The updated Fourth Edition of Rossman and Rallis's popular introductory text leads the new researcher into the field by explaining the core concepts through theory, research, and applied examples. Woven into the chapters are three themes that are the heart of the book: first, research is about learning; second, research can and should be useful; and finally, a researcher should practice the highest ethical standards to ensure that a study is trustworthy. The Fourth Edition includes an elaborate discussion of systematic inquiry as well as a nuanced discussion of developing a conceptual framework.

The role of the teacher is no longer confined to the classroom or to interactions with students. The authors of this book illustrate through case studies the emerging roles of 'dynamic' teachers which incorporate: seeing themselves as professionals and making a commitment to professional behaviours; challenging student thinking through appropriate questioning strategies; extending the classroom into the community, and bringing the community into the classroom; and becoming agents of change, advocating school reform.

Designed to foster "inquiry-mindedness," this book prepares graduate students to develop a conceptual framework and conduct inquiry projects that are linked to ongoing conversations in a field. The authors examine different ways of knowing and show how to identify a research question; build arguments and support them with evidence; make informed design decisions; engage in reflective, ethical practices; and produce a written proposal or report. Each chapter opens with a set of critical questions, followed by a dialogue among five fictional graduate students exploring questions and concerns about their own inquiry projects; these issues are revisited throughout the chapter. Other useful features include end-of-chapter learning activities for individual or group use. Useful pedagogical features include: * Framing questions for exploration and reflection. * Chapter-opening dialogues that bring in perspectives from multiple disciplines. * Example boxes with detailed cases and questions for the reader. * End-of-chapter activities and experiential exercises that guide readers to develop their own inquiry projects. * Suggestions for further reading.

'This essential guide for educational leaders skillfully blends scholarship with practice and integrates theory with real-world examples. Through case studies, the authors show the reader how to develop, support, and improve a collaborative, inquiry-action process for improving teaching and learning. If we are going to have schools that successfully educate all students to high standards, then we need principals who translate the lessons of this book into practice' - Andrew Lachman, Executive Director, Connecticut Center for School Change Enhance learning with a collaborative, inquiry-based system of leadership! With sociopolitical forces prompting calls for school improvement, school leaders look for ways to expand their expertise in instructional leadership and strengthen their role in shaping classroom practice. Leading With Inquiry and Action presents a systematic, ongoing process for collecting information, making decisions, and taking action to improve instruction and raise student achievement. The authors illustrate this collaborative inquiry-action cycle with a running vignette of an experienced principal and offer questions and exercises to guide individual reflection and group discussion. Thoroughly grounded in research, this book helps administrators: - Identify areas for instructional improvement - Determine community-supported solutions and build stakeholder commitment - Articulate an action plan based on multiple data sources - Take steps that support teacher development - Systematically evaluate programme results Educational improvement requires informed leadership. This practical guide provides an efficient and functional framework for transforming current or aspiring principals into inquiry-minded, action-oriented instructional leaders.

Leading Dynamic Schools: How to Create and Implement Ethical Policies is a policy book for people who work in and with schools: teachers, building level leaders, central office administrators, board members, and parent boards. In accessible language, the authors deconstruct the conceptions and understandings of educational policy. This volume serves as a companion volume to Principals of Dynamic Schools (Rallis and Goldring, Corwin Press, 2000) and Dynamic Teachers (Rallis and Rossman, Corwin Press, 1995), books that introduced the construct of dynamic schools. This book also draws on work from Becoming a Reflective Educator (Reagan, Case and Brubacher, Corwin Press, 2000). Policy is an often overused and more often misunderstood concept. The authors bring to life the making and enacting of educational policy in schools, and help readers develop a more sophisticated and complex understanding of the purposes, evaluation, creation, and implementation of school policies at all levels. As in the earlier books, the authors use vignettes and cases, as well as research and relevant theories, to illustrate important concepts. The theme of power within policy permeates the text. The authors recognize that policy tends to represent dominant voices, and that power can be appropriate and legitimate. Dynamic schools are places where multiple voices contribute to the policy-making and implementing process.

Leading Dynamic Schools: How to Create and Implement Ethical Policies is a policy book for people who work in and with schools: teachers, building level leaders, central office administrators, board members, and parent boards. In accessible language, the authors deconstruct the conceptions and understandings of educational policy. This volume serves as a companion volume to Principals of Dynamic Schools (Rallis and Goldring, Corwin Press, 2000) and Dynamic Teachers (Rallis and Rossman, Corwin Press, 1995), books that introduced the construct of dynamic schools. This book also draws on work from Becoming a Reflective Educator (Reagan, Case and Brubacher, Corwin Press, 2000). Policy is an often overused and more often misunderstood concept. The authors bring to life the making and enacting of educational policy in schools, and help readers develop a more sophisticated and complex understanding of the purposes, evaluation, creation, and implementation of school policies at all levels. As in the earlier books, the authors use vignettes and cases, as well as research and relevant theories, to illustrate important concepts. The theme of power within policy permeates the text. The authors recognize that policy tends to represent dominant voices, and that power can be appropriate and legitimate. Dynamic schools are places where multiple voices contribute to the policy-making and implementing process.

Diversity is at the heart of today's education debates. Often, school policies and programs designed to encourage and embrace diversity are met with public ire and a deep misunderstanding of how diversity serves learning. This work explains how diversity is an essential element in classroom settings. As children from around the world continue to pour into U.S. classrooms, an understanding of cultural and linguistic diversity in its broadest sense moves to the foreground. In a post 9/11 world, the benefits of understanding diversity take on urgent meaning. The introductory chapter, "Participating in Democracy Means Participating in Schools," sets the tone for the discussion to follow. As the geographic backgrounds of immigrants becomes increasingly diverse, religion must be added to previous discussions of race, ethnicity, and language. Thus, the need for the public to understand how shifts in population affect schools, makes this work a vital resource for anyone concerned with education today.

`A major contribution. The administrative accompaniment to the school restructuring and teacher empowerment movement' - Robert L Crowson, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL In this newly updated edition, Sharon Rallis and Ellen Goldring describes and illustrates good school leadership practices, drawing on the authors' case studies and surveys, and the research of others.

Designed to foster "inquiry-mindedness," this book prepares graduate students to develop a conceptual framework and conduct inquiry projects that are linked to ongoing conversations in a field. The authors examine different ways of knowing and show how to identify a research question; build arguments and support them with evidence; make informed design decisions; engage in reflective, ethical practices; and produce a written proposal or report. Each chapter opens with a set of critical questions, followed by a dialogue among five fictional graduate students exploring questions and concerns about their own inquiry projects; these issues are revisited throughout the chapter. Other useful features include end-of-chapter learning activities for individual or group use. Useful pedagogical features include: * Framing questions for exploration and reflection. * Chapter-opening dialogues that bring in perspectives from multiple disciplines. * Example boxes with detailed cases and questions for the reader. * End-of-chapter activities and experiential exercises that guide readers to develop their own inquiry projects. * Suggestions for further reading.