inFORM

Leadership for Learning: The Cambridge Network publishes occasional papers under the title 'inFORM'. This series of publications is designed to provide brief introductions to emerging issues relevant to leadership for learning.

To obtain copies please visit our other site: www.leadershipforlearning.org.uk or contact lfl@educ.cam.ac.uk

2011

The International Teacher Leadership project

David Frost

This issue inFORM coincides with the publication of a report on the ITL project: 'Supporting teacher leadership in 15 countries - the International Teacher Leadership project, Phase 1'.

Professor Jonathan Jansen: questions and reflections

It was a huge privilege to host Professor Jonathan Jansen at the Faculty of Education in April. As the first black Dean of a South African University, he has faced extraordinary challenges. This latest version of InForm seeks to convey something of the impact of his talk, combining questions put to him afterwards by John MacBeath with reflections from many of the people present.

A Game Changing Summit: The International Summit on the Teaching Profession

John Bangs

This issue reports on a recent high profile event in New York City in March, attended by a galaxy of international speakers together with teacher unions from around the world.  The Teacher’s Summit, organised by Education International (EI), was an arena for discussion and debate, contesting policy direction but, most importantly, reaffirming the pivotal role played by the teaching profession in improving schools. John Bangs, a key player in EI who attended the session, offers his own personal reflections on the achievements and implications of the event.

2010

'The Importance of Teaching' An analysis of the Government's White Paper

John Bangs

In an article for the Times Educational Supplement earlier this year John Bangs asked the fundamental question: ‘what strategy does the Government have for the future of the teaching profession?’ In this edition of InForm John seeks an answer to that question in the Schools White Paper, ‘The Importance of Teaching’ (DfE, 2010). He provides a commentary on key aspects, and would welcome any responses.

2008

The Legacy of the Carpe Vitam Leadership for Learning project

David Frost, John MacBeath, Sue Swaffield and Joanne Waterhouse

The Carpe Vitam Leadership for Learning (LfL) project was a three year international research project involving researchers and practitioners in eight different cities - Brisbane, Australia; Innsbruck, Austria; Copenhagen, Denmark; Oslo, Norway; Athens, Greece; London, England; Trenton (New Jersey) and Seattle (Washington) in the United States. It was a collaborative venture between academic institutions and schools within each of those sites, and among those colleagues internationally. The project was planned in parallel with the foundation of the LfL network as a means of exploring ways in which our values could be realised in practice in a range of different cultural and political contexts. The LfL values enabled potential participants to make the choice to opt into the Carpe Vitam project.

2007

School Facing Exceptionally Challenging Circumstances: A summary of the project evaluation

John MacBeath and Sue Swaffield

This edition of inFORM draws on the evaluation of a DfES project designed to raise achievement in eight secondary schools 'facing exceptionally challenging circumstances'. A fuller account and more details can be found in the DfES research report RW90. and the book 'Schools on the Edge' by John MacBeath, John Gray, Jane Cullen, David Frost, Susan Steward and Sue Swaffield published in 2007 by Paul Chapman.

2006

Teachers Behaving Badly? Dilemmas for School Leaders

Kate Myers

Teachers Behaving Badly? Dilemmas for School Leaders was published in October 2004. This InForm discusses some of the issues addressed in more depth in the book. In this paper, which concentrates on relations between adults in schools, some of the issues that leaders may have to address with regard to how sexuality may be manifested in schools are discussed.

2005

A New Relationship with Schools: Inspection and Evaluation

John MacBeath

This edition of InFORM draws on two recent studies of the relatiosnship between inspection and self-evaluation - for the National College of School Leadership (Self-evaluation: background principles and key learning, and Self-evaluation: models, tools and examples of practice), and Inspection and Self-evaluation: a new relationship? for the National Union of Teachers (MacBeath and Oduro, 2005). Return to top

2004

What Can Headteachers Do to Support Teachers' Leadership?

David Frost

We have always known that, whatever schemes and strategies are hatched in the centres of power and in headteachers' offices, it is what teachers do that ultimately makes a difference. Successful headteachers therefore are those who cultivate the capacity of teachers to contribute to the development of the effectiveness of their school. This commitment to the sharing of leadership is one of the cornerstones of the Leadership for Learning network. Return to top

2003

Critical Friendship

Sue Swaffield with a contribution by John Jones

Critical friends act as professional sounding boards, ask questions that help you see things in a new light, stimulate your thinking, provide a slightly detached viewpoint, have the best interests of you and your work at heart yet can be very challenging. inFORM Number 3 explores the potentially transforming relationship of critical friendship. It compares critical friends with others in similar roles; considers the characteristics and development of critical friends; suggests ways in which the subject of the critical friendship can and should contribute to the success of the relationship; gives examples of critical friendship from a range of Leadership for Learning activities, and provides suggestions for further reading.

2003

The Alphabet Soup of Leadership

John MacBeath

'Leadership' is a term full of ambiguity and a range of interpretations. inFORM Number 2 is a concise guide to a least 20 'types' of leadership or 'ingredients'in the current 'alphabet soup of leadership'. It explains and explores terms and concepts such as 'moral leadership', 'distributed leadership', 'transactional leadership', 'transformational leadership', and 'instructional leadership'. As well as clarifying many leadership related terms in common usage, this edition of inFORM can be used to support self reflection and development. Return to top

2002

PISA 2000

Raphael Wilkins and John MacBeath

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a research project run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It is an ongoing project, and the first results, 'PISA 2000', were published in autumn 2001. PISA is often quoted and used by policy makers and others to make particular points about how well or badly school students in the UK are doing in relation to other countries. Soundbites need to be understood in the context of how the study was undertaken, the detail of the results obtained, and informed interpretation of those results. InFORM Number 1 provides an accessible synopsis and commentary for PISA 2000. Return to top