Pam Sammons

This book is based on the largest and most extensive empirical study of contemporary leadership in primary and secondary schools in England. The results demonstrate that heads of successful schools improve the quality of student learning and achievement through who they are – their values, virtues, dispositions and competencies – as well as their timely use of change and improvement strategies.Successful School Leadership provides a comprehensive analysis of the values and qualities of head teachers. It assesses the strategies they use and how they adapt these to their particular school context in order to ensure positive increases in the learning, well being and achievement of their students. The authors:Identify a basic set of leadership practices resulting from their findings Analyse and describe the leadership values, qualities and behaviours related to different phases in schools’ improvement journeysProvide illustrative case studies of primary and secondary schools that highlight context sensitive strategies Provide a contemporary overview of international research and thinking about successful school leadershipRecognize similar and distinguishing features between schools in different socio-economic groupsThis book is valuable reading for…school leaders and senior teachers, educational policy makers and advisors, as well as anyone involved or interested in education and its leadership.

Methodological Advances in Educational Effectiveness Research is an important new work by some of the leading researchers in the field of Educational Effectiveness Research (EER). The book provides a state of the art snapshot of the methodology of EER now and clearly demonstrates the way it is applied in both research and evaluation. It shows how developments in the research methodology area such as the use of multilevel modelling approaches to analyse nested data have promoted the knowledge-base of educational effectiveness. But at the same time, as the authors show, the knowledge-base of educational effectiveness and the attempt to establish theoretical models do paradoxically challenge the development of methodologically appropriate studies including ways of analysing data. Guiding readers though the effective and appropriate use in educational effectiveness of: Longitudinal Studies Experimental Studies Mixed Research Methods Meta-analyses of effectiveness studies Using IRT to measure outcomes and factors Using Generalisability Theory to test the quality of data Multilevel modelling , and Structural Equation Modelling Techniques The authors draw in the expertise of scholars from around the world to show the mathematical background of each technique, the current and future applications, and Specific examples of applying this orientation to help the readers design their own effectiveness studies using specific methodological tools.

Methodological Advances in Educational Effectiveness Research is an important new work by some of the leading researchers in the field of Educational Effectiveness Research (EER). The book provides a state of the art snapshot of the methodology of EER now and clearly demonstrates the way it is applied in both research and evaluation. It shows how developments in the research methodology area such as the use of multilevel modelling approaches to analyse nested data have promoted the knowledge-base of educational effectiveness. But at the same time, as the authors show, the knowledge-base of educational effectiveness and the attempt to establish theoretical models do paradoxically challenge the development of methodologically appropriate studies including ways of analysing data. Guiding readers though the effective and appropriate use in educational effectiveness of: Longitudinal Studies Experimental Studies Mixed Research Methods Meta-analyses of effectiveness studies Using IRT to measure outcomes and factors Using Generalisability Theory to test the quality of data Multilevel modelling , and Structural Equation Modelling Techniques The authors draw in the expertise of scholars from around the world to show the mathematical background of each technique, the current and future applications, and Specific examples of applying this orientation to help the readers design their own effectiveness studies using specific methodological tools.

Teachers Matter offers the most definitive portrait of teachers’ lives and work to date. At a time when teaching standards are high on the political and social agenda, the quality and commitment of teaching staff is seen as paramount and they are viewed as pivotal to the economic and social well being of society. But:What are the influences that help or hinder teachers’ commitment?Is there an association between commitment and pupil attainment?Why are teachers’ identities important?What are teachers’ needs and concerns in different professional life phases?Does school context count?Based on a DfES funded study of 300 teachers in 100 primary and secondary schools in England, the authors identify different patterns of influence and effect between groups of teachers, which provide powerful evidence of the complexities of teachers’ work, lives, identity and commitment, in relation to their sense of agency, well-being, resilience and pupil attitudes and attainment. This, in turn, provides a clear message for teachers, teachers’ associations, school leaders and policy makers, in understanding and supporting the need to build and sustain school and classroom effectiveness. The book addresses issues such as the importance of career development, the relationships between school leadership, culture and teachers’ lives, maintaining a work-life balance, identity and well-being and the connection between commitment, resilience and effectiveness in the classroom. Original and highly relevant, Teachers Matter is invaluable reading for teachers, head teachers, researchers and teacher educators.

`This book is a very useful text for anyone studying comparative education systems as well as those who seek to understand more fully the complexities and frustrations that lie beneath the underuse of the leadership skills and talents of women in schools, colleges and higher education in a number of European contexts: England and Wales, France, The Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Norway and Spain' - School Leadership & Management `There are few books of which one can say 'all secondary teachers and governors should read this book' but this is one of them. I would recommend it to primary colleagues too....Its messages about school effectiveness can uniquely be applied to school improvement because there is data about how the same children fared under different regimes in different subject areas in the same school' - School Leadership & Management This major new school effectiveness study is a thought-provoking investigation of the concept of secondary school effectiveness. Based on a three-year study of secondary schools' GCSE performance, the authors point to the importance of looking at: trends over time; effectiveness for different groups of students; and subject differences. They highlight the importance of moving beyond 'league table approaches' and the need to focus on individual departments using value-added approaches. Forging Links illustrates the complexities of judging school performance. The findings make a significant contribution to our understanding of the factors and processes which help some schools and departments to enhance student progres