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Instructional and Curriculum Leadership
by John Heywood in association with NAPD
Format: Paperback
Publication date: 15th October, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-906018-75-7
Price: €25
Towards Inquiry Orientated Schools
Like any other organization schools need to continually renew themselves yet many of the actions of governments, well meaning though they may be, serve to discourage such renewal. Rather than managing the curriculum and attempting to micro-manage instruction governments should be attempting to re-professionalize teaching by helping principals and teachers to acquire a technical pedagogy.
This may be accomplished by encouraging teachers to evaluate their own instruction through evidence based classroom assessment practices and action research, activities that make them accountable.
If the institution is to be renewed such activities cannot be conducted in isolation of the school as a whole for the tasks they undertake should stem from evidence based questioning by the school of the assumptions and opinions that drive the institution.
Of such is an inquiry oriented school.
Such practices will require the support of instructional and curriculum leaders versed in technical pedagogy. This text outlines the minimum requirements for such a pedagogy.
About the Author
John Heywood is a Professorial Fellow Emeritus of Trinity College Dublin and formerly Professor and Head of the Department of Teacher Education in the University. His current interests are in education for the professions particularly teaching, engineering and management. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management. He was for many years a member of the Secondary Teacher Registration Council. In 2005 he received the annual award for the outstanding research publication from the Division for the Professions of the American Educational Research Association. In 2007 he was elected to the Academy of Fellows of the American Society for Engineering Education, and in 2008 was named a Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Foundation of the Rotary International.
He has for many years championed the cause of teacher leadership and management
