Educational strategies and policy Books

Book SynopsisLoose parts are natural or synthetic found, bought, or upcycled materials—acorns, hardware, stones, aluminium foil, fabric scraps, for example—that children can move, manipulate, control, and change within their play. Loose parts are alluring and beautiful. They capture children's curiosity, give free reign to their imagination, and encourage creativity. With more than 550 color photographs of many kinds of loose parts in real early childhood settings, classroom stories, and a dynamic overview, this book provides inspiration and information about the ways loose parts support open-ended learning, enhance play, and empower children. With loose parts, the possibilities are endless.

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Book Synopsis6 x 9Trade ReviewThis is an excellent book that broadens the concept of experiential learning methodologies, situating them within developmental pedagogies. -- Walter Enloe, coauthor of Project Circles and Learning Circles and former lead teacher and principal of the Paideia School and Hiroshima International SchoolWurdinger and Carlson clearly understand that experiential education is a broad concept that is not narrowly defined to a specific methodology or programmatic manifestation. This is a commendable effort to develop language that experiential educators from very different perspectives can use to talk with one another and to the broader world of educational policy making in general. -- Jasper Hunt, coordinator, Experiential Education Graduate Program, Minnesota State University-MankatoThe book provides conceptual understanding and is nonprescriptive in the delivery of theory and knowledge about this growing field that is crossing different academic content borders.... Written in a user-friendly style, this book is quite easy to read and is useful for different audiences.... Recommended. * CHOICE *After reading the book I find the approaches unassailable. The author's of this book have discovered five major themes of importance if the education system in America wants to get it right: 1. Motivation and interest is always the key to learning 2. Learning is much more complex than regurgitating facts 3. Applying, doing and producing enhances long-term memory and productivity 4. Schools and teachers that use the experiential methods discussed in this book produce a different and superior set of skills than do schools that are using traditional delivery methods 5. This superior set of skills is not measured by NCLB and AYP measurements. Research and experience as discussed in this book prove that experiential forms of learning are superior in many ways. And the author's also point out that schools as presently structured can move in this direction. Or, if not, there are ways to create schools that restructure to accommodate experiential learning. What are you waiting for?? -- Ronald Newell, evaluation director, EdVisions SchoolsAfter reading the book I find the approaches unassailable. The author's of this book have discovered five major themes of importance if the education system in America wants to get it right: 1. Motivation and interest is always the key to learning 2. Learning is much more complex than regurgitating facts 3. Applying, doing and producing enhances long-term memory and productivity 4. Schools and teachers that use the experiential methods discussed in this book produce a different and superior set of skills than do schools that are using traditional delivery methods 5. This superior set of skills is not measured by NCLB and AYP measurements. Research and experience as discussed in this book prove that experiential forms of learning are superior in many ways. And the author's also point out that schools as presently structured can move in this direction. Or, if not, there are ways to create schools that restructure to accommodate experiential learning. What are you waiting for? -- Ronald Newell, evaluation director, EdVisions Schools

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Book SynopsisSchool business officials (SBOs) must, in many respects, serve as all things to all people in their workplaces. Put another way, SBOs must be knowledgeable about a wide range of legal issues ranging from contracts to setting policy to state biding laws let alone constitutional matters involving the rights of students and teachers. Aware of the fact that issues involving the law are at the heart of many of a SBO’s duties, the chapters in this edited book have been written by a diverse array of individuals with experience as educational leaders in schools and/ or who possess significant expertise in the school law. In light of the need to keep SBOs up-to-date on many issues in the ever changing world of Education Law, this volume is divided into two parts. The first section deals with issues that primarily impact on the management of schools while the second deals with the rights of students and teachers. More specifically, each of the chapters is designed to examine a specific area about which SBOs need information. While no single