October 2023 MBR The Education Shelf

The Education Shelf

Research Handbook on the Transformation of Higher Education
Liudvika Leisyte, et al.
Edward Elgar Publishing
www.e-elgar.com
9781800378209, $290.00 HC, $65.00 ebook, 458pp

https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/research-handbook-on-the-transformation-of-higher-education-9781800378209.html

Synopsis: Co-edited by the team of Liudvika Leisyte, Jay R. Dee, and Barend J.R. van der Meuten, "The Research Handbook on the Transformation of Higher Education" is compiled of contributions that captures the complexities and paradoxes associated with higher education transformation. Drawing upon current empirical and theoretical scholarship, it identifies the drivers, actors, developments and outcomes of transformational processes within the field.

Providing a multi-level outlook on higher education transformation, "The Research Handbook on the Transformation of Higher Education" is timely and useful as it identifies key aspects and methods of transformational change that leaders can apply to their own institutions. Through detailed analysis of the technological, socio-political and market forces that are currently transforming universities and colleges, chapters portray change within higher education as responsive to global academic challenges such as structural inequality, reductions in state funding and the pandemic-accelerated pace of digitalisation.

Illustrating the scope, process and pace of higher education transformation, "The Research Handbook on the Transformation of Higher Education" will be a particularly valuable resource for academics and doctoral scholars studying educational policy, public administration and organization studies. Higher education administrators and those in leadership positions within colleges and universities will additionally find it to be an enlightening read.

Critique: Comprised of 27 erudite contributions by experts in the field of higher education, "The Research Handbook on the Transformation of Higher Education" also includes a seven page listing of the contributors and their credentials. Insightfully informative and impressively well organized and presented, "The Research Handbook on the Transformation of Higher Education" is a seminal work that is unconditionally recommended for personal, professional, college, and university library Higher Education Administration collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. The eBook version is priced $65.00 from eBook vendors while the print book can be ordered from the Edward Elgar Publishing website.

Editorial Note #1: Liudvika Leisyte is Professor of Higher Education, Centre for Higher Education, Department of Business and Economics, TU Dortmund University, Germany.

Editorial Note #2: Jay R. Dee is Professor of Higher Education, University of Massachusetts-Boston.

Editorial Note #3: Barend J.R. van der Meulen is Professor of Institutional Aspects of (Higher) Education, Center for Higher Education Policy Studies, Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences, University of Twente, the Netherlands.

Liberal Education and Citizenship in a Free Society
Justin Buckley Dyer, editor
Constantine Christos Vassiliou, editor
University of Missouri Press
https://upress.missouri.edu
9780826222831, $45.00, HC, 462pp

https://www.amazon.com/Liberal-Education-Citizenship-Constitutional-Democracy/dp/0826222 838

Synopsis: The liberal arts university has been in decline since well before the virtualization of campus life, increasingly inviting public skepticism about its viability as an institution of personal, civic, and professional growth.

New technologies that might have brought people together have instead frustrated the university's capacity to foster thoughtful citizenship among tomorrow's political, cultural, and economic leaders, as well as exacerbating socioeconomic inequalities that are poisoning America's civic culture.

Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Justin Buckley Dyer and Constantine Christos Vassiliou, "Liberal Education and Citizenship in a Free Society" is a compendium of 19 original essays that present the work of a diverse group of scholars to assess the value of a liberal arts education in the face of market, technological, cultural, and political forces shaping higher learning today.

Critique: "Liberal Education and Citizenship in a Free Society" is a seminal and groundbreaking collection of astute, eloquent, insightfully informative, thoughtful, thought-provoking, and exceptionally well organized and presented contributions by experts in the field of Constitutional Democracy. Especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, college, and university library Political Science collections and supplemental Constitutional Law curriculum studies lists, it should be noted for students, academia, political activists, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Liberal Education and Citizenship in a Free Society" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $42.75).

Editorial Note #1: Justin Buckley Dyer was, until June 2022, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri. Last month, Justin took on the roles of Professor of Government and Executive Director of the newly formed Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. Among his many authored, co-authored, and edited books are Slavery, Abortion, and the Politics of Constitutional Meaning; Natural Law and the Antislavery Constitutional Tradition; and American Soul: The Contested Legacy of the Declaration of Independence.

