Education leadership practices

Advocates of progressive teaching methods claim that these foster the social and emotional development of children without in any way hindering their academic progress. Critics of the 'new' education on the other hand, equate 'progressive' with 'permissive', insist that levels of achievement are falling, and lay the blame for this firmly at the feet of curriculum innovators and progressive teachers.

It is the right of every child to be educated according to his age, ability and aptitude: all pupils should be given the opportunity to develop their full potential. These principles have long been recognized by educators. But in order to achieve the goal of optimum development it is necessary to make special provision for those children who depart from the norm. Although resourceful and hard-working teachers provide for a wide range of abilities in the average heterogeneous classroom, there are some children whose needs just cannot be met in this way.

An understanding of validity, reliability and usability are a must for all test users. The validity of a test is an indication of how well it measures what the author claims it will measure; its reliability describes the consistency or dependability of its scores; and its usability is concerned with its administration, format, interpretation and supply.

Women are under-represented in senior positions in both the primary and the secondary teaching services. But why? Judy Whitcombe has been conducting a research project in the Department of Education's Research and Statistics Division, stimulated by the Education and the Equality of the Sexes Conference in 1975 and requested by the Committee on Women in Education formed during that year.

One of the most interesting and remarkable developments in education during the 1960s and 70s was the growth of the teachers' centre movement. A British invention, it almost immediately attracted a great deal of interest from educationalists in other countries, so much so that during the 1970s, it became, according to Robert Thornbury, one of Britain's major invisible exports.

A look at some factors in the selection and training of primary teachers, with some suggestions for a radical change in approach.

The most challenging problems for school leaders are that those which recur and display the characteristics of a leadership dilemma: with tension between a concern for organisational goals and a concern for collegial relationships. A critical competency in school leadership is the ability to manage such dilemmas. To do this, leaders must be able to recognise and articulate dilemmas, reflect critically on their own problem-solving beliefs and actions, and learn skills which enable them to apply strategies which result in positive, lasting solutions.