book can ever hope to cover all of the myriad of legal topics that SBOs and other educational leaders must master in their professional lives, this book will serve as an up-to-date and ready source of information to help keep them abreast of the many changes in the ever evolving area of school law.Trade ReviewThe new edition of Key Legal Issues for Schools is written by experts in the field who present the material in a concise format for busy administrators. The topics are relevant, timely and well organized. Updates to the third edition include new policies and cases about finance, transportation, facilities, evaluation, negligence and a myriad of other important issues that school business officers confront on a daily basis. -- Suzanne Eckes, professor, department of educational leadership and policy studies, Indiana University, president-elect, Education Law Association (ELA)Do you and your fellow school business officials want and need accurate and up-to-date guidance on managing your district’s business affairs? This book has fourteen chapters written to guide you and ensure that you make decisions based on solid legal principles. -- Robert J. Safransky, retired school administrator with 19 years as building administrator and 10 years as central office administrator for Pinellas CKey Legal Issues for Schools: The Ultimate Resource for School Business Officials is a complete and reliable guide for all school leaders, particularly those who administer budgets and distribute resources. Written and edited by an impressive team of experts in educational policy and law, the text clarifies the impact of current law on key administrative functions and highlights best practices for officials who function in a litigious environment. This is an excellent resource for school leaders intent on serving the public efficiently and effectively, while avoiding costly and disruptive litigation. I recommend the text highly and will use it in my classes. -- Robert C. Cloud, Professor of Educational Administration, Baylor UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction Charles J. Russo, U of Dayton, editor Foreword John Musso, ASBO Part I Management Issues 1. State Survey of SBO Credentialing Jeff Greenley, Office of Ohio Attn’y General 2. Policy Formation Dave Dolph & Tim Ilg, U of Dayton 3. Accounting/ budgeting Kevin Brady, NC State 4. School Choice and Privatization Frank Brown, U of North Carolina 5. School Finance William E. Thro, Christopher Newport U. 6. Transportation Ralph D. Mawdsley, Cleveland State U. 7 Technology in Education Timothy E. Morse, U of So. Miss. 8 Negligence Charles J. Russo, U of Dayton 9. Facilities Aimee Gibbs and Chuck Vergon Part II Student and Employees Issues 10. Supervision and Evaluation of Dave Dolph & C. Daniel Raisch, U of Dayton School Employees 11. Employee Rights Ralph D. Mawdsley, Cleveland State U. 12. Students With Disabilities Allan G. Osborne, Snug Harbor School Dist., MA 13. Student Rights Patrick Pauken, Bowling Green State U 14. Religion in Public Schools Ralph D. Mawdsley, Cleveland State U.

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Book SynopsisWhat's public about public schools? Why do we invest in educating the next generation of Americans? What is it that drives our common purpose in educating children and at the same time divides us so passionately about how to educate them? Public schools have little to do with children. Schools are political and ideological institutions in which each generation battles among itself for supremacy in determining the purposes, goals and direction of public education. From battles over school lunch to school dress to school prayer, each generation reinterprets and recapitulates the political and ideological arguments that date back to the founding of our nation. More than two centuries after the American Revolution, public schools serve as political battlefields for debates about religious freedom and whether students should be allowed to wear U.S. flag teeshirts. We invite you to join us in an exploration of the purposes of public schools, the competing visions of public education, and the values of the public good that comprise the public in public schools.Trade ReviewThis book provoked me to think about the cross-currents shaping public education. Few things are as important as preparing the next generation for the future. -- Stan Norwalk, member, Wake County board of commissioners, North CarolinaBoyle and Burns have written a cogent and compelling book that takes us back to first principles. In a time when the education debate is reduced to student performance on standardized tests, they provide a powerful reminder of the broader public purpose of education—to preserve our democratic republic. -- Richard D. Kahlenberg, senior fellow, The Century Foundation, and author of All Together Now: Creating Middle Class-Schools through Public School ChPreserving the Public in Public Schools addresses the complex choices that must be made concerning education in America today. It presents to educational decision-makers—who include legislators, school