Democratic Leadership in Education

`This is an important book for anyone who is serious about introducing or sustaining democratic leadership in schools. Busy practitioners will get much from it by going straight to the chapters about how democratic leadership could be made to work`- Kate Myers, Times Educational Supplement `I found this an interesting and stimulating book. The book′s ideas are a useful counterpoint to some of the daft notions of macho leadership and management being peddled in education and indeed the public sector more widely. Woods′ book has the merits that, though radical, it seeks to base its recommendations in the real world and to argue that there are possibilities for change that can bring about real improvements in everyone′s experience and outcomes. Matching the rhetoric of democracy with reality – or at least making them closer – might also improve the quality of our political process, and hence increase interest and reduce cynicism about politics, something which surely should be welcomed. Woods′ agenda is significant and his book certainly worth reading′ - ESCalate `Philip Woods productively refocuses our attention, not on heroes and visions but on how we understand and practise within educational institutions in ways that are social and relational. He provides a realistic and yet challenging analysis of democratic leadership in ways that speak to practitioners, policy makers and researchers. We deal everyday with issues of social justice, and Philip Woods shows us how we might think differently about it, and so work for a better system of learning and schooling′ - Professor Helen Gunter, School of Education, University of Manchester ′Not another bunny, but a welcome academic fox′ - Kevin Avison, Steiner Waldorf Schools′ Fellowship ′The theory and practice of democracy and democratic leadership have implications for how we understand what ought to be counted as `improving schools′ In this book the author focuses on the idea of democratic leadership. He examines what is m