Improve overall school performance from start to Finnish! Finland’s consistent performance in international student assessments has caused much curiosity in recent years. Educators around the world are exploring what Finland does well and how they remain at the top. Pasi Sahlberg has hosted multiple delegations of educators in Finland seeking ideas and tools to apply to their home districts, and has determined real change can begin with four uncomplicated ideas. Focusing on leading learners, this book considers topics like: Physical activity is crucial for substantial learning Enhancing equity is an essential component of success Embedding ideas into your current leadership practices takes perseverance Finland’s particular brand of leadership culture in education is an ideal model for improving educational performance anywhere

Improve overall school performance from start to Finnish! Exploring and analyzing how Finland consistently places at or near the top of international student assessments, especially PISA, has become popular in recent years. Pasi Sahlberg now explores this phenomenon from the perspective of the educational leader. With the culture of general and educational leadership in Finland as a backdrop, this resource is packed with strategies and tools that travel well. Rooted in four main ideas, this book covers topics such as: Enhancing equity is an essential component of success Physical activity is crucial for substantial learning Embedding ideas into your current leadership practices takes perseverance

This book explores what specialists are saying about system leadership for school improvement. Case studies examine innovative approaches to sharing leadership and to leadership development programmes for system improvement.

“It is now time to break down the ideology of exceptionalism in the United States and other Anglo-American nations if we are to develop reforms that will truly inspire our teachers to improve learning for all our students—especially those who struggle the most. In that essential quest, Pasi Sahlberg is undoubtedly one of the very best teachers of all.” —From the Foreword by Andy Hargreaves, Lynch School of Education, Boston College Finnish Lessons is a first-hand, comprehensive account of how Finland built a world-class education system during the past three decades. The author traces the evolution of education policies in Finland and highlights how they differ from the United States and other industrialized countries. He shows how rather than relying on competition, choice, and external testing of students, education reforms in Finland focus on professionalizing teachers’ work, developing instructional leadership in schools, and enhancing trust in teachers and schools. This book details the complexity of educational change and encourages educators and policymakers to develop effective solutions for their own districts and schools.

This volume contributes significantly to the ongoing international and Nordic paradigm shift in educational leadership research. It advocates for going from a contemporary, mainstream functionalist paradigm to a reflexive paradigm, based on educational values and knowledge. The volume is built on the shared basis, that the purpose of education is, and must be, fundamental for school leadership practice. However, that is often forgotten in educational governance and policy. The basis of the argument is, that educational leadership needs to change from focusing on effectiveness and narrowly defined accountability towards focusing on leadership that is contributing to the general education of students. That entails that leadership research need to focus on complex perspectives like context, relations, trust, sense making and social and human values, and less on control, outcomes, accountability and testing. The volume reminds readers about the need to raise awareness of the contexts of education and research, be they political, cultural, economic or ideological. Chapters analyze, discuss and compare research from Nordic educational leadership research systems: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The cross-system insights clarify the fundamental relations between policy/governance and research/practice are and discuss forgotten dependencies and opportunities.

Are you responsible for creating a leadership training program for your organization, but don’t know where to start? Do you already have experience in developing leadership training programs, but want to improve the efficacy of your current offering? Either way, Leaders – Start to Finish offers detailed, specific insight and instructions on how to develop highly effective leadership training programs that will produce engaged and authentic leaders in your organization. Within the framework of providing detailed, workable, real-world suggestions and examples for building or improving your leadership program, some of the specific topics covered in Leaders – Start to Finish include: developing authentic, engaged leaders closing the gap on generational leadership utilizing leadership competencies developing strategic and tactical plans planning for smooth, efficient succession developing human capital leading with integrity, values, intuition, and stronger ethics building stronger teams managing the talent cycle becoming an influential leader incorporating the “three P’s” – purpose, passion and performance – into your leadership training an overview of current leadership trends. With numerous case examples from the real world, as well as checklists, discussion questions, practical exercises, training tips, and more, Leaders – Start to Finish gives you everything you need to create a professional, effective, efficient leadership training program, whether you’re starting from scratch or are interested in improving your current training protocols.

This book discusses principals’ prerequisites and work within the five Nordic countries and focuses on schools as formal institutions that carry out functions delegated to them by the social collective. It includes a discussion about what kind of state policy demonstrates autonomy in Nordic schools, as well as the ways in which school leaders as sense makers in local schools possess and enact policy in a globalized economy and a changing world. The book draws both on a range of theoretical frameworks and educational leadership and policy research to provide multiple comparative perspectives of school leadership in the Nordic countries, the moral purpose of schooling, school governance and power relations, expectations towards school leadership, handling of crises, and cultures of trust. The chapters range from in depth-case studies and policy document analyses to large-scale data sets and literature reviews. All chapters have multiple messages for practitioners, policy makers and researchers as they seek to engage with school leadership as a core activity in times of societal changes. As democratic welfare states, the five Nordic countries have many similarities, but also differences which makes it interesting to understand more about various ways to strive towards democracy and well-educated citizens.