Not everyone has had a straight and narrow path into academia. Many higher education teachers, in fact, were professionals before they became part of the university or college where they work; and many keep one foot in both worlds even while they teach. Especially in programs designed to support students in a field of practice (education, nursing, and others), teachers find that being an academic or a scholar is supplementary to being a professional. And yet the demands of scholarship remain a component of their academic work-research, publishing, and the rest.Inspired by scholarly narratives like those from Ruth Behar, bell hooks, Jonathan Kozol, and others, Voices of Practice inspects, interrupts, questions, and reconstructs what it means to be a scholar, using deeply personal reflections, poignant vignettes, and carefully examined timelines of intellectual and professional development. This volume features educators who may not at first call themselves "academics" and who have focused their careers on the practice rather than the publishing of scholarship.

Voice Work: Art and Science in Changing Voices is a key work that addresses the theoretical and experiential aspects common to the practical vocal work of the three major voice practitioner professions - voice training, singing teaching, and speech and language pathology. The first half of the book describes the nature of voice work along the normal-abnormal voice continuum, reviews ways in which the mechanism and function of the voice can be explored, and introduces the reader to an original model of voice assessment, suitable for all voice practitioners. The second half describes the theory behind core aspects of voice and provides an extensive range of related practical voice work ideas. Throughout the book, there are a number of case studies drawn from the author's own experiences and a companion website, providing audio clips to illustrate aspects of the text, can be found at www.wiley.com/go/shewell.

"Hord is the originator of the triple-headed concept of professional learning communities. Sommers is an experienced administrator and past president of the National Staff Development Council. With the authors′ extensive backgrounds in educational evaluation and the implementation of school change and development, they are uniquely equipped to delineate and defend a particular vision of professional learning communities that has educational depth, professional richness, and moral integrity." —From the Foreword by Andy Hargreaves "The most important volume available to help principals undertake the challenging yet exhilarating work of building true communities of professional learning." —Joseph Murphy, Professor Vanderbilt University "The book does not gloss over the challenges that leaders will encounter. The authors draw upon rich research evidence and personal experiences and offer many practical, proven change strategies. This is a valuable resource for any educational leader who wishes to become a ′head learner.′" —Arthur L. Costa, Professor Emeritus California State University, Sacramento "Hord and Sommers create a powerful bridge between the research base on PLCs and practitioner knowledge and action. The book′s dual focus on principles and ′rocks in the road′ provide a grounded basis for school leaders. A dog-eared copy should be in every principal′s office and in every professional developer′s tool kit." —Karen Seashore Louis, Rodney S. Wallace Professor University of Minnesota, Minneapolis "The authors′ rationale and suggestions will resonate because they come from experience and great insight. The bottom line remains steadfast for these two distinguished educators: you implement a PLC so that teachers learn and students achieve. This text will help educators reach toward that compelling vision." —Stephanie Hirsh, Executive Director National Staff Development Council Imagine all professionals in all schools engaged in continuous professional learning! Current research shows a strong positive relationship between successful professional learning communities and increased student achievement. In this practical and reader-friendly guide, education experts Shirley M. Hord and William A. Sommers explore the school-based learning opportunities offered to school professionals and the principal′s critical role in the development of an effective professional learning community (PLC). This book provides school leaders with readily accessible information to guide them in developing a PLC that supports teachers and students. The authors cover building a vision for a PLC, implementing structures, creating policies and procedures, and developing the leadership skills required for initiating and sustaining a learning community. Each chapter includes meaningful quotes from the field, "rocks in the road" and ways to overcome them, examples from real PLCs, and learning activities to reinforce chapter content. The text illustrates how this research-based school improvement model can help educators: Increase leadership capacity Embed professional development into daily work Create a positive school culture Develop accountability Boost student achievement Discover how you can grow a vital community of professionals who work together to increase their effectiveness and strengthen the relationship between professional learning and student learning.

The aim of the book is to explain a range of options for implementing the reflective practice cycle in educational settings in various international contexts. It presents a series of empirical case studies illustrating many different ways of implementing the reflective practice cycle, and how they can be researched by practitioners and academics. Increasing attention is given by teachers and teacher educators to the construct and implementation of reflective practice as a form of bottom-up, autonomous professional development. The aim of the book is to explain a range of options for implementing the reflective practice cycle in educational settings in various international contexts. Written by international academics, these studies show how reflection can be interpreted in different cultural contexts. The book concludes with a discussion by Anne Burns of the implications of these case studies for action research. It is hoped that the book will enable practitioners, and their mentors, to consider how best to implement reflective procedures in the specific contexts in which they work. Chapters in the book include: • Lesson planning: The fundamental platform for reflecting for action • Reflecting on action: Lesson transcripts • Pair discussions for reflecting on action: Stimulated recall • Observation leading to reflection This book will be key reading for researchers in the fields of teacher education.

The songs of working women are reflected in Greek poetry and poetics. In ancient Greece, women's daily lives were occupied by various forms of labor. These experiences of work have largely been forgotten. Andromache Karanika has examined Greek poetry for depictions of women working and has discovered evidence of their lamentations and work songs. Voices at Work explores the complex relationships between ancient Greek poetry, the female poetic voice, and the practices and rituals surrounding women’s labor in the ancient world. The poetic voice is closely tied to women’s domestic and agricultural labor. Weaving, for example, was both a common form of female labor and a practice referred to for understanding the craft of poetry. Textile and agricultural production involved storytelling, singing, and poetry. Everyday labor employed—beyond its socioeconomic function—the power of poetic creation. Karanika starts with the assumption that there are certain forms of poetic expression and performance in the ancient world which are distinctively female. She considers these to be markers of a female “voice” in ancient Greek poetry and presents a number of case studies: Calypso and Circe sing while they weave; in Odyssey 6 a washing scene captures female performances. Both of these instances are examples of the female voice filtered into the fabric of the epic. Karanika brings to the surface the words of women who informed the oral tradition from which Greek epic poetry emerged. In other words, she gives a voice to silence.

Social Work: Voices from the Inside offers unique insight into social work from the perspectives of those ‘on the inside’, that is, service users, carers and practitioners. Drawing on a narrative tradition, fifty-nine people from across the UK tell their stories about how and why social work came into their lives, and what happened next. Key topics are discussed, including: children and family social work criminal justice social work mental health social work residential child care social work with disabled people social work with older people lessons for the future. Focusing on issues for good practice in social work and social work education, this book is essential reading for students and academics of social work and social policy. It will also appeal to social work professionals and those in allied health, education and care areas.

Sixteen new essays by a team of leading international scholars on the theme of the Bible and its reception and appropriation in the context of radical practices, and an exposition of the imaginative possibilities of radical engagement with the Bible in inclusive social contexts.