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It is heartbreaking to recall that in 1970 it was possible to be very hopeful that a great new age of British school librarianship was about to dawn. It did not happen: and this despite the best activities of some school librarians and some local education authorities; and despite some positive statements by professional associations, and some research projects and official reports. It could be important to ask what went wrong. Although the circumstances may not recur, asking the right questions might give us helpful answers for when the campaign for school libraries starts again, tomorrow morning.

Site‐based management depends on collaboration and teamwork among teachers, administrators, and parents. Collaborative decision making in educational systems is frequently characterized by conflict and disagreement, given differing perspectives and opinions among participants, and differing interests in the status quo. School principals, charged with facilitator roles in locally managed schools, are challenged to address resulting conflicts in ways that yield functional synergies and constructive outcomes which enable schools to respond to community needs. The purpose of this study is to develop a profile of preferred conflict management behaviors and strategies of a sample of principals in a large, urban school district who work in site‐based managed schools. Results reflect these principals’ preference for solution‐oriented conflict strategies. Findings are discussed in terms of the changing leadership responsibilities of principals in site‐based managed schools.

Like many other countries, a reform of school meals policies has been implemented in Portugal, wherein nutritional and health criteria are considered in the design of the public plate. Given that a large literature on school meals focus on cities seen as sites for promising transformation regarding health, resilience and sustainability, it is pertinent to examine how these policies are being received in rural areas. Similar to other vulnerable regions in southern Europe, rural areas in Portugal have been affected by depopulation, the re-localisation of public services (e.g. schools, health centres and courts of justice) to larger conurbations, a drastic reduction of farming areas and its reconversion from sites of production to sites of consumption that thrive on tourism. While research on children’s attitudes, experiences and practices in rural areas had picked up the attention of social scientists, research on children’s relations and engagements with school meals in these areas does not abound. This chapter addresses three issues: first, how the catering staff and health professionals experience children’s engagements with school meals after the policy reform; second, how the discourses of the school staff and parents around the rural and gastro-idylls contrast with the reported food practices and experiences of everyday life, and third, how the multiple engagements of children with animals, plants and other nature conflict with or are juxtaposed to the images of the rural idyll. Drawing from focus groups material with children aged between 7 and 9 years old living in the rural hinterland of an inland medium-size city in Portugal, focus groups with parents and interviews with stakeholders (e.g. school and kitchen staff, local authorities, nutritionists and catering firms) the chapter aims at contributing to a broader understanding of children lived experiences with food consumption in rural contexts.

Outlines radical changes in managerial style within the workplace with particular reference to schools. Provides a case study of the Los Angeles County office of Education and its relationships with its connected schools. Discusses the selection of a site‐based decision model and the advantages this brings. Concludes that change takes time and this model is to be expanded into other area of education.

The paper aims to examine the effect of implementing participatory school administration, leadership and management (PSALM) on the levels of empowerment among the educational stakeholders.

A mixed method approach, combining the experimental design with empirical surveys, interviews and documentary analysis, was used. Survey respondents (735 for the first survey and 603 for the second survey) were school heads, teachers, students, alumni, parents and community leaders coming from 76 public secondary schools in one provincial school division in the Philippines.

Stakeholders who implemented PSALM reported higher levels of empowerment compared with the control group; school heads and teachers felt more empowered than the other stakeholders after one year of PSALM implementation; there was a trend for the younger and 51 years + participants to feel less empowered after implementing PSALM. The stakeholders faced challenges in implementing PSALM but they overcame them by opening communication channels and manifesting supportive behaviours.

Only people who indicated willingness to implement PSALM were involved, so there was no way to determine how stakeholders who are hesitant to practice the experimental intervention would react.

It is suggested that the Philippine public schools should expedite the implementation of PSALM via school councils as a way to improve the school system.

The paper presents evidence, drawn from a management experiment, that establishes the link between PSALM and empowerment levels of stakeholders.

Economists have long been aware of the importance of human resource development. It is probably at least one aspect of the so called ‘dismal’ science they can agree about. Adam Smith, the founding father, in his famous book, The Wealth of Nations, first published in 1776 and still being issued, stressed the significance of education to the nation several times. Since then a wide range of literature is available dealing purely with the economics of education. Some of it links education with economic growth.

The development of a Health Promoting School concept in Hong Kong has faced many challenges, as in other countries. However, there is strong evidence from research findings that there is a need for this development to promote the health of young people effectively. Strategies are currently being developed in Hong Kong to address the key issues and challenges inherent in developing Health Promoting Schools. They include work on teacher training, funding and resources, policy making, the re‐orientation of the education system, participation by the community and parents, and the formation of healthy alliances. All these issues need to be addressed before a school‐based health promotion programme can be developed further. This paper describes current strategies being used by the authors of this paper to tackle these issues to develop a more comprehensive Health Promoting School programme in Hong Kong.

Briefly outlines the scope and pace of change in education in Australia which is extraordinary and, for many, disconcerting if not dislocating – there is virtually no aspect of the field that has not been touched by reform over the last decade, whether it be the processes of policy making among the different levels of government, or the structures within which public education is administered, or the roles of leaders such as school principals. Briefly contrasts the emerging and traditional roles, then offers an outline of the broad context for education. Details the factors which are influencing change in education, with a description in each instance of the manner in which these are affecting the role of the principal. Describes scenarios for schooling as the nation moves towards the twenty‐first century, with a further shift towards a market model foreshadowed. Proposes four dimensions for leadership on the part of the principal.

Based on research funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, looks at change in services for children and young people in difficulty and the implications for inter‐disciplinary working. The research is based on 80 interviews conducted with key individuals at local and national level. Describes and analyses the changes in health, social work, education and the Children’s Hearing system. Argues that the purchaser/provider split; local government reorganization and the Children (Scotland) Act will all affect collaboration in planning and service delivery for children and young people in difficulty. Identifies the potential problems and opportunities resulting from these changes and highlights the emerging issues relevant to provision of services.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of ongoing conversations between researchers and librarians. Without such conversations followed by the active purchasing of manuscripts, the important contributions of individual first settlers would likely remain untold. The research review that unfolds here is of one of New Zealand's significant first settlers, William Colenso (1811-1899). Yet, 30 years ago William Colenso was mostly regarded as a local rather than a national figure, renowned and ridiculed for his being dismissed from the Church Missionary Society for moral impropriety in 1852. By 2011, however, a conference dedicated to his life and work attracted both national and international scholars raising awareness and contributing unique knowledge about Colenso as missionary, printer, linguist, explorer, botanist, politician, author and inspector of schools. It is argued that such scholarship was enabled through the purposeful collecting of Colenso's papers over 30 years.

The historical analysis draws from original documents and published papers chronicling the role and the views of one of New Zealand's first inspector of schools. A self-reflective review approach will show how new knowledge can enhance earlier published works and provide opportunities for further analysis.

It will be demonstrated that as a result of ongoing conversations between librarians and researchers purposeful buying of archives and manuscripts have added fresh perspectives to the contributions William Colenso made to education in provincial New Zealand.

This work is perhaps the first critical re-reading and review of one's own scholarship undertaken across 30 years within New Zealand history of education. It offers unique self-reflections on the subject focus and analyses of it over time.