Reimagining the Purpose of Schools and Educational Organisations: Developing Critical Thinking, Agency, Beliefs in Schools and Educational Organisations

This book features a diverse set of perspectives all focused towards questioning the role schools actually play in society and, more importantly, the role they could potentially play. Containing papers presented at the 1st International Conference on Reimagining Schooling which took place in Thessaloniki, Greece, June 2013, bringing together international and multi-disciplinary perspectives on the future of education and schools. Combines diverse specialties analyzing schools as organizations and questions the purpose of schools. The book explores the current purpose of schooling and debates what roles and values young people currently learn from schooling. It examines such issues as the impact of Neoliberalism, the pursuit of the socially just school, and imagining contemporary schools beyond their consumerist mentality. Tackling development in the growing economic and social crisis in Europe, and offering transformative analysis of the psychology and decision-making involved for innovating teaching, learning, socio-economic and policy contexts. In addition, the book shows different ways young people can be creatively involved in reimagining schooling. It also details both innovative and radical ideas that currently exist about school transformation such as building learning partnerships for all and creating synergies across formal and informal settings of learning. Raising important questions for the future of the relationship between teacher and pupil and positive and pro-active behavior. There is a growing realization that schools fail to accommodate diverse types of learning and that their purpose is not simply about education. Featuring academics and practitioners from many different disciplines, this book boldly questions the values that currently permeate school walls and suggests ways that schooling itself can be made better.

Anthony Montgomery is an Associate Professor in Work and Organizational Psychology in the Department of Education and Social Policy, University of Macedonia, Greece. Dr. Montgomery has most recently worked as an Organizational Psychologist with the Department of Applied Psychology in University College Cork (Ireland). He completed his BA at University College Dublin (Ireland), his M.Litt. at Trinity College Dublin (Ireland) and his PhD in organisational psychology at Utrecht University (The Netherlands). Since 1999, he has successfully combined the roles of organizational consultant and academic. He has consulted with public and private organisations, and has published material in both the scientific and popular press. In 2013 he organised and hosted the first International conference on reimagining schooling. Dr Ian Kehoe has 15 years' experience as an educator and organisational consultant in education. He previously worked as a consultant at The Grubb Institute of Behavioural Studies and then as an independent organisational change consultant in education and civil society. He has provided consultancy on educational change for major UK initiatives using a systems psychodynamics approach and is a co-author of the book ‘Leading Schools from Failure to Success’. His doctoral research at the University of Sheffield focused on involving young people in organisational change in schools and its implications for school leadership