today. Research studies report up-to-date evidence of the power of Systems Thinking to continuously adapt schooling to changing conditions.

This book presents arguments for adopting a Systems way of Thinking about developing schools to become in sync with the times, both locally and globally. Systems Thinking and Quality Management both are natural approaches for educators to adapt schooling to the rapid changes of life today in a global context. The chapters include strong rationales for adopting a more natural way of thinking about schooling, one that prepares students for life as it is now evolving around the world. Stories of success are abundant, which offer evidence of the power of a systems approach to leading school development in the complex context of schooling today. Research studies report up-to-date evidence of the power of Systems Thinking to continuously adapt schooling to changing conditions.

The existing literature on instructional leadership mainly examines the components, procedures, and mechanisms of instructional leadership and its influence on school performance and student academic results. The application of instructional leadership is insufficiently discussed. Moreover, despite longstanding efforts to campaign for instructional leadership's prioritization, several studies have shown that the time devoted by principals to instructional leadership activities is inadequate. These disappointing statistics make the research on instructional leadership application most necessary. Why do principals find it difficult to put instructional leadership into action? What can help them overcome the challenges involved in applying instructional leadership? What functions of instructional leadership do school leaders tend to sidestep? New Explorations for Instructional Leaders: How Principals Can Promote Teaching and Learning Effectively answers these questions and addresses the need for additional research-informed literature on instructional leadership application. The findings of Haim Shaked's studies, conducted over the past five years among principals working in the Israeli school system, are presented in this book in a way that can be used by researchers, policymakers, school leaders, and educators in different countries.

The existing literature on instructional leadership mainly examines the components, procedures, and mechanisms of instructional leadership and its influence on school performance and student academic results. The application of instructional leadership is insufficiently discussed. Moreover, despite longstanding efforts to campaign for instructional leadership's prioritization, several studies have shown that the time devoted by principals to instructional leadership activities is inadequate. These disappointing statistics make the research on instructional leadership application most necessary. Why do principals find it difficult to put instructional leadership into action? What can help them overcome the challenges involved in applying instructional leadership? What functions of instructional leadership do school leaders tend to sidestep? New Explorations for Instructional Leaders: How Principals Can Promote Teaching and Learning Effectively answers these questions and addresses the need for additional research-informed literature on instructional leadership application. The findings of Haim Shaked's studies, conducted over the past five years among principals working in the Israeli school system, are presented in this book in a way that can be used by researchers, policymakers, school leaders, and educators in different countries.

Successful principals today need skills in both management and leadership because both are essential to achieve success in all facets of running a school-one is not necessarily more important than the other. However, there are not many books solely devoted to school management. Most work on school management is part of larger works on school administration. Managing Today's Schools: New Skills for School Leaders in the 21st Century is unique in that the focus on managerially operating a school does not hinder discussion on the interconnectedness between management and leadership. Additionally, emphasis is placed on 21st- century cutting-edge ideas about school management. Each chapter includes case study-type scenarios with thought-provoking questions that simultaneously summarize the chapter while also helping readers think about the ways they might put the ideas of the chapter into practice.

Successful principals today need skills in both management and leadership because both are essential to achieve success in all facets of running a school-one is not necessarily more important than the other. However, there are not many books solely devoted to school management. Most work on school management is part of larger works on school administration. Managing Today's Schools: New Skills for School Leaders in the 21st Century is unique in that the focus on managerially operating a school does not hinder discussion on the interconnectedness between management and leadership. Additionally, emphasis is placed on 21st- century cutting-edge ideas about school management. Each chapter includes case study-type scenarios with thought-provoking questions that simultaneously summarize the chapter while also helping readers think about the ways they might put the ideas of the chapter into practice.

Crisis and Pandemic Leadership: Implications for Meeting the Needs of Students, Teachers, and Parents provides the theoretical and practical strategies necessary for a school leader to confront many crises that inevitably occur. A major theme is that an effective school leader must possess several characteristics and skills including, among others, intestinal fortitude, foresight and insight, a positive long-term outlook, and organizational and interpersonal competencies.

Crisis and Pandemic Leadership: Implications for Meeting the Needs of Students, Teachers, and Parents provides the theoretical and practical strategies necessary for a school leader to confront many crises that inevitably occur. A major theme is that an effective school leader must possess several characteristics and skills including, among others, intestinal fortitude, foresight and insight, a positive long-term outlook, and organizational and interpersonal competencies.

In today's Western school systems, white, straight, middle-class and physically-able students reach higher achievements, drop out less, and have a greater chance of learning in higher education institutions than their counterparts who do not possess these characteristics. While many agree that theory, research and practice should be intertwined to support the type of schooling (and society) that values rather than marginalizes, few scholars offer ground-breaking, pragmatic approaches to developing truly transformative leaders. The purpose of this book is to offer a practical, process-oriented model aimed at helping educational leaders to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions and then to take action against the oppressive elements of reality. To this end, this book utilizes transformative andragogy, which leads to a new way of seeing and a new way of being. It is the art and science of helping others to think critically and act responsibly, to examine beliefs, to accept, reject or modify values, and to engage in activism and advocacy with and for others. Therefore, this book is of great value to those who wish to prepare tomorrow's school leaders for their role as promoters of social justice and excellence.

