Teachers, Teaching, and Reform

"Buried deep in American culture is a conviction that better education depends on finding better teachers. If you hold this assumption dear, buy this book and be surprised: selecting teachers using evaluation schemes has not succeeded. A better idea might be keeping most teachers and building a support system that helps them learn to teach better. Is changing teachers or improving teaching the best way forward? This important question is explored by the respected, well-qualified authors of this book."

—Ronald Gallimore, Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of California, Los Angeles, USA

"This book is about the real work of improving teaching. It is not just another account of some abstract academic ideas or the search for heroic individuals who somehow beat the odds. Rather, it is about how a whole profession might actually get better at its core work: teaching. It opens up for its readers both the rationale and micro-dynamics of continuous improvement—what getting better actually entails."

—Anthony S. Bryk, President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, USA

"Using the contrasting paradigms of scientific management and continuous improvement, the authors of this volume explore the complexities of reforming teaching, teacher education, and professional development. Grounded in specific cases of improvement efforts, each author both honors the complexities of teaching and learning to teach while exploring how specific tools, approaches, and measures alternatively enable or obstruct contemporary efforts to improve teaching. Accessibly written and grounded in a deep understanding of the relevant literatures, every chapter of this much-needed book is worth reading!"

—Suzanne Wilson, Chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Connecticut, USA