Judyth Sachs – författare

"an engaging text through out and can be dipped in to or read from beginning to end... The editors and authors of this book have done a great service to teachers and professional development educators worldwide" Journal of Inservice Education

This Handbook brings together theoretical and empirical research on purposes, policies and practices of teachers' continuing professional development (CPD) over the last twenty years.

It provides a unique collection of regional writing from key professionals in different regions of the world, featuring:

Contributors: Beatrice Avalos, Ray Bolam, Pam Christie, Marion Dadds, Christopher Day, John Elliott, Susan Groundwater-Smith, Shirley Grundy, Ken Harley, Alma Harris, Geert Kelchtermans, Geoff Lindsay, Judith Warren Little, Agnes McMahon, Daniel Muijs, Alan Penny, Judith Robison, Judyth Sachs, Ciaran Sugrue, David Tripp

Teachers in primary schools deal with a wide range of issues every day. This book helps teachers to understand those issues, and how they fit in with recent government policies and initiatives. Each chapter looks at: * relevant statements of policy or initiative * how these statements fit into the context of specific schools * the challenges they present for those involved in schools * how schools can respond to these challenges * learning across contexts Each chapter has been written by one practitioner and one academic and between them the chapters cover the whole range of Australian primary schools.

Teachers in primary schools deal with a wide range of issues every day. This book helps teachers to understand those issues, and how they fit in with recent government policies and initiatives. Each chapter looks at: * relevant statements of policy or initiative * how these statements fit into the context of specific schools * the challenges they present for those involved in schools * how schools can respond to these challenges * learning across contexts Each chapter has been written by one practitioner and one academic and between them the chapters cover the whole range of Australian primary schools.

Susan Groundwater-Smith is one of the most influential voices in the world of educational practitioner inquiry. The convener in Australia of the Coalition of Knowledge Building Schools, she is a staunch advocate of innovative methods of practitioner inquiry with a particular emphasis upon student voice and the use of images in capturing young people’s perspectives on their learning experience. So it is more than fitting that this unique text on practitioner inquiry and teacher professional learning is dedicated to her.

Rethinking Education Practice Through Reflexive Inquiry is a compilation of essays that explore contemporary issues in practitioner inquiry and action research from the perspective of both university-based and school-based authors. The essays discuss the practical, political and theoretical dimensions of practitioner inquiry, advancing the argument that the adoption of an inquiring approach to practice is both an integral dimension of teachers’ work in the modern school as well as critical to effective and authentic professional learning. And the essays draw on the work of Groundwater-Smith to demonstrate the benefits brought to bear on schools, teachers and learners when the complex nature of the relationship between inquiry and practice is understood and acted upon in pursuit of democratic knowledge interests.

Incorporating both theoretical and practical perspectives, this volume of papers explores varied aspects of peer review of teaching in higher education. The section on theory features contributions from academics based in Europe, North America and Australia. It provides a number of models demonstrating ways in which collegial peer commentary can enhance the quality of learning and teaching. The chapters examine in detail the importance of communication and leadership, and deploy evidence from one-on-one interviews that evince the value of considering collegiality, emotions, attitudes, and spaces in peer review. The analysis shows how these factors are central to the ways in which lecturers and teachers communicate with each other to create constructive opportunities for learning.

The chapters on practical considerations detail the peer review process and include case studies from institutions in Africa, Europe, North America and Australia, which focus on different areas of the topic, including peer review as a quality assurance mechanism, peer review in distance education, peer review in foundation courses, and peer review embedded within a department and across a university. The book ends with an international perspective on the role of peer review in ensuring a holistic approach to quality enhancement in learning and teaching.