Realization: The Change Imperative for Deepening District‐wide Reform

Citation

Davies, B. (2011), "Realization: The Change Imperative for Deepening District‐wide Reform", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 25 No. 1, pp. 102-102. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513541111100143

In 30 years of working in the educational leadership field I have found that Michael Fullan's work has become part of my thinking. His contribution to educational leadership has been immense. Over the last decade I have become aware of the considerable contribution Lyn Sharratt has made, she has become a considerable and insightful commentator of key issues of educational leadership. Taking the lead on this book she, with Michael, has produced a valuable addition to the literature.

In the leadership of district‐wide or regional reform and improvement the key challenge has always been turning strategy into effective action. This challenge is the central focus of the book. It tackles the fundamental issue of building capacity for effective and sustainable change. This is a book of six chapters with two resource sections at the end for the reader to apply the principles to their own situation.

The chapters are initially framed around “Capacity building: a journey of deepening discovery” and “The nitty‐gritty of capacity building” in chapters one and two. These look at the key issues of setting out the parameters of effective school based improvement. These are followed by chapter three, “The road to realization’, which looks at embedding improvement through modelled practice, shared practice, guided practice and inter‐dependent practice. This is a very valuable conceptualisation for effective improvement. Chapter four looks at inter‐dependent practice in detail. This focuses on a more sophisticated and systematic approach to educational reform. This chapter, like the other chapters, has valuable quotes and vignettes that give a vivid reality focus to the ideas in the book. It also has very valuable pro formas and examples that the reader can use in their own context. Chapter five, “The devil is in the detail”, considers the pitfalls and problems of reform and improvement and acts as a timely leadership action alert! Chapter 6 acts as a critical summary and conclusion, bringing all the key concepts together.

This is a well‐constructed book of great value and a key text for all those involved in educational reform and improvement.