Empowered Educators: How High-Performing Systems Shape Teaching Quality Around the World

by Linda Darling-Hammond, Dion Burns, Carol Campbell

Discover how high-performing systems shape teaching quality around the world Producing highly skilled and committed teachers is not the work of a single innovative school or the aggregation of heroic individuals who succeed against the odds. In high-performing countries, the opportunities for teachers to learn sophisticated practices and continue to improve are embedded systemically in education policies and practices. Empowered Educators describes how this seemingly magical work is done―how a number of forward-thinking educational systems create a coherent set of policies designed to ensure quality teaching in all communities. . . and how the results are manifested in practice. Spanning three continents and five countries, Empowered Educators examines seven jurisdictions that have worked to develop comprehensive teaching policy systems: Singapore and Finland, the states of New South Wales and Victoria in Australia, the provinces of Alberta and Ontario in Canada, and the province of Shanghai in China. Renowned education expert Linda Darling-Hammond and a team of esteemed scholars offer lessons learned in a number of areas that shape the teaching force and the work of teachers, shedding unprecedented light on areas such as teacher recruitment, preparation, induction and mentoring, professional learning, career and leadership development, and more. A fascinating read for researchers, policymakers, administrators, teacher educators, pre-service teachers and leaders, and anyone with an interest in education, this book offers a rare glimpse into the systems that are shaping quality teaching around the world.

Genres: Education

304 pages, Paperback

Published April 3, 2017

About the author

Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the Learning Policy Institute, is the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus at Stanford University. She is the award-winning author of numerous books including Beyond the Bubble Test: How Performance Assessments Support 21st Century Learning, and Powerful Teacher Education: Lessons from Exemplary Programs (Jossey-Bass).

Reviews

[Kyle Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This thing could have easily been 100 pages shorter. So repetitive.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book presents a comparison of the different education systems around the world, through introducing some similarities between the different education systems as well as the practices that have created a holistic education system within the unique environments that each county has.

Here are certain things that I would like to remember from the book:

1. Schools must not only be places where students learn, but also places where teachers can learn from one another through collaborative teaching, mutual lesson observations and professional learning sessions, among others. Teacher professional learning is continual and developmental, with the most gains coming from feedback from fellow teachers.

2. Phenomenon-based learning

3. The beauty of Finland's teacher preparation system, which allows teachers to be trained in schools that are run by universities. These schools are staffed by teacher preparation faculty which gives the added benefit of student teachers to witness their professor apply the theories that they taught in class. This also provides a ground for experimental teaching practices to be easily carried out and tested in its authenticity.

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this informative text sharing some highlights of great program ideas around the world
Also like the website connections to clips - multimedia connections are wonderful

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is THE comparative analysis of five jurisdictions that have profound and tremendous affects on global education.