Anatomy of Professional Practice

Rare is the scholar who possesses a broad understanding of an entire field—from its busy, well-tended center out to the contested and somewhat lonely realms of emergent thinking. More uncommon still is one who also comprehends the depths of that field through sheer force of original analysis as well as by appealing to the wisdom of the ages. Finally, when such an exceptional scholar dares others in that field to rethink their fundamental assumptions or to relinquish their firm attachment to the tried, true, and easy, it is a gift to all. In educational leadership and administration, this scholar is Fenwick W. English. -- Jackie Blount, Ohio State University
What Fenwick W. English proposes is educational leadership that is aesthetically and qualitatively grounded, and in professional expression, an art. It is this kind of foundation that provides access to moral judgment and social justice, knowledge and skill development as something more than routine managerial tasks, and the means to question and overcome ideology. The Anatomy is a timely contribution under current economic regimes bent on transforming education into a commercial venture. Its reception will determine whether the perspective presented here will be taken up as an opportunity for growth, or whether through ideological resistance it will be relegated to tilting at windmills. I would hope for the health of educational administration and leadership it is the former that will bear out. -- from the foreword by Eugenie Samier, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Fenwick W. English has one of the interesting minds in educational leadership thought today, and reading Anatomy of Professional Practice raises provocative points for the field to debate. Using the anatomy as a metaphor for pushing the field to stretch beyond its current boundaries is intriguing. English's insightful and persuasive writing style make a strong case against the trendiness of standards and experimental research devoid of aesthetics. -- Alan Shoho, associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies, University of Texas at San Antonio
[This] book presents English's argument that today's administrators need to have compassion, in addition to all the business elements of our profession, to become effective leaders. Citations from John Dewey and a myriad of researchers are used to support his argument. He explores teaching as an art, reflecting the current thinking about producing global citizens and the future need for right-brain, creative individuals. * School Administrator, November 2008 *
Rare is the writer nowadays who can disentangle educational leadership from the numbing influences of standardization, business efficiency, and ersatz science harnessed to social control. Rarer still is the mind that can think anew amidst that tangle, offering a way forward for humane leaders capable of strengthening the bond between education and democracy. Compassion—rarest of words in today's institutional lexicon—figures largely in the new book by Fenwick W. English, as do artistry and moral imagination. The book is important, indeed crucially so, because it brings these qualities to center stage in the performance of leaders. We desperately need such leaders. The path-breaking work of Dr. English reveals the necessary conditions for cultivating them. -- Thomas James, provost, Teachers College, Columbia University