Helen Gunter – författare

Educational Leadership brings together innovative perspectives on the crucial role of theory and theorising in educational leadership at a time when the multiple pressures of marketisation, competition and system fragmentation dominate the educational landscape. This original and highly thought-provoking edited collection is a much-needed counterbalance to the anti-theoretical trends that have underpinned recent education reforms.Contributors employ a range of theories in original and innovate ways in order to reveal the lived experiences of what it means to be an educational leader at a time of rapid modernisation, where the conceptual terrain of ‘modern’ has been appropriated by corporate and private interests, where notions of ‘public’ are not only hidden, but also derided, and where school leaders must meet the conflicting demands of competing accountabilities. Drawing on research projects conducted in the UK, Educational Leadership presents convincing evidence that the need to consider theory crosses national borders, and the authors discuss changes to professional identities and practices that researchers around the world will recognise.This detailed and insightful work will appeal to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of education and sociology, as well as those with an interest in organisational and political theory. The topical subject matter also makes the book of relevance to practitioners and policy-makers in education and the public services more generally.

This book draws on the lessons from one of the most intensive periods of educational reform in any country during recent times. The post-1997 English experience, under a New Labour government, is used to illustrate the opportunities and challenges associated with attempting to develop a world class education system. Such reforms are fiercely contested - and often polarized - with proponents stressing the opportunities created, while others reveal the erosion of professional values. Contributions from UK and overseas researchers, including Andy Hargreaves and John Smyth, reflect on the implications for those concerned with developing education systems across the globe. Focusing on the challenges of radical reform in key areas - including variation in educational achievement; accountability and standards; linking school and community policies; workforce reform and choice and diversity - the book includes chapters on: Accountability for School ImprovementWorkforce-modelling and Distributed LeadershipMulti-agency Work and Children’s ServicesThe Education and Poverty LinkPersonalised LearningInitial Teacher EducationDrawing on the framework developed by New Labour to assess the approaches to and outcomes of interventions and the extent to which policies can deliver promised transformations - but going much deeper and wider than this - the authors present a critical account of reform by studying examples of policies, and conceptualizing the interplay between policy, practice and research. With contributions from leading international commentators, this book will be of interest to researchers in education, education policy and school leadership.

This book draws on the lessons from one of the most intensive periods of educational reform in any country during recent times. The post-1997 English experience, under a New Labour government, is used to illustrate the opportunities and challenges associated with attempting to develop a world class education system. Such reforms are fiercely contested - and often polarized - with proponents stressing the opportunities created, while others reveal the erosion of professional values. Contributions from UK and overseas researchers, including Andy Hargreaves and John Smyth, reflect on the implications for those concerned with developing education systems across the globe. Focusing on the challenges of radical reform in key areas - including variation in educational achievement; accountability and standards; linking school and community policies; workforce reform and choice and diversity - the book includes chapters on: Accountability for School ImprovementWorkforce-modelling and Distributed LeadershipMulti-agency Work and Children’s ServicesThe Education and Poverty LinkPersonalised LearningInitial Teacher EducationDrawing on the framework developed by New Labour to assess the approaches to and outcomes of interventions and the extent to which policies can deliver promised transformations - but going much deeper and wider than this - the authors present a critical account of reform by studying examples of policies, and conceptualizing the interplay between policy, practice and research. With contributions from leading international commentators, this book will be of interest to researchers in education, education policy and school leadership.

In the past 40 years there have been a number of significant developments across the fields of educational administration and history. In this volume, the authors have selected a number of key issues to illustrate and trace these changes. The seven articles by leading scholars in the field offer an analysis of contemporary educational administration, history and policy debates and how this has impacted on teachers, leaders, schools and the education sector. This book offers readers a valuable insight into continuing and contemporary debates in the field and the authors offer a refreshing interpretation of these debates. This book provides a rich analysis from a range of theoretical, methodological perspectives and highlights the extent to which these debates remain a contemporary concern.This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Educational Administration and History.

For the first time, researchers, policymakers and practitioners across the world will have access to a comprehensive mapping of research evidence and policy strategies about education and poverty in affluent countries. Although there is widespread agreement that poverty and poor educational outcomes are related, there are competing explanations as to why that should be the case. This is a major problem for practitioners, policy makers and researchers who are looking for pointers to action, or straightforward ways of understanding an issue that troubles education systems across the world. This unique book brings scholarship and analysis from some of the most influential researchers and writers on education and poverty within one text. The authors provide a synthesising framework that will help researchers and policy makers to examine future educational policy in a holistic and comprehensive fashion.

For the first time, researchers, policymakers and practitioners across the world will have access to a comprehensive mapping of research evidence and policy strategies about education and poverty in affluent countries. Although there is widespread agreement that poverty and poor educational outcomes are related, there are competing explanations as to why that should be the case. This is a major problem for practitioners, policy makers and researchers who are looking for pointers to action, or straightforward ways of understanding an issue that troubles education systems across the world. This unique book brings scholarship and analysis from some of the most influential researchers and writers on education and poverty within one text. The authors provide a synthesising framework that will help researchers and policy makers to examine future educational policy in a holistic and comprehensive fashion.

`Leaders and Leadership in Education makes a significant contribution to improvement literature. It will challenge school managers taking headship and leadership qualifications, or any reader with a serious interest in reconceptualising leadership for learning' - TES Friday Magazine

`Leaders and Leadership in Education is a well-documented account of how leadership has been studied and therefore presented. For academic readers it is valuable as an insightful and critical text' - Journal of In-Service Education

`Helen Gunter's book makes a significant contribution to the existing literature on leadership in education.... For anyone who has an interest in current thinking about leadership and in reconceptualizing leadership for learning, this book will be of great interest' - Educational Research

Leadership within educational settings is widely regarded as essential for organizational effectiveness and the improvement of learning outcomes.

