Product Description

I wish I had had access to these insights during my own turbulent years as a school principal.

--From the Foreword by Roland S. Barth, Founding Director, The Principals Center, Harvard Graduate School of Education

In the 12 years since the publication of the first edition of this bestseller, policymakers and school reformers have increasingly pointed to the school principal as the most important agent for needed change in our schools. With this recognition, principals are now expected to do even more in their already overloaded schedules. In this much-awaited, fully revised new edition, the author offers valuable advice and practical guidelines that draw on new research and focus on what's still worth fighting for in our schools:

* Deep and creative learning for all students not just minimum competency in tested achievement

* Professional learning communities that respect and engage teachers in the quest to improve learning

* Sustainable leadership that creates lasting improvement rather than quick fixes that fade all too fast after early promise

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51586 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 80 pages

About the Author
Michael Fullan is Special Education Adviser to the Premier of Ontario, and to the Minister of Education. He is Professor Emeritus at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. An expert in tri-level reform (school, district, state), his ideas can be found at www.michaelfullan.ca.

Customer Reviews

Review for EDAD 9530 - Dave
In the book, What's Worth Fighting for in the Principalship, Michael Fullan outlines what he feels are the key guidelines for being a successful principal. The author's thoughts are presented in a concise, understandable format, and he clearly makes his point. That being, that change begins with the individual first examining themselves and then advocating for ways to empower other individuals in the organization. Furthermore, Fullan dismisses the notion that change is accomplished "through" a person or leader and instead puts forth the notion that effective, lasting change can only be accomplished through a combination of clear direction and collaboration. Fullan stakes this claim from a variety of angles throughout the book and in some cases becomes redundant in emphasizing his views. With that said, I should also note that Fullan does back up his arguments with documented research such as case studies and he credits the findings of other authors on numerous occasions as a means to support his comments. While I wouldn't exactly place this book on any "must read" lists for new principals, there are some good examples and certainly some meaningful lessons for new school leaders. In addition, I applaud the fact that the author chose to summarize his major points in each section in a "list" format which is easy to digest. Overall, I think Fullan accomplishes his goal of laying out some basic concepts for principals to be aware of, but I'm equally convinced that readers will appreciate the fact that the book only consumes an hour or so of their time.

What's Worth Fighting for in the Principalship?
Book assists princpals on identifying the problems in the school community and how to decide if they are worth fighing for. Basically, it tells you to pick your battles because not all can be won. The book is easy to read and understand. The author cites examples and gives various solutions.

What's Worth Fighting for in the Principalship?
The book was fairly easy to read. It had several excellent points, but seemed to be a bit redundant at times. It has easy to understand advice about the principalship. I enjoyed the quotes and would have liked for the book to elaborate more on some of them.

It has a great deal of information that would be good discussion material in a group setting. It is easy to understand why it might be a part of a graduate curriculum.