This is a book about the things that wise leaders do. It is informed through thousands of conversations with leaders and argues that these leaders do not shy away from the tough stuff. It points to the conditions which these leaders create to allow colleagues to engage with difficult issues enthusiastically and wholeheartedly. It is taken from observations of leaders at work in a variety of settings. While these are mostly schools, these observations are checked against what is happening in wider leadership and management thinking. This book makes the case that any leadership role is concerned primarily with the relationships between individuals. It is the quality of these, whatever the size of the organisation, which make the difference between organisations which thrive, and those which stagnate. This is not to argue for soft, easy and comfortable options. Instead it considers how top leaders manage to walk the line between the impossible and the possible, between the undoable and the doable and to create conditions for productive work which transcend the difficulties which come towards us every day. Instead of dodging them, they embrace them.And by navigating high challenge, low threat, they show how others how to do the same.

High Challenge, Low Threat is Mary Myatt's smart and thoughtful exploration of all the things that wise leaders do. Informed through thousands of conversations over a 20-year period in education, Mary shows the lessons that school management teams can learn from leaders in a wide range of other sectors and points to the conditions which these leaders create to allow colleagues to engage with difficult issues enthusiastically and wholeheartedly. This book makes the case that any leadership role is concerned primarily with the relationships between individuals. It is the quality of these, whatever the size of the organisation, which make the difference between organisations which thrive, and those which stagnate. This is not to argue for soft, easy and comfortable options. Instead it considers how top leaders manage to walk the line between the impossible and the possible, between the undoable and the doable, and to create conditions for productive work which transcend the difficulties which come towards us every day. Instead of dodging them, they embrace them. And by navigating high challenge, low threat, they show how others how to do the same.

Advances in Motivation Science, Volume Eight, the latest release in Elsevier's serial on the topic of motivation science, contains interesting articles that cover topics such as The functional architecture of human motivation: Personality systems interactions theory, Teacher motivational messages used prior to examinations: What are they, how are they evaluated, and what are their educational outcomes?, Understanding peer relationships during childhood and adolescence through the lens of social motivation, Self-efficacy and human motivation, The creation and curation of all things worthy: Inspiration as vital force in persons and cultures, and Motivational decision-making in achievement settings: A competence-in-context approach. - Presents new research in the field of motivation science and research - Provides a timely overview of important research programs conducted by the most respected scholars in psychology - Gives special attention to directions for future research

Spanning the comprehensive perspective of self, school and system, this tour-de-force is both well-informed and uplifting whilst at the same time being full of practical advice and guidance, rooted in the author's front-line role leading a school. Tom Rees's depth of thinking and knowledge of leadership, and his ability to translate that into both a structure and tone that will be relevant to leaders in schools today, will resonate with leaders at levels. The book is brilliantly supplemented with the thoughts and views of colleagues spanning the whole educational spectrum, including: Sir David Carter, Clare Sealy, Daisy Christodoulou, MAT CEOs, Julia Kedwards, Stephen Tierney and Andrew Morrish, plus his very own actual dad!

This book examines how new scientific developments in understanding how the brain works can help educators and educational policy makers develop new and more efficient methods for teaching and developing educational policies.

Early Education Reformed provides a strong foundation of knowledge about aspects of early years education, by summarising the current status and outlining paths of development for now and the future. Specially commissioned papers by some of the most respected academics currently working in the field of early childhood and education means that this book will be essential reading for early years teachers and staff, social and child-care workers, researchers and policy-makers.