Creating a Learning School

'It is full of good sense, a treasure chest of helpful ideas which have the credibility of being grounded in case-study material, and in the experience of the authors, two of whom are practising headteachers. The book sets out the principles underpinning the learning school, but offers also a strong pragmatic focus and is organized so that it can be dipped into and something worthwhile easily found…It will support change and improvement in the professional practices involved in making a school a stimulating learning environment for adults as well as students'

- Dr Martin J Coles, Assistant Director, National College for School Leadership

The 'learning school' described in this book suggests an alternative to the preoccupation with tests, targets, and leadership from above, and focuses instead on independence of learning and structural flexibility within schools.

The authors give a complete overview of how schools can adapt to meet changing needs. They look at the teacher as learner, learning outside the classroom, and the nature of leadership in the learning school. Practical suggestions to the problems of staffing, resourcing and assessment are all covered, enabling those in schools to make their own choices.

This book is an invaluable resource for all mid-to-upper level managers in schools, anyone aspiring to these positions, or anyone who takes a long-term view of the future with learning at the heart of educational practice.

David Middlewood is a research associate of the University of Lincoln.
Richard Parker is Principal of Beauchamp College, Leicestershire.
Jackie Beere OBE is Headteacher at Campion School.

David Middlewood is currently a part-time Research Fellow at the Centre for Educational Studies in the University of Warwick, having previously worked at the University of Lincoln and the University of Leicester where he was Deputy Director of the Centre for Educational Leadership and Management. Prior to working in Higher Education, David taught in schools for many years, culminating in the principalship of a comprehensive secondary school for nine years, where awards were won for creative arts and equal opportunities. He has taught and researched extensively in the UK and also in various countries in Europe and Africa, being a visiting professor in New Zealand and in South Africa. David has written and edited more than twenty books, many on people leadership and management, strategic leadership, appraisal, practitioner research and some recent research includes work on high performing teams, support staff and student voice. He was co-editor of two professional journals for both primary and secondary school leaders for over six years. He recently co-authored a book on the leadership of groups of schools and his current work (with Ian Abbott) concerns leadership of learning for disadvantaged pupils.

Richard Parker, PhD, is also a professor in the Department of Sociomedical Sciences in the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York City as well as President of the Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association (ABIA) [http: //www.abiaids.org.br/] in Rio de Janeiro. His major publications include Bodies, Pleasures and Passions: Sexual Culture in Contemporary Brazil (Boston: Beacon Press, 1991), Sexuality, Politics and AIDS in Brazil (written together with Herbert Daniel, London: The Falmer Press, 1993), Conceiving Sexuality: Approaches to Sex Research in a Postmodern World (edited together with John H. Gagnon, New York and London: Routledge, 1995), Beneath the Equator: Cultures of Desire, Male Homosexuality, and Emerging Gay Communities in Brazil (New York and London: Routledge, 1999), Culture, Society and Sexuality: A Reader (edited together with Peter Aggleton, London: UCL Press, 1999), Framing the Sexual Subject: The Politics of Gender, Sexuality and Power (edited together with Regina Maria Barbosa and Peter Aggleton, Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 2000), Love and Globalization: Transformations of Intimacy in the Contemporary World (edited together with Mark B. Padilla, Jennifer S. Hirsch, Miguel Muñoz-Laboy, and Robert E. Sember, Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2007), SexPolitics: Reports from the Front Lines (edited together with Sonia Corrêa and Robert Sember, Sexuality Policy Watch, 2007), and Sexuality, Health and Human Rights (edited together Sonia Corrêa with Rosalind Petchesky, New York and London: Routledge, 2008). A second edition of his book, Bodies, Pleasures and Passions: Sexual Culture in Contemporary Brazil is currently in press (Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2009). He serves on the editorial board for a range of scholarly journals, including Archives of Sex Research, Sexualities, the Journal of Sex Research, Sexuality Research and Social Policy, Health and Human Rights and Interface, and is editor-in-chief for the journal, Global Public Health. Prior to joining the faculty at Columbia University, in the early 1990s Dr. Parker was the founder and director of the Program in Gender, Sexuality and Health at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, which has been nationally and internationally recognized as the leading sexuality research and training program in Brazil. In 2002, Dr. Parker also founded, and has since co-chaired, Sexuality Policy Watch (formally named the International Working Group on Sexuality Research until 2006). He is also one of the Founding Editors of the journal, Culture, Health and Sexuality, which began publication in 1999 and has become one of the leading international journals for sexuality research, with by far the most multi-cultural editorial board and publication record of any sexuality journal in the world.

Jackie became an Advanced Skills Teacher in 1999, training many teachers and school leaders across the UK in techniques for transforming learning and developing Emotional Intelligence. In 2002 Jackie received an OBE for services to education for her work in developing Learning to Learn initiatives and for leading national training for AST′s. She then went on to become Headteacher of Campion School, Northamptonshire. In 2004, this large comprehensive school achieved a very good Ofsted report under her leadership. Jackie introduced several curriculum innovations in her school, including the RSA Opening Minds competency-based curriculum, until she left to take up consultancy and training work in 2006. She has also written several publications linked to transforming learning, including her latest books ′The Learner′s Toolkit′ and ′The Primary Learner′s Toolkit′ both full of materials to help teachers deliver lessons in social and emotional intelligence (SEAL) and to help develop independent learners. As a School Improvement Partner Jackie has worked for several LAs both in schools and Pupil Referral Units. Jackie is also a qualified NLP Master Practitioner, using NLP techniques to train students, teachers and leaders how to manage their thinking to produce excellent results. She also uses these skills as a successful life coach. Jackie has also worked with SSAT, the Campaign for Learning, the National College for School Leadership and as a BSF consultant. Her work as an author and trainer has established her reputation both nationally and internationally as a leading proponent and designer of innovative curricula designed to develop in children the skills required for independent learning.