In this insightful and timely volume, Jane Perryman provides a definitive analysis of the crisis in teacher recruitment and retention through a critique of the culture of performative accountability in education, bringing together theory, literature, and empirical data. Drawing on data across several long-term research projects and through a Foucauldian theoretical framework, Perryman argues that teachers' working lives, both in the UK and internationally, are being increasingly affected by the rise in the neoliberal performativity and accountability culture in schools. Teachers' work is increasingly directed towards assessment, exams, progress measures, and preparation for review and inspection, and drawn away from the more individualistic and creative aspects of the job. This culture of hyper accountability and super-performativity, Perryman argues, has created a 'discourse of disappointment' - where the hopes and aspirations of teachers are crushed beneath the performative pressures under which they work. Teacher Retention in an Age of Performative Accountability offers a convincing, compellingly written critical analysis of how the values, purposes and practices embedded in education affect the working experience of teachers over time. Perryman makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the effects of accountability and performativity mechanisms in schools and offers insight into why so many teachers leave the profession. This analysis is important to scholars, educators, and policymakers alike.

In this insightful and timely volume, Jane Perryman provides a definitive analysis of the crisis in teacher recruitment and retention through a critique of the culture of performative accountability in education, bringing together theory, literature, and empirical data. Drawing on data across several long-term research projects and through a Foucauldian theoretical framework, Perryman argues that teachers' working lives, both in the UK and internationally, are being increasingly affected by the rise in the neoliberal performativity and accountability culture in schools. Teachers' work is increasingly directed towards assessment, exams, progress measures, and preparation for review and inspection, and drawn away from the more individualistic and creative aspects of the job. This culture of hyper accountability and super-performativity, Perryman argues, has created a 'discourse of disappointment' - where the hopes and aspirations of teachers are crushed beneath the performative pressures under which they work. Teacher Retention in an Age of Performative Accountability offers a convincing, compellingly written critical analysis of how the values, purposes and practices embedded in education affect the working experience of teachers over time. Perryman makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the effects of accountability and performativity mechanisms in schools and offers insight into why so many teachers leave the profession. This analysis is important to scholars, educators, and policymakers alike.

The essential guide to the smoke firing method with highlights from international artists' work. Smoke firing is an ancient technique, used both to fire raw clay into durable ceramic and also to decorate it with smoke designs. Its technological simplicity not only lends itself to endless interpretations but encourages artistic creativity through improvisation and experimentation. Smoke Firing is a thorough survey of the varied work and approaches of contemporary artists today, showing recent innovative developments. By investigating the ideas of selected ceramicists Jane Perryman reveals the meanings and inspiration behind their work. Clear and colourful images demonstrate the various processes used, showing sequences of artists in action. The book covers smoke firing using bonfires, various containers, earth pits, saggars, and kilns, with a chapter on how smoke firing can be used as an educational tool in groups and workshops. Dynamic illustrations feature the work of the 29 artists represented, from 17 different countries, making it a truly international focus on smoke firing.

A growing number of ceramic artists now choose not to glaze their work. Instead, they use an unglazed-naked-surface to express their ideas and concerns. From slips and terra sigillata to burnishing, engobes, oxide washes, and additions to the clay body, there is a wide range of techniques artists can employ to achieve the finishes they desire. As these techniques are suitable for a broad spectrum of processes, subject matter and context (from slipcasting to handbuilding, from high to low firing temperatures, from figurative to conceptual, from domestic to public), the scope of the work produced by the artists represented in this book is enormous. In Naked Clay Jane Perryman not only presents the finished ceramics and techniques of an international group of artists, she also investigates their ideas and areas of inspiration to further an understanding of their work. Each artist presented here has a unique style and way of working, but they are all connected through their committed relationship to the material and their desire to express their ideas using "naked" clay. This beautifully illustrated book will inform and inspire not only students, professionals, and teachers, it will fascinate collectors and, indeed, anyone with an interest in contemporary ceramics.