board members, and voters—a framework of values to guide them in their analyses and choices. Exploring how liberty, community, equality, and prosperity are intertwined in educational policy decisions, the authors challenge decision-makers to see beyond the need for students who can read, write, and compute, to the need for citizens and community members who can actively and intelligently participate in our messy but wonderful democracy. -- Jane Wettach, education law professor, Duke University Law SchoolPushes us to a new level of thinking about our public schools and, more specifically, about public school governance. This is a must-read for all who truly care about the future of public education. -- Paul Krohne, executive director, South Carolina School Boards AssociationAn urgently needed reminder of why we have public schools in this country and why our conversations at the board table are more important than we realize. -- William P. Nemir, director, leadership team services, Texas Association of School BoardsRequired reading for anyone considering serving on a school board and for all school board members who currently serve. The policy choices described in the mythical district of Crestwich exist in all of our school districts. -- Jackie Cole, chair, Alamance County Board of Education, North CarolinaIt turns out there is a public for public schools and it's all of us. Boyle and Burns justify the continued existence of public education and provide the solution for restoring its essential purpose. -- Mark C. Metzger, past president, Illinois Association of School Boards, and former member, National School Boards Association board of directorsOur members believe strongly that public education is essential for a free, self-governing society and that local governance is vital for effective, efficient, and innovative public education. We have benefited from using the principles for solving policy problems and making policy choices described in this book. -- Wayne Lueders Ph.D, executive director, Associated School Boards of South DakotaThe America of tomorrow is taking shape in the schools and classrooms of America today. Anyone who cares about that tomorrow, the quality of life and living for all Americans, will want to read this provocative book. As America is still a living experiment in the history of the world, so too are American public schools. Both have to be continually fought for to survive and prosper. This book is testimony to the enduring legacy of that struggle to keep the public schools public -- Fenwick W. English, R. Wendell Eaves Sr. Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership, University of North Carolina at Chapel HillWe cannot have public schools without public governance. The values and beliefs held by the public rarely align with the opinions of experts, but the reflections of those conflicting values and beliefs on our elected boards puts the public in public schools and make democracy work. If you wonder, 'why school boards?' or even 'why public education?,' there is no better place to start than this book. -- Kenneth A. DeLay, executive director, Colorado Association of School BoardsLiterally thousands of books have been written about education. However, few have captured the importance of the word 'public' as Boyle and Burns have accomplished in their book, Preserving the Public in Public Schools. Of all the challenges facing education today, retaining the many meanings of 'public' is crucial to the survival of public schools. This is a must-read for those of us who care about strengthening the 'public' role and understanding of public schools in our nation. -- Phil Kirk, chairman emeritus, North Carolina State Board of EducationTable of ContentsPart 1 Part I: What's Public about Public Schools? Chapter 2 Prologue: Crestwich Faces a Public Test Chapter 3 Introduction: The Public in Public Schools Part 4 Part II: Visions and Values of Public Education in Our Democratic Republic Chapter 5 Chapter 1 – Liberty and Public Schools: Freedom, Choice, Opportunity Chapter 6 Chapter 2 – Community and Public Schools: Connection, Belonging, Social Order Chapter 7 Chapter 3 – Equality and Public Schools: Difference, Diversity, Equal Opportunity Chapter 8 Chapter 4 – Prosperity and Public Schools: Economy, Efficiency, Competitiveness Part 9 Part III: Policy Goals and Values in Crestwich Public Schools Chapter 10 Chapter 5 – Leveling the Playing Field: Who Gets Educational Opportunity? Chapter 11 Chapter 6 – Assigning Students: Who Goes Where, with Whom and Why? Chapter 12 Chapter 7 – Funding Schools: Who Pays for What, How, Why and for Whom? Part 13 Part IV: Leading and Governing Public Schools Chapter 14 Chapter 8 – Public Problems: Values, Conflicts and Choices Chapter 15 Chapter 9 – Public Leadership: Policy Problem Solving and Decision Making Chapter 16 Chapter 10 – Governing Public Schools: Who Shall Rule? Chapter 17 Part V: Preserving the Public Chapter 18 Conclusion: Public Schools for the Public Good Chapter 19 Epilogue: The Future of the Public in Crestwich Public Schools

