Hedley Beare, Brian J. Caldwell, Ross H. Millikan Creating an Excellent School

Annotation

Originally published in 1989. The pursuit of excellence is much discussed with reference to education, but the question remains, 'How can a school become excellent?' This book demonstrates that excellence depends on good management which, in turn, depends not only on a clear understanding of good management theory, but on the ability to translate theory into practice. The authors offer profound insights into three crucial areas of leadership: culture, structure, and public accountability. Drawing on areas outside education, such as advertising and business, they discuss many innovations that are already current - flexitime, the vertical curriculum, mastery learning, community support - and depict ways in which these can be brought together into a total educational experience. More strikingly, however, they look ahead, examining the potential changes to our concept of schooling: for instance those brought about by the growth of information technology. This book emphasises that at the heart of outstanding schooling are visionary leadership, a clear sense of purpose, and creatively conceived and flexible support structures.