The Keys to Effective Schools: Educational Reform as Continuous Improvement

The Keys to Excellence in Your Schools is a survey instrument developed by the National Education Association to transform the teaching profession and schools. The NEA(National Education Association) identified 35 factors essential to effective schools and clustered these factors in to five domains: shared understanding and commitment to goals; open communication and collaborative problem solving; continuous assessment for teaching and learning; personal and professional learning; and resources to support teaching and learning. Schools complete the instrument and receive feedback for the purposes of action research, professional development, and organizational learning-all within the framework of continuous quality improvement. The chapters align with the five domains measured with the KEYS instrument and provide readers with the research and theory underlying each of the five KEYS. The book gathers together the top names in each of the five areas to create an integral resource for school reform

Table of Contents:
Preface - Donald L. Rollie About the Editors About the Contributors 1. Educational Reform as Continuous Improvement - Michael Fullan 2. The Learner-Centered Principles: Their Value for Teachers and Teaching - P. Karen Murphy and Patricia A. Alexander 3. Achieving High-Level Outcomes for All Students: The Meaning of Staff-Shared Understanding and Commitment - Fred M. Newmann 4. Professional Communication and Collaboration - Judith Warren Little 5. Teacher Use of Formal Assessment in the Classroom - Eva L. Baker 6. Assessment as Learning - Lorna M. Earl 7. Transforming Professional Development: Understanding and Organizing Learning Communities - Ann Lieberman and Lynne Miller 8. Designing and Implementing School-Based Professional Development - Linda Valli and Willis D. Hawley 9. Organizational Conditions to Support Teaching and Learning - Kenneth Leithwood 10. Local School Districts and Instructional Improvement - Richard F. Elmore Index

About the Author :
Willis D. Hawley is Professor of Education and Public Affairs at the Univer­sity of Maryland, where he served as Dean of the College of Education from 1993 to 1998. He taught at Yale, Duke, and Vanderbilt universities before going to Maryland. He has published numerous books, articles, and book chapters dealing with teacher education, school reform, urban politics, po­litical learning, organizational change, school desegregation, and educa­tional policy. His most recent research deals with the professional develop­ment of teachers, the education of teachers (in the United States and Japan), school restructuring and effectiveness, family influences on the academic performance of Southeast Asian children in the United States, and race re­lations. He has served as consultant to numerous public agencies, includ­ing the Executive Office of the President, the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Depart­ment of Education, and the World Bank, as well as many state and local governments, foundations, and professional associations. He also organized and directs the Common Destiny Alliance, a coalition of national organi­zations and scholars interested in using research to improve intergroup relations. Donald L. Rollie is Manager of Quality Schools, Research and Policy, for the National Education Association (NEA). He is also the President and Chief Executive Officer of Donald L. Rollie and Associates, a consulting group that combines the expertise of veteran educators and organizational de­velopment specialists. Rollie himself is both. His current work with the Teaching and Learning unit of the NEA is an important part of the NEA journey on the path of change, returning to becoming a voice for education quality in America.