THE SAGE HANDBOOK OF SCHOOL ORGANIZATION

The SAGE Handbook of School Organization provides a substantial review of the history, current status and future prospects of the field of school organization. Bringing together chapters exploring key issues, important debates and points of tension, the Handbook highlights school and system organisational structure, processes and dynamics coupled with insights into important theoretical foundations from diverse perspectives.

This volume is designed to provide a much-needed, critically informed and coherent account of the field, against a backdrop of increasing complexity in which schooling as an institution and schools as organisations operate.

Michael Connolly is Emeritus Professor of Public Policy and Management, University of South Wales, UK, as a Visiting Professor of Education and Policy, University of Bath, UK.  In addition, he is a Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. Professor Connolly has published a number of books, chapter in books and articles on education policy and management, learning in Higher Education as well as papers on public policy in Northern Ireland.  Michael has been a co-editor of Pubic Money and Management, book editor of Public Administration and a member of number of editorial Boards for a range of academic journals.   His research interests include education policy and management and the role of local government and local services.

David H. Eddy-Spicer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Leadership, Foundations and Social Policy at the Curry School of Education, University of Virginia. He holds a doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and has served on the faculties of the University of Bath, UK, and the UCL Institute of Education, London. His primary research interest focuses on the development of collective capacity for continuous improvement in struggling schools through interorganizational connections. He has expertise in program evaluation, case study research, realist synthesis, and the design and evaluation of professional learning environments. He has published in a number of peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Educational Change; Educational Management Administration and Leadership; Mind, Culture and Activity; Pedagogies; and Language and Education and has authored or co-authored 8 book chapters and over 40 text and multimedia case studies of professional learning and organizational change in the public sector.

Chris James is the Professor of Educational Leadership and Management in the Department of Education at the University of Bath. He researches and teaches educational leadership, management and governance. During his career, Chris has published over 100 journal articles/book chapters and written 15 books/major reports. His research interests include the organizational dynamics of schools and colleges as institutions and in particular: leadership influence; the importance of management; the affective aspects of organizing in schools, the organizational complexity of schools as institutions; and the way people make their surroundings. Chris also researches the governing and governance of educational institutions and directs the Governing and Governance in Education Research Programme at the University of Bath. In the last seven years, he has completed nine research projects on the governing and governance of educational institutions.

Dr. Sharon D. Kruse is Academic Director and Professor at Washington State University- Vancouver. Her scholarship broadly addresses two concerns, (1) to help teachers and school leaders better understand the key role leadership plays in schools and (2) to explore how education is currently structured and influenced by social and organizational complexity. Kruse’s work focuses on understanding how schools can be better places for the children who attend them and the teachers who work in them. By focusing on the ways issues are framed, decisions are made and problems are identified she seeks to understand how schools can better educate and meet the needs of students. Kruse has served as a project level evaluator for six Teaching American Historygrants, and PI for evaluation of the Ohio Department of Education Supplemental Educational Services program. Kruse’s expertise in qualitative methods, developing interview and focus group protocols, data collection and analysis tools and interpretation contributes to the growing body of knowledge concerning organizational practices and outcome measures. Her recent publications include Building Strong School Cultures (with Karen Seashore Louis, 2009), Decision making for educational leaders: Under-examined dimensions and issues (with Bob L. Johnson Jr. 2009). She co-edits the Journal of Research on Leadership Education with Gordon Gates.

WSU link: https://education.wsu.edu/sharon-kruse/