In today's Western school systems, white, straight, middle-class and physically-able students reach higher achievements, drop out less, and have a greater chance of learning in higher education institutions than their counterparts who do not possess these characteristics. While many agree that theory, research and practice should be intertwined to support the type of schooling (and society) that values rather than marginalizes, few scholars offer ground-breaking, pragmatic approaches to developing truly transformative leaders. The purpose of this book is to offer a practical, process-oriented model aimed at helping educational leaders to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions and then to take action against the oppressive elements of reality. To this end, this book utilizes transformative andragogy, which leads to a new way of seeing and a new way of being. It is the art and science of helping others to think critically and act responsibly, to examine beliefs, to accept, reject or modify values, and to engage in activism and advocacy with and for others. Therefore, this book is of great value to those who wish to prepare tomorrow's school leaders for their role as promoters of social justice and excellence.

The Job-Embedded Nature of Coaching: Lessons for School Leaders is a book for sitting principals, aspiring principals, and teacher leaders. This edited volume includes studies that describe and detail findings from dissertation research conducted by scholar-practitioners in preK-12 schools. This book makes unique contributions to the field of practice and understanding of coaching (instructional and peer coaching) as forms of job-embedded learning, most especially for teachers in the beginning years in the profession. Each chapter examines very specific aspects of coaching that school leaders need to have understanding about to be able to create systems that support teachers in the work they do to teach students, interact with colleagues, etc. Conclusions and recommendations are offered for school leaders to support an environment and culture that embraces coaching and job-embedded learning as an integral part of the school's foundation for building capacity. The messages across the chapters point to the primacy of coaching to promote teacher engagement and its value as job-embedded learning.

The Job-Embedded Nature of Coaching: Lessons for School Leaders is a book for sitting principals, aspiring principals, and teacher leaders. This edited volume includes studies that describe and detail findings from dissertation research conducted by scholar-practitioners in preK-12 schools. This book makes unique contributions to the field of practice and understanding of coaching (instructional and peer coaching) as forms of job-embedded learning, most especially for teachers in the beginning years in the profession. Each chapter examines very specific aspects of coaching that school leaders need to have understanding about to be able to create systems that support teachers in the work they do to teach students, interact with colleagues, etc. Conclusions and recommendations are offered for school leaders to support an environment and culture that embraces coaching and job-embedded learning as an integral part of the school's foundation for building capacity. The messages across the chapters point to the primacy of coaching to promote teacher engagement and its value as job-embedded learning.

Making Learning Job-Embedded: Cases from the Field of Instructional Leadership is a book for sitting principals, aspiring principals, and teacher leaders. This edited volume includes studies that describe and detail findings from dissertation research conducted by scholar-practitioners in preK-12 schools. These studies examined job-embedded professional learning-how teachers learned from their work, how they grew in their understandings of their work with students, and how they could learn from their interactions with others. Each chapter examines very specific aspects of professional learning that school leaders need to have understanding about to be able to create systems that support teachers in the work they do to teach students, interact with colleagues, participate in team meetings, and other aspects that constitute the work of being a teacher. Conclusions and recommendations are offered for school leaders to support an environment and culture that embraces job-embedded learning as an integral part of the school's foundation for building capacity. The messages across the chapters point to the primacy of teacher engagement and the value of job-embedded learning.

Research on consumption can shed light on many fundamental questions, such as the character of society, including social and cultural dimensions; the relations between the generations; dependency on technology and the risks involved; the rise of Asia and its potential consumption preferences; the question of whether we must continuously increase our consumption to avoid a recession and whether this is ecologically sustainable. In the field of consumption research there is need for analytical rigor based on theory and empirical evidence as well as discussions that will inspire readers to ask important questions regarding future development. The contributors to this innovative volume are scholars and experts in the field of consumption representing a variety of disciplines such as anthropology, economics, history, marketing, political science, and sociology. This book not only provides readers with a nuanced picture of consumption, but intends to enrich and sharpen the general debate about society today.

Unveiling the Breath is a narrative nonfiction book that examines the dilemmas of gender harmonization in a globalizing world--a world that Donna Kennedy-Glans has observed firsthand through her business experience and humanitarian work. It incorporates East-West perspectives, faith and feminism, male and female points of view, ways to reconcile spirituality and patriarchy, and the issues involved in raising sons. Yet, as she explores the quandaries of gender in both East and West, Donna perceives more similarities than differences. The book unpeels the "Gender Onion" starting from the outer, more secular layers of our globalizing world, the workplace, and communities, to the inner core of our private world of faith, spirituality, and family.

Research on consumption can shed light on many fundamental questions, such as the character of society, including social and cultural dimensions; the relations between the generations; dependency on technology and the risks involved; the rise of Asia and its potential consumption preferences; the question of whether we must continuously increase our consumption to avoid a recession and whether this is ecologically sustainable. In the field of consumption research there is need for analytical rigor based on theory and empirical evidence as well as discussions that will inspire readers to ask important questions regarding future development. The contributors to this innovative volume are scholars and experts in the field of consumption representing a variety of disciplines such as anthropology, economics, history, marketing, political science, and sociology. This book not only provides readers with a nuanced picture of consumption, but intends to enrich and sharpen the general debate about society today.

Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, high-stakes testing has become a ubiquitous feature of public school children's daily rituals. Reform advocates argue that testing leads to greater alignment of the curriculum with teaching and learning, teacher and student accountability, and in some cases, a preservation of our cultural heritage. Opponents contend that testing results in prolific cheating, higher drop-out rates, and a narrowing curriculum with emphases on teaching to the test. Moreover, some evidence suggests that a singular focus on passing the test at all costs leads to neglect in other areas including attending to students' spiritual and ethical needs as well as developing abilities to collaborate with others, communicate effectively, and innovatively solve problems. Nearly a century ago, Dewey proposed a philosophy of education addressing the needs of the whole student. He provided insights into the development of intelligence, the importance of socially useful skills, and the healthy growth of the individual. In the context of high-stakes testing and best practices, his insights may be more prescient than ever.