A. Michael Huberman – författare

School improvement, like motherhood, has many advocates. Everyone is for it, without having to campaign actively on its behalf. And just as the 100% of people who have had mothers think they know how mothering could be done better, so the (nearly) 100% of people who have been pupils in schools, or have even taught in or managed them, think they know how schools can be im­ proved. More precisely, they are sure that schools ought to be improved. The trouble is that they propose a staggering, conflicting range of methods of improving the schools, from ;'back to the woodshed" to teacher merit pay, a stiffer curriculum, a stronger tax base, reorganization, a more humane climate, "teacher-proof" innovations, community involvement-the list is nearly end­ less. Furthermore, the issues are not merely technical, but normative and po­ litical. The term improvement is itself problematic. One person's version of improvement is another's version of wastefulness or even of worsening the schools. Furthermore, the versions that win out in any particular school are not Improvement sometimes turns out to be merely a necessarily technically "best. " code word for the directives that administrators have successfully put into place, or for the agreements that teachers have lobbied into being. How much do we really know about school improvement? The available research literature is quite substantial, but not as helpful as it might be.

'Burnout' was first investigated in the 1970s as a crisis of overextended and disillusioned human service workers. But the nature of the syndrome has changed with the evolutions in the nature of these professions. The current experience of burnout is lived out in a more difficult social context, with human service workers struggling harder for social credibility and job security. For instance, through the greater demands on their time and energy, teachers are being pressed to do more work with fewer resources, while receiving fewer rewards and less recognition of their efforts. The objective of this 1999 volume is to provide different perspectives and a deeper understanding of the nature, conditions and consequences of burnout, notably in the teaching profession. To do this, the contributions review much research in the field, describing research agenda and action agendas designed to combat the incidence of burnout in the workplace.

'Burnout' was first investigated in the 1970s as a crisis of overextended and disillusioned human service workers. But the nature of the syndrome has changed with the evolutions in the nature of these professions. The current experience of burnout is lived out in a more difficult social context, with human service workers struggling harder for social credibility and job security. For instance, through the greater demands on their time and energy, teachers are being pressed to do more work with fewer resources, while receiving fewer rewards and less recognition of their efforts. The objective of this 1999 volume is to provide different perspectives and a deeper understanding of the nature, conditions and consequences of burnout, notably in the teaching profession. To do this, the contributions review much research in the field, describing research agenda and action agendas designed to combat the incidence of burnout in the workplace.

There is no longer any question that qualitative inquiry is fundamental to the enterprise of social science research, with a broad reach and a history all its own. This book seeks to introduce—to reintroduce—readers to selections that provide a solid intellectual grounding in the area of qualitative research. Thoughtfully and painstakingly culled from over a thousand candidate articles by co-editors A. Michael Huberman and the late Matthew B. Miles (co-authors of the seminal Qualitative Data Analysis), The Qualitative Researcher's Companion examines the theoretical underpinnings, methodological perspectives, and empirical approaches that are crucial to the understanding and practice of qualitative inquiry. Incisive, provocative, and drawn from across the many disciplines that employ qualitative inquiry, The Qualitative Researcher's Companion is a key addition to the bookshelf of anyone involved in the research act.

There is no longer any question that qualitative inquiry is fundamental to the enterprise of social science research, with a broad reach and a history all its own. This book seeks to introduce—to reintroduce—readers to selections that provide a solid intellectual grounding in the area of qualitative research. Thoughtfully and painstakingly culled from over a thousand candidate articles by co-editors A. Michael Huberman and the late Matthew B. Miles (co-authors of the seminal Qualitative Data Analysis), The Qualitative Researcher's Companion examines the theoretical underpinnings, methodological perspectives, and empirical approaches that are crucial to the understanding and practice of qualitative inquiry. Incisive, provocative, and drawn from across the many disciplines that employ qualitative inquiry, The Qualitative Researcher's Companion is a key addition to the bookshelf of anyone involved in the research act.

School improvement, like motherhood, has many advocates. Everyone is for it, without having to campaign actively on its behalf. And just as the 100% of people who have had mothers think they know how mothering could be done better, so the (nearly) 100% of people who have been pupils in schools, or have even taught in or managed them, think they know how schools can be im­ proved. More precisely, they are sure that schools ought to be improved. The trouble is that they propose a staggering, conflicting range of methods of improving the schools, from ;'back to the woodshed" to teacher merit pay, a stiffer curriculum, a stronger tax base, reorganization, a more humane climate, "teacher-proof" innovations, community involvement-the list is nearly end­ less. Furthermore, the issues are not merely technical, but normative and po­ litical. The term improvement is itself problematic. One person's version of improvement is another's version of wastefulness or even of worsening the schools. Furthermore, the versions that win out in any particular school are not Improvement sometimes turns out to be merely a necessarily technically "best. " code word for the directives that administrators have successfully put into place, or for the agreements that teachers have lobbied into being. How much do we really know about school improvement? The available research literature is quite substantial, but not as helpful as it might be.