Education Policy: Process, Themes and Impact

The study of educational leadership makes little sense unless it is in relation to who the leaders are, how they are leading, what is being led, and with what effect. Based on the premise that learning is at the heart of leadership and that leaders themselves should be learners, the Leadership for Learning series explores the connections between educational leadership, policy, curriculum, human resources and accountability. Each book in the series approaches its subject matter through a three-fold structure of process, themes and impact.

Series Editors - Clive Dimmock, Mark Brundrett and Les Bell

As global pressures focus increasing attention on the outcomes of education policy and on their implications for economic prosperity and social citizenship, the experience of each individual learner is decisively shaped by the wider policy environment. However, there is often an underdeveloped understanding of how education policy is formed, what drives it and how it impacts on schools and colleges. This book explicitly makes these connections and links them to the wider challenges of educational leadership in a modern context.

Education Policy is divided into three sections, which examine:

• the development of policy at the levels of the nation state and individual institutions
• the forces that shape policies with emphasis on human capital theory, citizenship and social justice and accountability
• research-based case studies highlighting the application of policy in a range of situations.

The book provides a valuable resource for students, practitioners, middle managers and educational leaders in all sectors, both in the UK and internationally, who are engaged on masters and doctoral degrees, or undertaking leadership training and preparation programmes.

Les Bell is Professor of Education and Director of the Doctorate of Education programme. Howard Stevenson is a lecturer in Educational Leadership and Management. Both are based at the Centre for Educational Leadership and Management, University of Leicester.