New Titles: Leadership and Learning

Looking for materials on educational leadership? OISE Library’s New Arrivals has an array of new materials on leading and leadership. Schools today operate in a complex environment and in order for teachers and administrators to effectively lead a classroom of students, having leadership skills to direct organizational change is an important quality.  These books may help educational professionals develop and inspire leadership skills within the classroom.

Leading in Early Childhood, written by Geraldine Davis and Gemma Ryder, provides insight into leading in early childhood. Whether you are needing support in leadership skills within early childhood education or studying to become an early years practitioner, this book aims to help improve leadership skills in a variety of settings. The book examines the various roles of early years practitioners and the everyday challenges and opportunities they face while providing common ground within validating, exploring and extending practices on the role of early year practitioners. The book considers who leaders are, what skills they require, and how to develop a culture of leadership by improving leading through reflective practice. The book also provides activities and reflection points.

Enacting Change from Within: Disability Studies Meets Teaching and Teacher Educationedited by Meghan Cosier and Christine Ashby, considers the ever-shifting educational landscape where students with disabilities continue to face marginalization and oppression. The book aims to provide a framework which analyzes and addresses policy and practice in education. It also aims to lead and frame social justice work in schools that considers day-to-day responsibilities of teachers. It asks how can DSE knowledge be applied to the daily issues and challenges faced by teachers working in public schools that are less than genuinely inclusive, and how can teachers apply what DSE scholars have learned to their daily practice even if they do not work in an inclusive school.

Optimists Die First by Susan Nielsen is a young adult novel about sixteen year old Petula de Wilde. Her life is anything but wild as she sees the danger in everything. After her sister’s tragic death, Petula begins attending a mandatory art therapy class with a group of teenage misfits. She recounts this as the worst part of her week until she meets Jacob, a teenage boy with a prosthetic arm. Petula wants nothing to do with him until they are paired to work on a group project. Jacob’s self-assured and confident personality ends up inspiring Petula to face her fears.

Leading Learning and Teaching, by Stephen Dinham, examines the importance and impact of instructional leadership. The book looks into current international contexts of education theory, policy, and practice and presents strategies, agendas, and direction for enhancing the capabilities of individual educators, schools, and systems.  The key themes of the book include successful change management, the effectiveness of teacher professional development, the importance of evidence and the use of data. Dinham believes the core purpose of schools and educators must be the successful facilitation of teaching and learning and to do this effectively, teachers must also be leaders. This book would be a helpful read for any teacher candidate.

Standards-Based Leadership: A Case Study Book For the Superintendency,  edited by Sandra Harris, Julia Ballenger, and Jason Mixon, is an updated version of the first edition published in 2003.  This second edition, however, is based on the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders. This book is updated with revised brief literature reviews in order to be consistent with the new standards.  All case studies within this book are written by individuals with superintendent experience in the United States.  The editors of this book wish for readers to consider their own cases as they provide additional readings for discussion. They wish for currently active superintendents and superintendents in training to follow the 5R steps format: Read, Recognize, Relate, Resolve, and Respond.

For more new titles, please visit the OISE Library ground floor and look for the New Arrivals shelf, just by the Reference Desk!

About Emily Kim

Graduate Student Library Assistant at OISE Library | Master of Information (2018), Faculty of Information, University of Toronto
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