International Perspectives on Education Reform
Leading global education researchers from 15 countries across six continents discussed their visions for driving meaningful, positive educational change in this time-limited blog. Stemming from their essays in the recently published Leading Educational Change: Global Issues, Challenges, and Lessons on Whole-System Reform (Teachers College Press, 2013), the book’s editor Helen Janc Malone and her fellow contributors addressed improving practice, equity and educational justice, accountability and assessment, and whole-system change. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: international and education reform.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Asking the Right Questions Versus Knowing the Right Answers
Sherry L. Deckman discusses the art of crafting a critically insightful question when negotiating issues of diversity, be they racial, cultural, linguistic, economic, or beyond.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Listening to Student Voices to Inform Educational Reform Efforts
Amanda Datnow notes that in order to help low-income students succeed and graduate from college at higher rates, we need to focus both on student and institutional assets and to listen to the students' voices about what supports they need to graduate from college.
School & District Management
Opinion
Schools Know More Than They Use
Mel Ainscow explains that efforts to foster greater equity within education systems must start with the sharing of expertise, within and between schools.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Equity and Educational Justice
Helen Janc Malone introduces the theme for this week - equity and educational justice.
School & District Management
Opinion
Tutorial Networks in Mexican Public Schools
Gabriel Cámara discusses the power of tutorial networks in changing instructional practice and shaping national elementary and middle-grades education policy in Mexico.
School & District Management
Opinion
Developing and Supporting Teachers Around the World
Ann Lieberman shares international examples of education policies designed to connect teachers to the supports they need in their daily practice.
School & District Management
Opinion
Achieving Expert Instruction on a Large Scale
Stephen Anderson discusses conditions that promote high quality teaching on a large scale.
School & District Management
Opinion
Leading and Managing Instructional Improvement
James Spillane discusses the importance of diagnosis and design in leading and managing instructional improvement.
Professional Development
Opinion
Why Learning Stand-Up Comedy Is No Joke
Louise Stoll reflects on how taking a stand-up comedy course helped her improve her instructional practice. She challenges us to be open to new ideas and try experiences that push us and challenge our thinking. And, she reminds us to practice new skills and keep refining them.
School & District Management
Opinion
Improving Practice
Helen Janc Malone introduces the second blog week focused on improving practice.
Education
Opinion
Mindful Teaching With Technology
Dennis Shirley discusses how infusion of technology exposes how little control educators have over teaching and learning. Shirley calls for "mindful teaching with technology," conversations within and across the teaching profession about when and how we should use new technologies or avoid them altogether.
Assessment
Opinion
Be Careful What You Wish For
Yong Zhao examines the Chinese struggle with students' academic overload and the two important lessons American education reformers can draw from the Chinese test-oriented culture.
Assessment
Opinion
PISA Learning, Not PISA Topping
Andy Hargreaves addresses four lessons of international benchmarking that are practical and desirable for the U.S. education reform.
Assessment
Opinion
National Standards Are No Longer Enough
Andreas Schleicher, who oversees the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) at OECD, discusses the impact PISA has had on education policy and what we have learned about high performing systems.