This article provides a narrative which illustrates the experiences of one group of UK schools as they have attempted to introduce innovation in order to achieve their collective vision of improving educational opportunity for all pupils in their care. It considers the findings of a small-scale research project which follows, over a 3-year period,…

The importance of middle leaders in bringing about improvement in schools is well recognized in the UK, as in many other countries, with the ever-present demand for raising standards and achievement. This article outlines some initial findings and discussion points emerging from the first stage of a project exploring how middle leaders in…

This article recounts the story of how one state in the United States is systematically amplifying student voice through school transformation efforts across a network of secondary schools (Grades 9 through 12; ages 14 to 18). The author is the creator and director of a statewide initiative entitled "Youth and Adults Transforming Schools Together"…

The Australian school context has been something of a failed test case of trying to organise schooling around the tenets of the market as a regulating mechanism. The result has been an intensification of social stratification as the already "disadvantaged" miss out yet again in education. This short paper argues that what is needed to interrupt…

This paper is a summary of a pupil voice research project conducted to investigate the influence that teacher-pupil relationships have on pupils' feelings of engagement with their school. The study involved two year groups (12-13 and 14-15 year olds) in a rural secondary school in Cambridgeshire. Data sources were collected through a questionnaire…

In this piece Peter Kent, headteacher of Lawrence Sheriff School in Rugby in the UK, reflects upon the role of the student voice in selecting and recruiting new teaching staff. Contextualised by some recent unsympathetic reporting in the UK media, Peter explains why for their school community, using the student voice to inform teacher recruitment…

This article reflects the personal experiences of its author: a musician, teacher and current leader in the secondary independent sector. It provides an initial exploration of the link between leadership and musicianship, pivoting on the concept of performance and how specific socialised and embedded skills and experiences developed through…

This paper takes the form of a discussion document. A number of ideas surrounding the topics of continuing professional development (CPD), performance management (PM) and effective classrooms in secondary schools are outlined. The paper draws on some of the recent literature in these areas and refers to some current trials within a UK-based…

Two main purposes guided this study. The first was to identify the degree to which Jordanian teachers practise classroom management styles in their classrooms and their level of teacher self-efficacy. The second purpose was to explore the relationships between classroom management styles and teacher self-efficacy. This study is quantitative in…

Many questions have been raised about student voice as a channel for change. School Improvement--especially regarding information and communications technology (ICT)--is often driven by adult agendas, and even in the classroom students are least likely to be involved in bringing about change. This paper reports on a case of student action research…

This study attempts to examine six-year high school effectiveness as perceived subjectively by different stakeholders in three different schools. It examines the attitudes of principals, teachers, students and parents towards specific characteristics of the effective six-year high school: (1) collaboration between students and teachers; (2)…

The field of educational leadership in England is seriously ill and it could be terminal. Peter Ribbins recent paper, "Seven Precepts for Research in Leadership in Education" makes an important contribution to helping the field to examine research purposes and practice. The author has taken up the invitation to examine Ribbins' list through…