Continuous School Improvement (Leadership for Learning Series)

"A hallmark volume by one of the nation′s most accomplished school improvement scholars. This is the most thoroughly researched, well-crafted, and useful volume on continuous improvement available. Smylie does for ′continuous improvement′ what Fullan did for change."
―Joseph Murphy, Professor
Vanderbilt University

Discover what it takes to create lasting, positive change for your school, your teachers, and your students!

Focusing on school change that improves teaching and learning, this guide for principals integrates evolutionary change theory with the research on continuous improvement. Mark A. Smylie begins with a succinct overview of organizational change that provides readers with the foundation they need to embark on a school change initiative.

Interviews with educators involved with organizational change provide insightful examples and first-person responses to the challenges inherent in school change. Continuous School Improvement also addresses the major implementation problems that leaders face, such as:

• Building trust
• Creating a culture of mutual responsibility
• Building support
• Setting goals
• Responding to teachers′ stress in the face of change

Mark A. Smylie is professor of education emeritus in the Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago and visiting professor in the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. Before his work in higher education, Smylie was a high school social studies teacher. Smylie served as secretary-treasurer of the National Society for the Study of Education and as a director of the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago. His work has appeared in the American Education Research Journal, Educational Researcher, Educational Administration Quarterly, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, Educational Policy, Journal of School Leadership, and Review of Research in Education. Smylie has worked with schools, school districts, and school administrator and teacher professional associations through joint projects, advising, and school leader development activities. He has served on advisory boards of numerous regional and national professional and policy organizations concerned with education generally and leadership in particular. Smylie’s research focuses on school organization, leadership, and change.