Bloomsbury Education

Kathryn Riley: A Place for Me in this School?

Kathryn Riley introduces the ideas about the importance of place in schools for young people from her book, Leadership of Place: Stories from Schools in the US, UK and South Africa (2013).

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Irish playwright Brien Friel captures the importance of place in the human psyche. Our nostalgia for home. Our personal search for a place to belong. South Africa activist, Mamphela Ramphele writes about the lives of migrant workers. Her evocative book, ‘A Bed Called Home’, gives us a flavour of the lives of migrant worker  housed in Spartan and crowded conditions in Cape Town Hostels.  Their bed is their one piece of personal space.

The importance of place has come to me through my work with schools in many parts of the globe. In a world of social and global transformation, place is of growing importance. Place is a physical entity, a building, a location that is important to us. It’s an emotional response to the world around us.  It’s connected to our sense of self, identity, worth.

In Leadership of Place, I write about the role of schools in helping young people find their place in the world. But it doesn’t always work. Take, for example, the story of Kustrim who came to England from Albania to avoid ethnic conflict. He found himself at odds with the school.  He wore an Albanian flag and a two-headed eagle around his neck. He wouldn’t take them off and he ended up being excluded from his school.  The school couldn’t find a place for him.  He couldn’t find his place in the school.

At the heart of Leadership of Place are three locality studies. These explore the notion of context and meaning through the eyes and ears of young people and school leaders, in schools serving deprived communities:

•    Brooklyn New York, a world of contrasting neighbourhoods;
•    London’s East End which encompasses  some of the richest and most deprived areas in the UK;
•    The municipality of Nkonkobe, an impoverished rural area in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

I look at leadership from a new lens: leadership of place.  For many young people from disadvantaged areas, the experience of place is marked by living in divided communities. Divisions create insiders and outsiders: those who feel safe and those who don’t. These divisions can be physical, socioeconomic, imported by refugees from their countries of origin, or created by local gangs or

Over recent months, the BBC has covered numerous stories about gang culture: a possible truce between gangs in El Salvadore (4th March, 2103); how gang culture is portrayed in films (31st March, 2103); the vicious life of gang membership in Birmingham (6th April, 20213). One aspect of leadership of place is understanding what this means for young  people. 

A story I tell in the book is that of Carla, a New York school principal whose school serves some of the toughest parts of the city. Carla brought a gang leader who had been in a Federal prison for ten years into school.  “He had currency with the kids’ she told me, ‘he talked their language. What they learned from that programme was impossible to get on paper.’  Leadership of Place is about coming to grips with some of those tough issues.

Kathryn Riley

Going to AERA 2013?

So are we!

Bloomsbury will be attending AERA 2013 in San Francisco from Sunday the 28th until Tuesday the 30th. Come by our booth #211, to check out our selection of books at a 35% discount, ask our team some questions, or just to say hello! We'd love to see you there! 

 

Sara Cohen

Marketing Assistant

Education, Extremism and Terrorism - how to deal with citizenship education in a post 9/11 world

Living in a post 9/11 and 7/7 world, teachers are increasingly faced with the dilemma over why and how they should explore terrorism and extremism with their students.

Our book Education, Extremism and Terrorism by Dianne Gereluk offers a fascinating study of citizenship education in an age marked by fear of global terrorism. With a book on such a potentially controversial subject, there is naturally plenty of material for debate, not least because terrorism is often a very thorny subject. By exploring and critiquing the justifications used for why these issues should be addressed properly in schools, Dianne Gereluk provides a useful and timely resource for educators to consider their own approaches to the tricky topic of citizenship.

One of the issues that is most interesting in this book is Dianne Gereluk’s discussion of how the media distorts our view of terrorism and extremist behaviour. Most worringly is a global culture in which certain religious groups are blamed wholesale for terrorism as a phenomenon – and this poses a huge challenge for teachers as they face the difficulty of addressing terrorism in a classroom environment, struggling to compete with the one-sided and often misleading portrayals of global terrorism that are perpetuated through the media.

As a whole, Education, Extremism and Terrorism raises urgent and timely questions about how best to approach the discussion of terrorism in schools. Offering practical suggestions as well as more general debates around the ethics of teaching citizenship in schools, this is a book that is sparking some very interesting debates.

