Large Scale School Reform and Social Capital Building

This book introduces and explores the nature of large scale reform, and offers a fresh insight into the importance of social capital and professional development leadership for teachers and school management. It synthesizes research on the role of the professional development leader and the importance of social capital in schools, and examines its potential to impact large scale, system-wide, reform projects.

The text presents a range of international examples and theories from renowned researchers and educationists, which illustrate the challenge of raising the prominence of education social capital in schools. Considering crucial research that informs effective adult learning interventions, underlying themes supporting constructivist and transformative interventions are identified and woven into the narrative. Factors and variables needed to encourage and implement initiatives are examined, and each section is accompanied by case studies from around the world.

The book is split into five sections and twelve parts which include:

-The Lesson of Large Scale Reform for Leadership Development
-Assessment of Wide Scale Educational Reform Initiatives
-Developing Social Capital through National Education Reform
-System Improvement through Professional Learning Communities

Large Scale School Reform and Social Capital Building will be of interest to policy makers and system reform leaders, along with researchers and postgraduate students with a focus on continuous professional development, educational reform and school leadership.

1: Social Capital: The Professional Development Imperative for Large Scale Reform 2: System Reform and Primary Literacy: Implication for School Leadership 3: Wicked Path to Transformative Education Reform 4: Design Research Approach in the Large Scale Educational Innovations 5: High Performing Teachers Colleges, Social Capital and Large Scale Reform in the Kingdom of Bahrain 6: Assessment of Wide-Scale Educational Reform Initiatives: Opportunities in Social Capital Building 7: Developing Social Capital through National Education: The Transformation of Teacher Education in Turkey 8: System Improvement through Capacity Building: the Power and Potential of Professional Learning Communities 9: System and Policy Dimensions of Professional Development 10: Australian Middle Years Reform: A Focus on Teachers and Leaders as the Subjects and Agents of Change 11: Career Guidance in Oman – Establishing a Centre and the use of Action Research as a Tool for Capacity Building 12: Educational Reform and Professional Development: Paradigm Shift and International Syndrome

Professor Ian R. Haslam is the Dean of Bahrain Teachers College at the University of Bahrain.

Dr Myint Swe Khine is an Associate Professor and Head of Graduate Programs and Research at Bahrain Teachers College at the University of Bahrain.

Dr Issa M. Saleh is an Associate Professor and Head of Education Studies at Bahrain Teachers College at the University of Bahrain.