Rose M. Ylimaki - Böcker

Although traditional curriculum and instructional leadership frameworks have dominated educational administration training for almost thirty years, it has become increasingly clear that even the most recent frameworks have failed today’s leaders who struggle with the politics of curriculum decisions on a daily basis. Critical Curriculum Leadership is an examination of curriculum leadership in the wake of U.S. testing mandates and school reforms, all of which seem to support a particular set of conservative ideologies. Drawing from her own longitudinal ethnographic study and from existing literature and research in the field, Ylimaki explores the formation of curriculum leadership in relation to broader cultural and political shifts. She shows how traditional leadership frameworks have come up short, and makes the case for an alternative leadership theory at the intersection of educational leadership and curriculum studies. She provides analytical tools that inspire progressive education and offers critical theories, strategies, research examples, problem-posing cases, and research ideas essential for curriculum leadership in the present conservative era. Critical Curriculum Leadership will appeal to the many educational leadership scholars and practitioners who are interested in developing effective and socially just curricula in their schools and districts as well as curriculum scholars who are interested in leadership issues.

Although traditional curriculum and instructional leadership frameworks have dominated educational administration training for almost thirty years, it has become increasingly clear that even the most recent frameworks have failed today’s leaders who struggle with the politics of curriculum decisions on a daily basis. Critical Curriculum Leadership is an examination of curriculum leadership in the wake of U.S. testing mandates and school reforms, all of which seem to support a particular set of conservative ideologies. Drawing from her own longitudinal ethnographic study and from existing literature and research in the field, Ylimaki explores the formation of curriculum leadership in relation to broader cultural and political shifts. She shows how traditional leadership frameworks have come up short, and makes the case for an alternative leadership theory at the intersection of educational leadership and curriculum studies. She provides analytical tools that inspire progressive education and offers critical theories, strategies, research examples, problem-posing cases, and research ideas essential for curriculum leadership in the present conservative era. Critical Curriculum Leadership will appeal to the many educational leadership scholars and practitioners who are interested in developing effective and socially just curricula in their schools and districts as well as curriculum scholars who are interested in leadership issues.

This Open Access book features a school development model (Arizona Initiative for Leadership Development and Research – AZiLDR) that offers a roadmap for schools to navigate the complexities of continuous school development. Filled with processes that balance evidence-based values with democratic, culturally responsive values, this book offers strategies to mediate the tensions and to address school culture, context and values, leadership capacity, using data as a source of reflection, curricular and pedagogical activity, and strengths-based approaches to meeting the needs of culturally diverse students. You will find:·       -  Active, reflective activities·        -  Case studies illustrating each concept·        - The research base supporting each concept·        -  Descriptions of processes from other contexts (South Carolina, Germany, Australia, Sweden)·        -  Thoughts about next steps for contextually sensitive and multi-level school development·       -   Suggestions for cross-national dialogue and research within the Zone of UncertaintyUse this ideal source to guide school leadership teams in creating productive schools that continually grow!

This Open Access book features a school development model (Arizona Initiative for Leadership Development and Research – AZiLDR) that offers a roadmap for schools to navigate the complexities of continuous school development. Filled with processes that balance evidence-based values with democratic, culturally responsive values, this book offers strategies to mediate the tensions and to address school culture, context and values, leadership capacity, using data as a source of reflection, curricular and pedagogical activity, and strengths-based approaches to meeting the needs of culturally diverse students. You will find:·       -  Active, reflective activities·        -  Case studies illustrating each concept·        - The research base supporting each concept·        -  Descriptions of processes from other contexts (South Carolina, Germany, Australia, Sweden)·        -  Thoughts about next steps for contextually sensitive and multi-level school development·       -   Suggestions for cross-national dialogue and research within the Zone of UncertaintyUse this ideal source to guide school leadership teams in creating productive schools that continually grow!

Yet, the traditionally disparate fields of educational leadership, curriculum theory and Didaktik have developed separately, both in terms of approaches to theory and theorizing in USA, Europe and Asia, and in the ways in which these theoretical traditions have informed empirical studies over time.

Yet, the traditionally disparate fields of educational leadership, curriculum theory and Didaktik have developed separately, both in terms of approaches to theory and theorizing in USA, Europe and Asia, and in the ways in which these theoretical traditions have informed empirical studies over time.

As educational policy trends converge in many countries, such as demands for greater accountability, decentralization, and more culturally sensitive practices for an increasingly diverse student body, there is growing interest in cross-national comparisons and generalizations about leadership qualities and practices that result in successful schools. US and Cross-National Policies, Practices and Preparation:  Implications for Successful Instructional Leadership, Organizational Learning, and Culturally Responsive Practices fills that need by bringing together triads of scholars from the International Study of Successful School Principals (ISSPP) to make direct comparisons among policies and practices in the U.S. with those in other national contexts, and then to draw implications for improving leadership preparation.   This book provides theories and empirical case study examples of instructional leadership, organizational learning, and culturally responsive practices as they are shaped by political, economic, and cultural factors in seven different national contexts. The seven countries featured in this book are the U.S., Australia, Denmark, England, Sweden, Norway, and Cyprus. The book begins with an overview of the ISSPP, including its underlying theoretical framework, its research methodologies employed, its limitations and how analyses of the project’s data and findings evolved from the first phase of the study to its current focus.