Routledge Making a Difference: Developing Meaningful Careers in Education (Teacher's Toolkit)

Product Description Our culture and media often simplify the choice educators face--stay in or leave classroom teaching. Written for teachers and other educational professionals, this book dispels this simple dichotomy by representing the range of responses and career pathways that enable educators to make a difference. Based on interviews with hundreds of change-minded educators, the authors share career stories and insights against a backdrop that maps out the complexities, roles, and structures that define professional advancement in education. All of the teachers in this book have taught in challenging urban contexts, fought hard to exercise their professional autonomy and responsibility to serve students well, navigated social networks of educators, friends, and family who buoy or dampen their reform spirit, and remain committed to changing society through schooling. Their stories are as instructive as they are inspiring and offer roadmaps for the current generation of change-minded educators. About the Author Karen Hunter Quartz is Director of Research at UCLA’s Center X and is currently working on the design of a new school, UCLA Community School, in central Los Angeles. Brad Olsen is Assistant Professor of Education at the University of California-Santa Cruz. His teaching and research focus on teaching, teachers, and teacher development; critical pedagogy; English education; and sociolinguistics. He previously worked as a high school English teacher and administrator. Lauren Anderson has completed her Ph.D. in Urban Schooling at UCLA and is currently working as a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University. Kimberly Barraza Lyons completed her Ph.D. in Urban Schooling at UCLA and is currently pursuing multiple roles as a researcher, university lecturer, school board president, and high school Spanish teacher.