Through an extensive review of theory and practice, Helen M Gunter explores the contested field of leadership studies. She describes and critiques the different contributions made by:

- critical studies

- education management

- school effectiveness

- school improvement

Leadership is examined as function, as behaviour and as leadership relationship, from students as leaders, through to headteachers. The author provides an up-to-date review of current thinking about leadership, which challenges the reader to engage with and develop alternative ways of thinking about their own leadership.

This book is essential reading for practitioners on Masters and EdD courses and NPQH/LPSH training, and for anyone committed to teaching and learning.

`Leaders and Leadership in Education makes a significant contribution to improvement literature. It will challenge school managers taking headship and leadership qualifications, or any reader with a serious interest in reconceptualising leadership for learning' - TES Friday Magazine

`Leaders and Leadership in Education is a well-documented account of how leadership has been studied and therefore presented. For academic readers it is valuable as an insightful and critical text' - Journal of In-Service Education

`Helen Gunter's book makes a significant contribution to the existing literature on leadership in education.... For anyone who has an interest in current thinking about leadership and in reconceptualizing leadership for learning, this book will be of great interest' - Educational Research

Leadership within educational settings is widely regarded as essential for organizational effectiveness and the improvement of learning outcomes.

Through an extensive review of theory and practice, Helen M Gunter explores the contested field of leadership studies. She describes and critiques the different contributions made by:

- critical studies

- education management

- school effectiveness

- school improvement

Leadership is examined as function, as behaviour and as leadership relationship, from students as leaders, through to headteachers. The author provides an up-to-date review of current thinking about leadership, which challenges the reader to engage with and develop alternative ways of thinking about their own leadership.

This book is essential reading for practitioners on Masters and EdD courses and NPQH/LPSH training, and for anyone committed to teaching and learning.

`The book has a wide appeal to existing heads, aspiring heads, lecturers and writers about headship. The contributors to this book have lifted the curtain on the realities of headships and, in the process, have added to our understanding of what school leadership is all about these days' - Managing Schools Today

Practitioners and trainers understand how vitally important school leadership is to the practice of headship. Living Headship presents the experiences of successful heads working in primary and secondary schools. We hear in their accounts the authentic voices of heads determined to ensure that their leadership enhances the performance of their schools. Some have been in post for many years, and have been able to implement and sustain and reconsider their vision. Others have moved into schools with difficulties and brought them out of special measures. All demonstrate a profound commitment to the education of children and a determination to find ways to take their schools forward. Many of the chapters are underpinned by research, and all are based on a rigorous consideration of particular issues.

To set these analyses in context, the editors present an essential, in-depth history of the conceptualization of headship. The deep commitment to learning and the challenge presented here, make this book essential reading for practitioners, trainers and all concerned about the future of education.

`The book has a wide appeal to existing heads, aspiring heads, lecturers and writers about headship. The contributors to this book have lifted the curtain on the realities of headships and, in the process, have added to our understanding of what school leadership is all about these days' - Managing Schools Today

Practitioners and trainers understand how vitally important school leadership is to the practice of headship. Living Headship presents the experiences of successful heads working in primary and secondary schools. We hear in their accounts the authentic voices of heads determined to ensure that their leadership enhances the performance of their schools. Some have been in post for many years, and have been able to implement and sustain and reconsider their vision. Others have moved into schools with difficulties and brought them out of special measures. All demonstrate a profound commitment to the education of children and a determination to find ways to take their schools forward. Many of the chapters are underpinned by research, and all are based on a rigorous consideration of particular issues.

To set these analyses in context, the editors present an essential, in-depth history of the conceptualization of headship. The deep commitment to learning and the challenge presented here, make this book essential reading for practitioners, trainers and all concerned about the future of education.

Educational Leadership brings together innovative perspectives on the crucial role of theory and theorising in educational leadership at a time when the multiple pressures of marketisation, competition and system fragmentation dominate the educational landscape. This original and highly thought-provoking edited collection is a much-needed counterbalance to the anti-theoretical trends that have underpinned recent education reforms.Contributors employ a range of theories in original and innovate ways in order to reveal the lived experiences of what it means to be an educational leader at a time of rapid modernisation, where the conceptual terrain of ‘modern’ has been appropriated by corporate and private interests, where notions of ‘public’ are not only hidden, but also derided, and where school leaders must meet the conflicting demands of competing accountabilities. Drawing on research projects conducted in the UK, Educational Leadership presents convincing evidence that the need to consider theory crosses national borders, and the authors discuss changes to professional identities and practices that researchers around the world will recognise.This detailed and insightful work will appeal to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of education and sociology, as well as those with an interest in organisational and political theory. The topical subject matter also makes the book of relevance to practitioners and policy-makers in education and the public services more generally.

In the past 40 years there have been a number of significant developments across the fields of educational administration and history. In this volume, the authors have selected a number of key issues to illustrate and trace these changes. The seven articles by leading scholars in the field offer an analysis of contemporary educational administration, history and policy debates and how this has impacted on teachers, leaders, schools and the education sector. This book offers readers a valuable insight into continuing and contemporary debates in the field and the authors offer a refreshing interpretation of these debates. This book provides a rich analysis from a range of theoretical, methodological perspectives and highlights the extent to which these debates remain a contemporary concern.This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Educational Administration and History.