This is the story of how a tiny independent charity has succeeded against all odds. Having met nothing but resistance in its early years, Teach First is today Britain's largest employer of graduates. It receives over 7000 applications for 1000 teaching positions annually in the most challenging schools in the country.
Success Against the Odds is an exciting book about effective schools in disadvantaged areas, written for a wide audience. The findings will be invaluable to headteachers, teachers, governors in all schools, and will also be of great interest to parents and indeed all those who are concerned about the future of our schools and our children. The best-selling report of the National Commission on Education, Learning to Succeed, published in 1993, achieved widespread attention, acclaim and influence. Success Against the Odds will do the same. This powerful new book picks up one of the key themes of its predecessor, namely how schools in disadvantaged areas can not only be particularly effective but can continue to improve. A dozen teams have undertaken to investigate a school which can be described as `succeeding against the odds'. Each team includes: * a leading educationalist, providing knowledge about effective teaching and learning and expertise in school improvement; * someone from the business world, offering a fresh insight into the successful management of the school as an organisation, and its interaction with the world of work; * someone working in the regeneration of deprived areas, providing a perspective that places education not in isolation, but as an interdependent part of the life of a local community The teams have visited a range of successful schools in disadvantaged areas to identify and analyse the key features of their effectiveness, or of their improvement. The schools between them cover a broad spectrum: primary, secondary and special; inner city, town and rural; local education authority maintained, voluntary and grant-maintained. What all the schools have in common is proven experience of overcoming difficult circumstances. In the case of each school, in-depth investigations of the life and work of the school have taken place, and the teams have attempted to explain the success of these schools. Some are detailed accounts of the life and work of the school, drawing on the views of pupils, parents and teachers to show what lies behind the consistent effectiveness of the school. Others are stories of schools that were 'turned round' from being failing schools to being schools on a long-term improvement path. In the concluding chapter, the National Commission on Education show that all schools have lessons to learn from these schools.
Against the Odds takes a close look at the resilient students who excel in PISA surveys despite a disadvantaged background. It provides insights into what enables socio-economically disadvantaged students to fulfil their potential.
This Handbook received an honorable mention at the 2009 PROSE Awards. The PROSE Awards annually recognize the very best in professional and scholarly publishing by bringing attention to distinguished books, journals, and electronic content in over 40 categories. "This volume fills the tremendous void that currently exists in providing a much-needed lens for cultural leadership and proficiency. The approach provides a wide divergence of perspectives on African American forms of leadership in a variety of diverse leadership settings." —Len Foster, Washington State University The SAGE Handbook of African American Education is a unique, comprehensive collection of theoretical and empirical scholarship in six important areas: historical perspectives, teaching and learning, PK–12 school leadership, higher education, current issues, and education policy. The purpose of the Handbook is to articulate perspectives on issues affecting the participation and leadership of African Americans in PK–12 and postsecondary education. This volume also addresses historical and current issues affecting the education of African Americans and discusses current and future school reform efforts that directly affect this group. Key Features Promotes inquiry and development of questions, ideas, and dialogue about critical practice, theory, and research on African Americans in the United States educational system Makes significant contributions to the scholarship on African Americans in the broad context of U.S. education and society Addresses the central question—in what ways do African Americans in corporate, private, and public positions influence and shape educational policy that affects African Americans? "The SAGE Handbook of African American Education is a unique, comprehensive collection of theoretical and empirical scholarship in six important areas: historical perspectives, teaching and learning, Pre-K-12 school leadership, higher education, current issues, and education policy." —TEACHERS OF COLOR "A wise scientist once argued that to doubt everything or to believe everything often results in the same solution set; both eliminate the need for reflection. This handbook provides an intellectual space for those interested in true reflection on the human ecology of the African American experience in schools, communities, and society. The /Handbook of African American Education/ is a repository of information developed to advance the human service professional." —William F. Tate IV, Washington University in St. Louis "This handbook represents the most comprehensive collection of research on African Americans in education to date. Its breadth spans the historical, the political, institutional and community forces that have shaped educational opportunities and attainment among African Americans. The review of extant research on a range of topics from the role of culture and identity in learning, teacher preparation, educational leadership, to higher education and educational policy is far-reaching and cutting edge. This volume has historic significance and will become a classic collection on African American education for scholars and practitioners alike." —Carol D. Lee, Professor, Northwestern University Vice-President, Division G, American Educational Research Association "This handbook is needed as a basic reference for professors and graduate students conducting research on the education of Blacks in America." —Frank Brown, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Social advantage and disadvantage are potent catch-all terms. They have no established definition but, considered in relation to one another, they can embrace a wide variety of more specific concepts that address the ways in which human society causes, exacerbates or fails to prevent social divisions or injustices. This book captures the sense in which any conceptualisation of disadvantage is concerned with the consequences of processes by which relative advantage has been selectively conferred or attained. It considers how inequalities and social divisions are created as much by the concentration of advantage among the best-off as by the systematic disadvantage of the worst-off. The book critically discusses - from a global and a UK perspective - a spectrum of conceptual frameworks and ideas relating to poverty, social exclusion, capability deprivation, rights violations, social immobility, and human or social capital deficiency. It addresses advantage and disadvantage from a life course perspective through discussions of family and childhood, education, work, old age, and the dynamics of income and wealth. It considers cross-cutting divides that are implicated in the social construction and maintenance of advantage and disadvantage, including divisions premised on gender, 'race', ethnicity, migration and religion, neighbourhood and the experience of crime.
This book is all about the nexus of “state, development intervention and the development community” where the main objective of the development intervention is to enhance the revenue of the State’s economy. The institutional parameters are instrumental in this success. However, these mechanisms are limited to few stages of development, giving very little space to the development communities. This book is intended to present the contemporary research outcomes on the cross-cutting theme of development induced displacement. Please note: This title is co-published with Aakar Books, New Delhi. Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka.
This book draws on the stories of thirty-two young Australians to identify the barriers and obstacles they face in ‘getting a job’ in precarious times and from their vantage point. It maps the kinds of educational policies and practices that need to be created and more widely sustained to assist their career aspirations and life chances. It is timely in terms of contributing to an alternative set of possibilities based on a commitment to the principles and values of social justice, respect, trust, care, democracy and citizenship. In constructing an alternative vision and practice for education and training it advocates the right of all young people to have a say in these broader public debates. In pursuing this agenda, it deliberately sets out to listen to what young people themselves have to say with a view to interrupting the way things are. In other words, the book seeks to identify and explain the dreams, desires and aspirations of young people with a view to creating a new imaginary and socially just future.
An amazing life story filled with overwhelming adventure and powerful but real tales of stunning survival. Ron Irwin faced his first death as he had faced his entire life, with unshakeable determination to not only survive but to thrive. This is his story and a great guide for all who seek a stronger and longer life.
Tracing the development of initial teacher education since the large-scale expansion of the teaching profession after the Second World War to the present day, The Transformation of Initial Teacher Education explores the changing nature of teacher training. Examining the growth of the ‘teaching industry’, this book addresses key issues including: the return to an apprentice model the growing importance of schools in initial teacher training the continuing decline in the role played by higher education an examination of the broader socio-economic context of increased marketisiation a reconsideration of the international political factors driving the reform process; and interviews with prominent individuals who have been involved with the development of policy Considering the ideas and ideals that have permeated teacher education and how these have shaped the experiences of trainees on a variety of programmes across a broader international context, this book examines the future of teacher education and the changing nature of teaching, providing essential insight for trainee teachers, school staff and any academics involved in teacher education.