For more information, please visit the book’s webpage.

Learning a Living - radical new approaches to education from across the globe

In January we were very excited to publish Learning a Living – Radical Innovation in Education for Work, a book that – in the words of blogger Bob Little – “deserves to grace many a coffee table”. With beautiful photographs on every page, taken by the award-winning National Geographic photographer Reza, he’s not wrong. But talking about this book purely in terms of its coffee table beauty distracts from the fact that it is also a book with huge importance.

Learning a Living, published in conjunction with WISE 2012 (The World Innovation Summit for Education), focuses on the challenge faced by education systems when it comes to meeting the needs of today’s complex labour market. Through examining fifteen different – and highly innovative – projects around the world, the book’s authors explore education innovation at the global cutting edge.

One of the most interesting projects, I felt, was the Widows’ Alliance Network (WANE) in Ghana, which sets out to “develop human capital” and “enable a ‘contribution’ to society through new norms and values”. What makes WANE special is that it is working to give widowed women in Ghana a new sense of self-respect, even in the face of social prejudice.

 Mama Zimbi, a popular Ghanaian chat-show host, set up WANE to provide resources and support to widows all over Ghana, many of whom faced awful social isolation and poverty in the aftermath of the death of their husbands. The organisation helps widows’ groups to identify small business projects that could be viable in their local area, and then provides them with the training they need to bring those plans to reality.

 As well as providing these women with the skills and resources they need to earn money and support themselves, however, one of the most important things that Mama Zimbi’s Widows’ Alliance Network gives the woman involved is a renewed sense of self-respect and purpose in a culture that typically sees widowhood as a curse. Giving younger women a chance to value themselves and provide for their families, and older women a relief from the debilitating loneliness that can creep in in old age, WANE is far more than a novel business network.

And alongside those goals and aims, WANE is also about having fun. Fun was the general theme of the fourth annual Widows Alliance Network conference, an “uplifting, vibrant, joyous and energizing” gathering bursting with exuberance. There was even a dance competition, with women of all ages dancing in the aisles, sharing not just their widowhood, but a new sense of purpose and value in the world.

But that’s just one of the many projects covered in Learning a Living; the rest of the book roams wildly from projects in Los Angeles, USA, to Dhaka, Bangladesh. To hear from the authors, the photographer, and some of the project leaders themselves about Learning A Living watch the video below from WISE 2012.

For more information about the book, and to buy a copy with our 10% online discount, please click here.

 

 

14-18 by Kenneth Baker - proposing revolutionary change to secondary education

Back in October, we mentioned how thrilled we were to be publishing Kenneth Baker's new book, 14-18: A New Vision for Secondary Education. How quickly time flies, as we are now less than two weeks away from UK publication on 24 January 2013!

This book from the founder of the National Curriculum and former Secretary of State for Education claims secondary education has become a five-year programme with a single, narrow aim: to prepare pupils for high-stakes GCSE exams at 16. Instead, he argues that beyond age 14 there should be four distinct pathways from 14-18 to take account of young people's emerging interests talents and ambitions: Liberal  Arts; Technical; Sports and Creative Arts; and Career. All pathways will provide a broad education, but each will have a distinctive character matched to the talents and ambitions of individual students.

For anyone who wants to read more about the ideas in 14-18, we suggest you look out for an exclusive interview with Baker in this weekend's edition of the Sunday Times (out 13 Jan).

Otherwise, stay tuned to the blog and Twitter for a giveaway and exclusive extracts to celebrate the launch of this exciting new book that Michael Rosen says brings 'the much welcome blast of rationality into the education debate and undercuts almost everything being said by politicians.'

Carly 

Education and the Constructions of Childhood recommended by the Times Higher Education

The Times Higher Education Textbook Guide published yesterday and I am delighted to say that one of our key textbooks has been recommended! Education and the Constructions of Childhood by David Blundell is an informative and contemporary guide to a key area of Education Studies BA courses offering an introduction to the emergence of modern and post-modern childhoods. It considers the social construction of childhood through the institutions of education and schooling. Here is what the THE had to say about it:

As politicians are fond of saying, "children are our future"; but as an educational sociologist I sometimes wonder if society has forgotten what children are there for. Indeed, I often seethe at examples of hard-sell marketing to children, especially if it involves something pink, plastic and promoting the early sexualisation of girls. I often turn to the philosophers and authors of the past who have debated the question of childhood at length, and it is for this reason that discussions about historical understandings of childhood feature prominently in my lectures.

