Trusting teachers with school success : what happens when teachers call the shots

Dirkswager, Edward J. 1938- (Author). Farris-Berg, Kim, 1975- (Added Author). Junge, Amy, 1976- (Added Author).

Summary: "Examining the experiences of teachers who have already been liberated, this book discusses what teachers would do if they had the autonomy not just to make classroom decisions, but to collectively--with their colleagues--make the decisions influencing whole school success; decisions such as school curriculum; how to allocate the school budget; and who to hire and fire"--

Record details

ISBN: 9781610485098 (hardback)
ISBN: 1610485092 (hardback)
ISBN: 9781610485104 (paper)
ISBN: 1610485106 (paper)
ISBN: 9781610485111 (electronic)
ISBN: 1610485114 (electronic)
Physical Description: print
xiii, 227 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.
Publisher: Lanham, Md : R&L Education, 2013.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references.

Formatted Contents Note:

Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Preface -- PART ONE: What would happen if we trusted teachers with school success? -- Introduction. To get high performing schools, maybe it's time to trust teachers. -- Chapter 2. Teacher Autonomy: what it is, who has it, and how it's secured -- Chapter 3. When granted autonomy, teachers choose to operate in ways that emulate the cultural characteristics of high-performing organizations. -- PART TWO: Eight practices autonomous teachers embrace which are indicative of the cultural characteristics of high-performing organizations -- Chapter 4. Practice #1: Share purpose, which always focuses on students as individuals, and use it as the basis of decisions aimed at school improvement -- Chapter 5. Practice #2: Participate in collaboration and leadership for the good of the whole school, not just a classroom. -- Chapter 6. Practice #3: Encourage colleagues and students to be active, ongoing learners in an effort to everyone's engagement and motivation -- Chapter 7. Practice #4: Develop or adopt learning programs that individualize student learning -- Chapter 8. Practice #5: Address social and discipline problems as part of student learning -- Chapter 9. Practice #6: Broaden the definition and scope of student achievement and assessment -- Chapter 10. Practice #7: Encourage teacher improvement using 360-degree, peer- and self-evaluation methods as well as peer coaching and mentoring -- Chapter 11. Practice #8: Make budget trade-offs to meet the needs of students they serve -- PART THREE:Implementation strategies for those who want to support teacher autonomy -- Chapter 12. It's time to trust teachers. -- Appendixes -- Notes -- Bibliography -- About the Authors.