Abstract

'This book is an excellent read about management and leadership in schools. I liked the elements that made up the ironic orientation (scepticism, pragmatism and contingency), recognizing them in my own experiences in higher education, and I liked the way in which the concept of irony was linked to some key concerns as well as positive practices' - ESCalate. Why do efforts to improve the quality of education via organizational leadership and management make matters worse in some respects as well as better? In what ways are education professionals responding to such efforts? The authors of this highly original book develop an ironic perspective for analyzing the ambiguities and unintended consequences of well-intentioned actions, and how these are exacerbated by change.