Exploding the Myths of School Reform

by David Hopkins

This educational expose places established and emerging ideas about effective school and system improvement under scrutiny. Exploding the Myths of School Reform confronts real-world challenges and perspectives from research, policy, and practice, and it draws on international benchmarking studies to support its objectives and claims. With each chapter addressing a perceptible fallacy - such as the myths that poverty determines performance, that achievement cannot be achieved at scale, that innovation and networking always add value, and that it is curriculum rather than learning that counts - this groundbreaking manifesto is set to provoke and persuade. Through the book's carefully structured narrative highlighting areas of universal concern, it presents a compelling approach to school reform, designed to not only enhance academic performance, but the potential for students to learn. Teachers, school leaders, directors, policy makers, and researchers will find the instructive frameworks and 'codas' for systemic change at all levels disarmingly simple to understand and apply. The same values and strategies that uphold social equity are shown to also promote quality in teaching, strong system leadership, regional capacity building, and whole school design. With depth and precision, and replete with explanatory diagrams, Exploding the Myths of School Reform contributes to the contemporary debate about the direction of schools and school systems, the possibilities and issues most likely to be encountered by leaders today and tomorrow, and the means to instigate authentic and lasting reform.

346 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

David is Professor Emeritus at the Institute of Education, University of London, where he also held the inaugural HSBC iNet Chair in International Leadership. He is currently Education Director for multi-academy trust, Bright Tribe. David is also a Trustee of Outward Bound; Executive Director of the charity ‘Adventure Learning Schools’; holds visiting professorships at six national and international universities; and consults internationally on school reform. He has served three Secretaries of State as Chief Adviser on School Standards and Director of the Standards and Effectiveness Unit. He was also Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Nottingham and was a member of the team that secured the location of the National College for School Leadership there and was later appointed to the College’s Governing Council and chaired its first ‘Think Tank’.

David is an International Mountain Guide and was previously an Outward Bound instructor, school teacher, university lecturer and tutor. He is committed to improving the quality of education for all. His professional interests are in the areas of learning and adventure, teacher and school development, leadership, educational change and policy implementation.

David believes strongly in both personalised learning and ‘whole school’ designs for school improvement. He is committed to helping students achieve the best they possibly can be, being involved at the heart of changes to UK education practice and policy.

David has long experience of leading school improvement programmes and interventions and is recognised as an international expert in the field. Not only has he been researching, developing and writing about the field since the late 1970’s but since that time he has also been leading school improvement projects that have had demonstrable impact on student achievement. Most recently, he has led the transformation of primary and secondary schools in Northern Melbourne as well as elsewhere in Victoria, Australia.

Source: http://davidhopkins.co.uk/