Ferran Ferrer

Teachers and school management in European education systems

It is obvious that managing a school today means being confronted by a variety of situations that go beyond a schools strict sphere of influence. The social changes taking place in our societies, the models for lifestyles and thinking that prevail in our cultures, the economic and labour framework within which different professions are exercised all undoubtedly have a decisive impact on school management. Not only as regards the organizational changes that schools, like other institutions, must introduce into their internal functioning, but above all because of the social responsibility that is now demanded of schools and leads to far-reaching changes in their method of operation. Consequently, the role of teachers in management is both an important question and a subject of debate. It is frequently stated, and not without justification, that teachers should become involved in schools, that they should assume responsibility for the schools educational function and, ultimately, that they have to fulfil a professional task that is of the utmost importance for the future of society. Does this mean, however, that they should be involved in running schools? Can they play the role assigned to them by society simply by acting within the four walls of the classroom alone? Finally, if they are called upon to take part in school management, can reasonable limits be placed on their level of involvement?

Personalisation of Education

Referring to the personalisation of education entails entering a fuzzy territory about which relatively little has been written, at least compared to other current issues. This following chapter outline some of the factors explaining the importance of this issue for teachers, schools, and education systems. I consider that a learning environment based on the use of Information and Communication Technologies [ICT] is well suited to this type of pedagogical approach, and thus some of the close links between the two phenomena will be indicated.

El control social de la escuela : reflexiones para un análisis internacional

En la actualidad parece necesario establecer algunos mecanismos de control en los centros educativos con el fin de mejorar nuestro sistema educativo en general, y mas concretamente nuestras escuelas. En los ultimos anos se ha extendido, entre los gobiernos de los diferentes paises europeos, la preocupacion sobre el incumplimiento de las tradicionales finalidades que debia perseguir la escuela en nuestro entorno; en concreto determinados indicadores parecen mostrar que no se instruye y forma con suficiente exito. Hasta el momento fue el Estado el que se encargo de realizar esta tarea de control a traves de su administracion (macro-control), pero la reciente crisis del Estado del Bienestar ha provocado que este Estado y las funciones que cumplia hasta el momento entren en crisis, traspasandolas hacia la sociedad civil (micro-control). La participacion de la sociedad civil en la toma de decisiones educativas en cada una de las escuelas de nuestros paises, solo sera una realidad si se produce una autentica descentralizacion administrativa y una mayor autonomia escolar