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Book SynopsisThis ground-breaking text explores the intersection between dominant modes of critical educational theory and the socio-political landscape of American Indian education. Grande asserts that, with few exceptions, the matters of Indigenous people and Indian education have been either largely ignored or indiscriminately absorbed within critical theories of education. Furthermore, American Indian scholars and educators have largely resisted engagement with critical educational theory, tending to concentrate instead on the production of historical monographs, ethnographic studies, tribally-centered curricula, and site-based research. Such a focus stems from the fact that most American Indian scholars feel compelled to address the socio-economic urgencies of their own communities, against which engagement in abstract theory appears to be a luxury of the academic elite. While the author acknowledges the dire need for practical-community based research, she maintains that the global encroachment on Indigenous lands, resources, cultures and communities points to the equally urgent need to develop transcendent theories of decolonization and to build broad-based coalitions.Trade ReviewThe first edition of Red Pedagogy had a deservedly powerful impact. This new edition is even more powerful. It combines a searing critique with renewed insights and passion—and at the same time asks all of us who calls ourselves critical educators to challenge some of the very bases of what we take for granted and who the "we" actually is. -- Michael W. Apple, EdD, John Bascom Professor of Education, University of Wisconsin, Madison and author of “Can Education Change Society?”This may well be the most important book you will read on the United States educational system viewed through the lens of the Native American experience; its history, present, and future, come into focus. Red Pedagogy is a classic work already, and with this 10th Anniversary edition, it soars beyond the original text to a collective collaboration, expanding and deepening its profound thesis, which in the 21st century finds Native Nations as prisoners of democracy under a continuing colonial regime. Free of jargon, this beautifully composed, powerful, and ultimately hopeful book should be read by everyone. -- Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz, author of “An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States”Situated in an academic context of intellectual sectarianism, Sandy Grande’s 10th anniversary edition of Red Pedagogy distinguishes itself from re-prints of other classic texts in that it is accompanied by a handful of leading critical and indigenous scholars Grande boldly invited to critique and extend her work. The second extended (but not expanded) edition of Red Pedagogy is therefore a welcomed and much needed revolutionary intervention into anti-colonialist/anti-capitalist scholarship. Coming at a time of both heightened imperialist immiseration and anti-colonialist/anti-capitalist/anti-imperialist resistance, Grande’s interrelated call for critique and collectivity points to a rigorous red pedagogy desperately needed to sharpen analysis and hone a collective strategy, which also happens to be, for communists, the purpose of the party. Indeed, Red Pedagogy’s commitment to bring together Critical Indigenous Studies and critical pedagogy, including Marxism, in a dialectical, revolutionizing relationship is further evidence of the ways Grande demonstrates (as does the party) how collectivity does not require sacrificing the individual to the collective, but rather creates an experience of mutuality and togetherness demonstrating the cruel deception of a socially isolating and dangerous settler (i.e. capitalist) logic. The second edition of Red Pedagogy, due to its theoretical and methodological advancements, will continue to inform the practice and debate concerning education’s role in the movement against the dispossession, exploitation, and disempowerment of Indigenous Nations and against imperialism and capitalism more generally. The second edition of Red Pedagogy will surely become another classic in its own right. -- Curry Malott, West Chester University of PAThe first edition of Red Pedagogy established Sandy Grande as one of the most important critical educational scholars because, as an indigenous scholar-activist, she asked us to consider what it meant to do critical pedagogy in the context of settler colonialism. In this new edition of Red Pedagogy, Grande pushes the conversation even further, inviting us to think about the complex relationship of critical politics and indigeneity amidst sharpening racial and economic inequalities, white supremacy, and in the continuing wake of #IdleNoMore and #BlackLivesMatter. Anyone interested in understanding the intersection of radicalized capitalism, indigenous liberation, and critical pedagogy needs to read the 10th Anniversary Edition of Red Pedagogy. -- Wayne Au, Associate Professor, University of Washington Bothell; editor, Rethinking SchoolsRed Pedagogy constitutes one of the most