This volume is a series of studies of schooling in its social context. The intent is to reframe the policy debate of the 1980s by examining schooling from this viewpoint. The first section focuses on becoming and being a teacher. The second section focuses on the school and the district, and the implementation of change. The third part attempts to establish how effectiveness is defined and operationalized in practice. The final section concerns the transition to adulthood and explores the ways young workers learn on the job.

This volume will introduce the readers to an alternative nexus of education, equity and economy, pointing to economies and educations that promote a less stratified and exploitive world, and as the chapter authors demonstrate, this view has a wide range of applications, from technology, mathematics, to environmental catastrophes and indigenous cultures. This first volume in the new book series not only introduces the series itself, but also several authors whose chapters that appear here presage the in-depth analysis that will be offered by their volumes in the series. Education is invoked repeatedly in the 'class warfare' that pits the population against the elites as the investment that makes the difference, in terms of both policy and individual commitment, in the economy. The economy in this scenario is competitive, accumulative, exploitive and stratifying, implying education should mirror this and prepare people to fit this economy. However, education has other historic goals of developing common cultures, national identities, and civic engagement that belie this form of economic determinism. This volume and the series will explore this new nexus of economy and education with equity.

This volume will introduce the readers to an alternative nexus of education, equity and economy, pointing to economies and educations that promote a less stratified and exploitive world, and as the chapter authors demonstrate, this view has a wide range of applications, from technology, mathematics, to environmental catastrophes and indigenous cultures. This first volume in the new book series not only introduces the series itself, but also several authors whose chapters that appear here presage the in-depth analysis that will be offered by their volumes in the series. Education is invoked repeatedly in the 'class warfare' that pits the population against the elites as the investment that makes the difference, in terms of both policy and individual commitment, in the economy. The economy in this scenario is competitive, accumulative, exploitive and stratifying, implying education should mirror this and prepare people to fit this economy. However, education has other historic goals of developing common cultures, national identities, and civic engagement that belie this form of economic determinism. This volume and the series will explore this new nexus of economy and education with equity.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of School Reform is a monumental publication that provides a wide-ranging collection of school reform strategies from several geographical regions around the world. It illustrates both the theory and practical outcomes of reform efforts situated in different cultural contexts. The major theme that runs through the Encyclopedia is both the successes and failures of reforms: the detailed analyses offered in the text have a unique potential to guide future reforms. The power of the text is its ability to shift readers out of their culturally myopic perspective, and to seriously engage with alternative ways of conceptualizing and solving educational problems. The Encyclopedia is organized geographically, and each section offers multiple perspectives on school reform initiatives as they have been carried out in different countries and regions around the world. It is the most extensive work of its kind and will be essential reading for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers interested in improving learning outcomes for students at all levels.

Any conception of staff development emerges from an understanding of teaching, schooling, and education. The way people define and think about staff development will be influenced inevitably by their philosophy of education: their values, beliefs, and their taken-forgranted assumptions about what is and what ought to be. Clearly, education theories, interpretations of research, and experiential considerations impinge on educators' ideas and actions. Thus, these three broad frameworks must be illuminated in order to examine staff development. This work explores these three major sources of conceptions of staff development: theory, research, and analytical reflection of educators' experiences. It offers fresh insights into teaching and schools as well as a broader and more powerful conception of staff development.