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Creating Schools: Where Students and Teachers Want to Be (Michael Lawrence & Fabio D’Agostin, Melbourne Books)

Teachers Michael Lawrence (Testing 3, 2, 1) and Fabio D’Agostin (whose PhD was called ‘Task-Related Emotions in Mathematics Education’) have written an informed and considered exploration of the growing crises in Australian education, based on their belief that ‘every practice used in our schools should stand up to critical examination’. Creating Schools: Where Students and Teachers Want to Be will be of interest to a wide range of stakeholders in Australian education, including academics, administrators, principals, and parents and carers, but particularly to current and trainee teachers. The authors address core issues such as overemphasising data-driven management, deficit models, frequent standardised testing, and the questionable application of supposedly evidence-based and best-practice teaching methods. These factors, they argue, have a ‘dehumanising’ impact on teachers and students, contributing to students losing interest and connection at school and teachers leaving the system. One of the book’s strengths is its proposal of an alternative education model, which has been used successfully in Finland. The authors present a vision in which teachers are respected as effective professionals and students are actively engaged in developing knowledge and skills that will lead them towards any future they choose. This part of the book works particularly well, providing a refreshing perspective on how education can be reimagined. The discussion is supported by an array of challenging questions, some case studies and a broad evidence base, all of which help to underline the need for systemic change. The extensive section on practical suggestions for implementing change at the individual school level will greatly interest current educators and trainee teachers.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Merril Darling is a freelance reviewer with extensive experience in all fields of Australian education. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

 

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