ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on school development or school improvement as it has increasingly become known. It explores a variety of different ways in which schools and colleges are attempting to examine their own practices with a view to improving the quality of teaching and learning. The book shows that there is a growing body of research–albeit much of it from Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) itself–pointing to the important role that external inspection can play but stresses that none of this research is considering the relative cost-effectiveness of this model or investigating alternatives. It points to the clear dichotomy that exists between perceptions of OFSTED's accountability role and that of school 'improvement through inspection', and concludes by suggesting a number of important areas in need of further research.