significant indigenous scholarly works in the critical pedagogical tradition. In this second edition, Sandy Grande powerfully returns to her earlier theoretical arguments to further extend her original ideas in ways that beautifully contribute to both the longstanding historical struggle for liberation within indigenous communities and to a decolonizing politics that must be at the heart of all educational struggles for social justice today. -- Antonia Darder, Leavey Endowed Chair of Ethics and Moral Leadership, Loyola Marymount University, author of “Culture and Power in the Classroom”Table of ContentsForeword Miryam Yataco, Independent Scholar (Quechua) Preface Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: Mapping the Terrain of Struggle: From Genocide, Colonization, and Resistance to Red Power and Red Pedagogy Critical Theory, Red Pedagogy and Indigenous Knowledge: The Missing Links to Improving Education- John Tippeconnic, Arizona State University Colonialism Undone: Pedagogies of Entanglement - Alyosha Goldstein, University of New Mexico Chapter 2: Competing Moral Visions: At the Crossroads of Democracy and Sovereignty At the Crossroads of Constraint: Competing Moral Visions in Grande’s Red Pedagogy - Audra Simpson, Columbia University Red Bones: Towards a Pedagogy of Common Struggle - Peter McLaren, Chapman University Chapter 3: Red Land, White Power Where There Is No Name For Science - Greg Cajete, University of New Mexico Red Land, Living Pedagogies: Re-animating Critical Pedagogy through American Indian Land Justice - Donna Houston, Macquarie University Chapter 4: American Identity Geographies of Identity and Power Reframing the Geographies of Power: Indigenous Identities and Other Red Pedagogical Paradoxes - Jodi Byrd, University of Illinois-Urbana Champagne Situating the Grip of Identity - Leigh Patel, Boston College Chapter 5: Whitestream Feminism and the Colonial Project Challenging Whitestream Feminism - Eve Tuck, SUNY, New Paltz The Indigenous Feminist Revolution - Andrea Smith, University of California, Riverside Chapter 6: Better Red than Dead: Toward a Nation-Peoples and a Peoples Nation The Dream of Sovereignty & the Struggle for Life Itself - Malia Villegas, National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Refusing Colonialism and Resisting White Supremacy: A Collaborative Project - Kevin Bruyneel, Babson College Teaching/Learning Red Pedagogy The Red Atlantic Dialogue - Robert Stam and Ella Shohat, New York University Mii gaa-izhiwinag: And then I brought her along - Mary Hermes, University of Minnesota Red Pedagogy: Reflections From the Field - Sweeney Windchief, Montana State University; Jeremy Garcia, University of Arizona; Timothy San Pedro, The Ohio State University Mobilizing Transgression: Red Pedagogy and Maya Migrant Positionalities - Flori Boj Lopez, University of Southern California Keep Calm and Decolonize - Lakota Pochedly, University of Texas-Austin Teaching Red Pedagogy - Mary Louise Pratt, New York University Epilogue Bibliography About the Author About the Contributors

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Book SynopsisWe are in the midst of yet another global crisis in capitalism. In the UK, we have the most right wing and ideologically driven government since Thatcher; a ruthless cabal of millionaires intent on destroying the welfare state. In the US, President Obama, whose initial record did not live up to the expectations of many on the Left, is increasingly driven by right-wing republicanism and other corporate interests. At the same time, there are developments in Latin America, in particular Venezuela, which are heralding the dawn of a new politics, and recovering the voice of Marx, but with a twenty-first century socialist focus, thus giving hope to the lives of millions of working people throughout the world. This is why the world media is intent on discrediting President Hugo Chávez; and insisting that ordinary people have to pay the cost of the crisis in capitalism. The Arab Spring and the Occupy movement also show signs of an anti-capitalist movement in embryo. In Greece, perhaps more than anywhere else in Europe (even France), the austerity-stricken working-classes are pushing for real existing socialism. It is therefore not surprising that the ruling class of Greece is increasingly supporting the neo-Nazi, fascist Golden Dawn party threatening civil war should they lose power as a class. Now is a prescient time to bring twenty-first century socialism to the educational institutions of the world, to teach Marx across the curriculum and across the globe.Through this volume our goal was to contribute to the literature by concretely demonstrating the practical implications of Marx's theory to curriculum. However, while this book provides concrete examples of how Marx can and has informed a revolutionary critical education, it is not intended to be prescriptive. That is, the chapters should not be read as a how to guide, but they should be taken as inspiration for new, creative approaches to Teaching Marx and interpreting and posing The Socialist Challenge.