Until now, I have mainly had to develop my own materials for students but this book will change all that, as it is a clever round-up of conceptualisations of childhood from the Renaissance onwards. Everything is there: philosophers such as Philippe Aries, Rene Descartes, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Immanuel Kant; policy and the various English Education Acts; the role of schooling in society; and the influence of famous educationalists including Maria Montessori, Johann Pestalozzi and Friedrich Froebel. However, rather than being exclusively chronologically sequenced, the book has six lines of enquiry running through it, namely: moral contexts; influence of theology and religion; influence of progressive ideals; contemporary connections between education, health and social care; the role of mass schooling; and childhood as "futurity".

This will enable students to gain a thorough understanding of the interconnectedness of different aspects of the literature. Chapter 6, entitled "State schooling and the construction of 'public childhoods'", is particularly well written in this regard. It provides a historical perspective on publicly funded education in England, including dame schools, compulsory schooling after the 1870 Education Act, the discovery of the "ineducable child" and connections with public health policy and empire. Copious examples from primary sources bring the past to life, and are drawn together through the synthesis of different theoretical positions. In the text, we see children moving from being active agents in their lives (such as in the writings of Rousseau) to being recipients of national policies on what constitutes the norm for children of particular ages and backgrounds.

Later in the book, the prospects for children to become enabled, active citizens in the 21st century are not painted much more brightly, and the book concludes by arguing that children's poverty, lack of social power and political subordination cannot be addressed simply through theorising. However, the book urges us on to embrace the challenge during tough times. In that sense it presents both a synopsis of the historical position of childhood, and a manifesto for the future.

Who is it for? Undergraduate and postgraduate education and social science students, and teacher trainees interested in the history of childhood.

Presentation: Accessible, comprehensive and scholarly.

Would you recommend it? Yes, perfect for a reading list.

You can read the review online here.

Grounded in a strong conceptual, theoretical framework, this accessible text will guide the reader through this evolving area of eduaction studies. Reflective exercises, chapter summaries and useful websites encourage and support student learning and the application of new concepts, making if the perfect text to learn from. If you want find out more about this book then visit our website. If you are a lecturer and would like to order a copy on inspection then please email inspectioncopies@bloomsbury.com

Many thanks

Jennifer

A brilliant new endorsement from Amartya Sen for Aspirations, Education and Social Justice

We are delighted to have recieved this fantastic endorsement from world-famous economist and Nobel prize winner Amartya Sen for our forthcoming publication, Aspirations, Education and Social Justice:

‘This is a wonderfully probing work on the contribution of aspiration and confidence in education, along with the role of education in the pursuit of social justice. Caroline Hart combines lessons from her empirical investigations with a sharp understanding of the conceptual and analytical problems that bear on this centrally important issue in public policy and social ethics. The result is a deeply engaging book with important lessons on a neglected aspect of educational policy.’ Amartya Sen, Thomas W. Lamont University Professor, and Professor of Economics and Philosophy, Harvard University, USA

Publishing at the end of November in the UK and January 2013 in the US, this book presents a radical new paradigm for thinking about the role of education in the development of human flourishing. The book applies Amartya Sen’s capability approach to understanding the nature of aspirations in the policy context of strategies to widen participation in higher education. Sen’s work is synthesised with key concepts from Pierre Bourdieu to develop a framework for understanding the processes through which young people are enabled and disabled in relation to developing and achieving their aspirations.

Drawing on an empirical study involving 600 young people aged 17-19 in their final years of education, this text explores the hopes and dreams of these young people for the future. The young people’s voices challenge dominant discourses of aspiration, well-being and advantage, and invite readers to rethink their own positions on these issues.

To find out more, visit our website.

A New Vision for Secondary Education by Kenneth Baker

“Kenneth Baker is a force of nature and this book graphically describes his odyssey in changing the face of education” - Anthony Seldon, Headmaster, Wellington College, UK

It would be hard to describe Kenneth Baker's new book any better than Anthony Seldon does above.We are delighed to be publishing 14-18 - A New Vision for Secondary Education by Kenneth Baker in January 2013. As former Secretary of State for Education and Home Secretary, as well as current chairman of the Edge Foundation and the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, there is no one better placed to look at the future of secondary education.

