Learning to Change: Teaching Beyond Subjects and Standards

by Andy Hargreaves, Susan Manning, Shawn Moore

The success of school reform measures greatly depends on the support and commitment of teachers. This book examines the realities of educational change from the frontline perspective of reform-minded teachers. It charts the perceptions and experiences of twenty-nine teachers in grades 7 and 8 from four school districts--showing how they grappled with such initiatives as integrated curriculum, common learning standards, and alternative modes of assessment.This book moves beyond the bandwagons of rhetorical change and examines how these changes work in practice for better and for worse. Authors Andy Hargreaves and Lorna Earl focus on how reform proposals have brought new complexities to teaching practice and why major investments of time and support are required if teaching innovations are to become lasting and effective. Most importantly, they highlight the intense emotional demands that school change imposes on teachers, and they outline practical strategies for helping teachers through the difficult transition process--thus ensuring that worthwhile reforms flourish and endure.

240 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2000

About the author

Andy Hargreaves is Research Professor at Boston College, Visiting Professor at the University of Ottawa, Distinguished Visiting Professor at Hong Kong University, Professor II at the University of Stavanger, and Honorary Professor at Swansea University. He is Past President of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement, Adviser in Education to the First Minister of Scotland and from 2016-2018 to the Premier of Ontario. Andy is founder of the Atlantic Rim Collaboratory (ARC): a group of 9 nations committed to broadly defined excellence, equity, wellbeing, inclusion, democracy and human rights.
Andy has consulted with the OECD, the World Bank, governments, universities and professional associations worldwide. He has given keynote addresses in 50 countries, 47 US states and all Australian states and Canadian provinces. Andy’s more than 30 books have attracted multiple Outstanding Writing Awards. Andy is ranked in the top 20 scholars with most influence on US education policy debate. In 2015, Boston College gave him its Excellence in Teaching with Technology Award. He holds Honorary Doctorates from the Education University of Hong Kong and the University of Uppsala in Sweden.