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Book SynopsisDystopia and Education: Insights Into Theory, Praxis and Policy in an age of Utopia Gone Wrong provides an as-of-yet unexplored critical perspective for examining contemporary educational theory, praxis, and policy with particular reference to the current state of dehumanising and often oppressive policy and practices that have come to demarcate the era of NCLB and RTT. The authors in this collection employ dystopian themes found in literature, film, visual art, and video games as the lens for that critical inquiry. As such Dystopia and Education: Insights Into Theory, Praxis and Policy is an essential contribution to the philosophical/critical tradition in educational scholarship. It is especially valuable because the inquiry undertaken is from a new perspective—one that will extend the critical tradition into a yet unexplored arena.Given the educational climate established by NCLB and RTT, this collection is especially important to the ongoing critical analysis of such policy mandates. There is also a significantly important timeliness to this book given NCLB’s utopian expectation of universal academic proficiency among American schoolchildren by the year 2014: as educators race to achieve such a noble yet naïve goal, this collection of essays examines the educational environment that has been enacted to achieve such ends, and describes our current state as a utopia-gone wrong.

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Book SynopsisPeople are on the move all across the globe and the student population is becoming increasingly more diverse. This has brought about new opportunities and challenges for educators, and teachers. In this series teacher educators a) deconstruct and problematize what it means to educate new teachers for increasingly diverse schools and classroom contexts, and b) highlight experiences of teacher educators as they attempt to bridge the theory to practice divide often encountered in teacher education.In these challenging times when public education is under attack, culturally responsive, antiracist, critical multicultural, social jus- tice and all forms of teaching that are inclusive and equitable must be supported and encouraged. As schools continue to be spaces where ideas and values that promote equity and justice in society are contested, teachers must be proactive in engaging in pedago- gies that respond to the needs of a diverse student population.Transformative Pedagogies bring together the work of teachers, scholars, and activists from different countries and contexts who are seeking to transform teacher education. This book will be useful to all educators seeking alternative and innovative approaches to education and meeting the needs of students. Teacher educators examine what it means to be transfor- mative and drawing on experiences from different contexts.Table of Contents About the Series, Ann E. Lopez and Elsie Ola. Foreword, Christine Sleeter. Pref- ace, Ann E. Lopez and Elsie Lindy Olan. Disrupting and Problematizing Teachers’ Notions of Equity Pedagogy: Narrative Pedagogy and Dialogic Interactions as Transformative Practices, Elsie L. Olan. When Effective Instruction is Not Enough: A Critical Look at Emergent Under- standings of Liberatory Pedagoy by Teachers in a Master’s Program, Misty Sailors, Miriam Martinez, Logan Manning, Dennis S. Davis, Rebecca Stortz, and Teresa Sellers. “I’m just playing devil’s advocate”: Preservice Teachers’ Identity Construction Through Dialogic Talk, Eileen M. Shanahan. A Framework for Enacting the Metapedagogy Method in Teacher Education: What Why Where When and How, Matthew Thomas and Ann Yehle. Enacting Theory-and- Practice Pedagogies Within a Teacher Preparation Program: Experiences of Teacher Candi- dates, Kevin O’Connor, Gladys Sterenberg, and David Dillon. Toward Transformative Practices in Teacher Development: Lessons From Research With Youth of Color, Louie F. Rodriguez and Tara Brown. What is the Skill of Teaching? A New Framework of Teachers’ Social Emo- tional Cognition, Vanessa Rodriquez and Bryan Mascio. Teaching Cases as Pedagogical Tools for Transformative Practice, AnnMarie Gunn, Susan Bennett, James Welsh, and Barbara Peter- son. [Un]Consciously [Dis]Serving English Learners: A Reflection of Bilingual Teacher Educa- tors on the Border, Jeanette Haynes Writer, Lida J. Uribe-Florez, and Blanca Araujo. Disruptive Pedagogy: A Critical Approach to Diversity in Teacher Education, Ann E. Lopez. “I Don't Have the Resources to Learn, or… the Time to Do That”: Teacher Educators’ Perspectives and Practices of Preparing Pre-service Teachers for English Language Learners, Guofang Li, Yue Bian, and Jose Manuel Martinez.

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