The Spirit of the School

by Stern, Julian

• ISBN13: 9781847061096
• ISBN10: 1847061095
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-04-25
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

Recent interest in personalized learning and the issues raised by Every Child Matters have led to renewed enthusiasm for the more personal and holistic aspects of schooling. This fascinating monograph draws on empirical evidence from schools across the world to answer key questions such as:

Author Biography

Julian Stern is Professor and Dean of Education Theology at York St John University, UK.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. ix
Preface	p. xiii
Introduction: exploring humanity, spirituality and religions in school	p. 1
The project	p. 1
Spirituality to and into dualism	p. 2
After dualism	p. 5
Spirituality overcoming dualism	p. 7
Defining spirituality again	p. 11
Policy on the spiritual	p. 12
Spirituality, religion and ethos	p. 15
Researching humanity: community, learning, and dialogue	p. 18
The structure of the book	p. 21
School communities and the possibility of friendship	p. 23
Introduction	p. 23
Community	p. 24
Friendship	p. 28
Friendship, freedom and fear	p. 30
Friendship and irreplaceability	p. 32
Friendship and difference and inequality	p. 33
The spirit of the schools	p. 36
Close to me	p. 36
Working together: friends in deed	p. 40
Conclusion	p. 45
Learning together in the creative school	p. 47
Introduction: inclusion and creativity	p. 47
The meaning of inclusion	p. 47
The meaning of creativity	p. 50
Inclusive learning	p. 51
Weak inclusion	p. 51
Strong inclusion	p. 52
Inclusion of the curriculum and of people	p. 54
Making sense: the spirit of creativity	p. 56
Agency, originality and value	p. 57
Creativity, discipline and authenticity	p. 59
The spirit of the schools	p. 63
Inclusion in and out of groups	p. 65
Made up	p. 70
Conclusion	p. 72
Monologue or dialogue? Stepping away from the abyss	p. 75
Introduction	p. 75
Dialogue and duellism	p. 78
Existential vocationalism and abysmal dialogue	p. 82
Lessons in dialogue	p. 85
Dialogue within and beyond schools	p. 88
The spirit of the schools	p. 91
Dialogue within the school: silence and being there	p. 92
Dialogue beyond the school: dead hamsters	p. 96
Conclusion for persons	p. 100
'Great-souled' schooling and the spirit of the leader	p. 101
Introduction	p. 101
Avoiding loneliness	p. 104
Solitude and privacy for school leaders	p. 113
Crafty leadership	p. 117
From virtuosity to virtue: magnanimity and humility	p. 125
Conclusion	p. 133
Conclusion: understanding and promoting the spirit of the school	p. 135
Introduction	p. 135
The virtue and value of research	p. 136
Vicious research, stealing or ignoring souls	p. 137
Bad poetry	p. 144
Virtuous research	p. 147
The virtue of sincerity	p. 147
The virtues of humility, modesty and openness to criticism	p. 150
The virtues of respect, courage and trust	p. 152
The virtues of kindness and truthfulness	p. 155
Valuable research	p. 156
Hoping for the spirit of the school	p. 160
Defining the spirit of the school	p. 160
What more is needed to promote the spirit of the school?	p. 161
Appendix: The Spirit of the School methodology and toolkit	p. 165
Introduction	p. 165
Guidance to participants	p. 165
The Salmon Line	p. 167
What is typically said?	p. 168
Friendship, membership and thought circles	p. 170
Interview questions	p. 171
Additional information for adult participants	p. 174
Additional information for pupils	p. 176
Information about you: staff	p. 177
Information about you: pupils	p. 177
Consent form for institutions/organisations	p. 178
Consent form for individual adults	p. 179
Consent form for the parents/carers of individual young people	p. 180
Consent form for individual young people	p. 181
Research schedule: questions and activities	p. 182
Bibliography	p. 191
Index	p. 201
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