The Architecture of School Improvement: Lessons Learned

Sound bites of wisdom for successful school improvement From the opening pages, readers know The Architecture for School Improvement: Lessons Learned is no ordinary how-to manual. Joseph F. Murphy, a leading researcher in educational leadership, infuses experiences from his 35-year career and humor into oft-debated and polarizing theories of school improvement. Reading like a collection of daily reflections, this book over 70 short, digestible lessons with themes such as: Prevention trumps remediation  Context always matters School improvement is about layering small gains School leaders, teachers, and improvement-minded audiences will find wisdom about school change in clear, readily accessible lessons. Discover what works, what doesn’t and what matters most in the world of high-stakes testing and accountability! "There are many books that provide quick-fix lists of a few strategies to promote comprehensive, large-scale change in schools. Professor Murphy has taken a different approach that acknowledges the complexity of creating lasting improvements. Using both humor and his deep understanding of the research and practice of school leadership, he provides us with a memorable fable and short summaries of the lessons that any leader must keep in mind if they hope to make an enduring difference." —Karen Seahore Louis, Regents Professor University of Minnesota

Table of Contents:
The DNA of School Improvement Preface About the Author Tales of School Improvement The Mournful Tale of the Death of Mr. School Improvement The Case of the Remarkable Reappearance of Mr. School Improvement The Return of Mr. School Improvement Framework for School Improvement Essential Lessons Epilogue References Index

About the Author :
Joseph F. Murphy is the Frank W. Mayborn Chair and associate dean at Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University. He has also been a faculty member at the University of Illinois and The Ohio State University, where he was the William Ray Flesher Professor of Education. In the public schools, he has served as an administrator at the school, district, and state levels, including an appointment as the executive assistant to the chief deputy superintendent of public instruction in California. His most recent appointment was as the founding president of the Ohio Principals Leadership Academy. At the university level, he has served as department chair and associate dean. He is past vice president of the American Educational Research Association and was the founding chair of the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC). He is co-editor of the AERA Handbook on Educational Administration (1999) and editor of the National Society for the Study of Education (NSSE) yearbook, The Educational Leadership Challenge (2002). His work is in the area of school improvement, with special emphasis on leadership and policy. He has authored or co-authored 18 books in this area and edited another 12. His most recent authored volumes include Understanding and Assessing the Charter School Movement (2002), Leadership for Literacy: Research-Based Practice, PreK-3 (2003), Connecting Teacher Leadership and School Improvement (2005), Preparing School Leaders: Defining a Research and Action Agenda (2006), and Turning Around Failing Schools: Lessons From the Organizational Sciences.

Review :
"There are many books that provide quick-fix lists of a few strategies to promote comprehensive, large scale change in schools. Professor Murphy has taken a different approach that acknowledges the complexity of creating lasting improvements. Using both humor and his deep understanding of the research and practice of school leadership, he provides us with a memorable fable and short summaries of the lessons that any leader must keep in mind if they hope to make an enduring difference. In doing so, he reminds us of the importance of “steady work” as a mantra for changing schools. This little book should be mandatory reading for all students of school reform, irrespective of their position and their experience." "This is a refreshingly accessible treatment of a serious subject, the means and mysteries of improving education in our schools. Murphy’s long-term engagement with research and practice in school improvement shines through in his willingness to grapple with the dilemmas that confront the best-intentioned efforts to bring about change in schools. The book affords us with insights drawn from the experience of one of America’s leading education scholars of the past several decades." "Indicting, elucidating, and inspiring. Wrapped in an engaging, satirical, CSI-like investigation of the death and reincarnation (again!) of Mr. School Improvement, Murphy’s proverbs ring true to the best of our knowledge from decades of research and toil in the school improvement vineyard. This book will challenge and guide those who take school improvement seriously—teachers, principals, superintendents, designers and consultants, captains of the school improvement industry, civic leaders, policy makers, and researchers alike. I will keep this volume within short reach and refer to it often. I strongly recommend it to all who aspire to better understand, lead, and succeed at this most important work."