In this book Kenneth claims that secondary  education has become a five-year programme with a single, narrow aim: to prepare pupils for high-stakes GCSE exams at 16. He argues that the National Curriculum should extend only to  the age of 14 and that there should be four distinct pathways from 14-18 to take account of young people's emerging interests talents and ambitions: Liberal  Arts; Technical; Sports and Creative Arts; and Career. All pathways will provide a broad education, but each will have a distinctive character matched to the talents and ambitions of individual students.

In 14-18 - A New Vision for 14-18 Education, Kenneth Baker builds a compelling case for reform, with contributions from a range of educationalists including David Harbourne, Nigel Wyatt, Mike Tomlinson, Alan Smithers, Robert B. Schwartz, Andrew Halls with David Brandon-Bravo.

We can't wait to publish it. We're also delighted to have received these outstanding endorsements already for the book:

“This brings the much welcome blast of rationality into the education debate and undercuts almost everything being said by politicians. It is full of serious, sensible proposals for ways of making education better for everyone.” - Michael Rosen, author and broadcaster, UK

“This is a hugely important book on education and skills policy. Kenneth Baker sets out a vision and a blueprint for 14-18 education, with technical education at its heart as it should be. It ought to be required reading for school and college leaders and policy-makers.” - Lord Andrew Adonis

“Policy makers and educators should read and learn from this book. Lord Baker has, with the help of a galaxy of writers, assembled a compelling argument for a new pattern of schooling. He persuades the reader that 14 is the right age for young people to make a choice of either academic or technical education, with both routes holding equal rigour and status. This indeed is one of the most important books on education for a decade and more.” - Baroness Perry of Southwark

We will be posting up more blog posts about this, including digital previews, as we approach publication date. Keep an eye on our twitter to find out when!

Jenny Tighe

Goodbye Continuum, Hello Bloomsbury!

This is both a sad and an exciting blog post to write, as I bring you news of the end of our Continuum identity and the beginning of our Bloomsbury one! It is quite a transformation but one that we have been looking forward to since Continuum were acquired by Bloomsbury a year ago (you can read our blog announcement here).

It has taken a year to pull together all of the various changes needed in order to re-brand and fully integrate into Bloomsbury. For example, moving distributor (no easy feat with an entire warehouse full of books!), data migration (less said about this the better!) and moving offices for the UK team to the Bloomsbury location of Bedford Square (a rather lovely place to be as you can see from the following photos…)

We’ve also been getting ready for our brand new website launch - which we are very excited about. As of mid-November, all of our Continuum books will be housed in the new Academic section of the Bloomsbury website. We will keep you posted on the website launch!

We may have a new name but we are still working with the same brilliant editorial teams, authors and marketing and publicity staff. Being part of Bloomsbury means that we now have lots more exciting opportunities ahead to expand our publishing and try new things. We are now working alongside new Education friends – Featherstone, Andrew Brodie, A & C Black, Arden Shakespare and Methuen Drama (amongst others!) – as well as the digital teams responsible for lots of Bloomsbury's most exciting digital ventures, including Drama Online, Churchill Archive and Berg Fashion Library.

The values of Continuum, which you have appreciated over the years, are already integral to the larger entity that is Bloomsbury. Much has changed over the past 12 months, but we remain as committed to our authors and to publishing the same high quality books. We will also continue to bring you news about our academic education books on this blog and on our twitter! Keep yours eyes peeled for news about our new Reflective Teaching website and Kenneth Baker's new book on secondary education...

We'd love to hear your thoughts on the new look... so do get in touch!

The Education team

 

New Guardian Blog from Kathryn Riley!

We’re thrilled to see Kathryn Riley’s first blog in the Guardian this week. Don't forget to have a look at her excellent piece on the future of leadership and the importance of place here.

What do you think is the place of schools in the lives of our young people? Let's get the comments flowing!

Kathryn’s book Leadership of Place: Stories from Schools in the US, UK and South Africa is due to be published in early 2013. We'll have more information about this exciting new book as we get closer to publication.