Editorial Note #2: Constantine Christos Vassiliou is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Houston. A political theorist who specializes in Enlightenment thought, Vassiliou's research points to a perennial civic challenge, that of trying to balance commercial considerations with the public interest. His upcoming project, "Montesquieu and the Scottish Enlightenment: Liberty and Honor in the Modern Commercial World," examines the competing theories of honor of Montesquieu, David Hume, Adam Smith, and Adam Ferguson to bring to light a strand of foundational liberal thought that emphasizes the emotional basis of political life.

The Best 389 Colleges: 2024
Robert Franek, et al.
The Princeton Review
www.PrincetonReview.com
c/o Random House Inc.
https://www.randomhousebooks.com
9780593516867, $26.99, PB, 880pp

https://www.amazon.com/Bold-Beautiful-Watercolor-Skies-Beginners/dp/0760382948

Synopsis: The Princeton Review's college rankings started in 1992 with surveys from 30,000 students. Over 30 years and more than a million student surveys later, they stand by their claim that there is no single "best" college -- only the best college for you. This new 2024 edition of "The Best 389 Colleges, 2024: In-Depth Profiles & Ranking Lists to Help Find the Right College For You" is the resource that will help you find it!

"The Best 389 Colleges: 2024" is a compendium of 389 in-depth school profiles based on candid feedback from 165,000 students, covering academics, administration, campus life, and financial aid. It offers useful insights on unique college character, social scene, and more. Of special note are the cirect quotes from students about their school's professors, campus culture, career services, and more.

"The Best 389 Colleges: 2024" also lists of the top 25 colleges in 50 categories based on students' opinions of academics, campus life, facilities, and much more. Plus there are the ratings for every school on Financial Aid, Selectivity, and Quality of Life.

With its detailed admissions information, "The Best 389 Colleges: 2024" provides useful information on competitive applications, test scores, tuition, and average indebtedness, as well as selectivity, freshman profiles, and application deadlines at each school.

Of special note is the free access to 2 full-length practice tests online (1 SAT and 1 ACT) to help aspiring students prep for the important admissions-exams part of their college admissions journey.

Critique: "The Best 389 Colleges, 2024: In-Depth Profiles & Ranking Lists to Help Find the Right College For You" is an absolutely essential addition to personal, professional, community, and highschool College Admissions instructional reference collections and should be made available to every graduating highschool students aspiring to go to college. It is also a vital and important informational resource for adults seeking to obtain a college degree after an absence from school due to their own particular and personal life circumstances.

Editorial Note: Zaneena Nabeel, aka Aurora by Z, is an architect by profession and an artist by vocation. She returned to artmaking after completing her architecture studies, finding healing and happiness through drawing, painting, and playing with color, inspiring her to start and Instagram page, where she shares her work. In addition to teaching many classes on Skillshare, she hosts art workshops and organizes exhibitions both locally and internationally. Originally from India, she is currently based in Dubai. To see more of Zaneena's work, visit www.aurorabyz.com, @AurorabyZ on YouTube, and @aurorabyz on Instagram.

The K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Differences, 16th edition
Marybeth Kravets, author
Imy Wax, author
The Princeton Review
www.PrincetonReview.com
c/o Random House Inc.
https://www.randomhousebooks.com
9780593517406, $35.99, PB, 752pp

https://www.princetonreview.com/press/k-and-w-guide-16th-edition

Synopsis: College bound students with a learning difference, their parents, and their highschool counselors require the most up-to-date informational resources. And that can only mean the newly updated "The K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Differences, 16th Edition: 325+ Schools with Programs or Services for Students with ADHD, ASD, or Learning Differences" by the team of Marybeth Kravets and Imy Wax, and published by The Princeton Review.

Critique: Comprehensive and thoroughly 'user friendly' in organization and presentation, "The K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Differences, 16th Edition: 325+ Schools with Programs or Services for Students with ADHD, ASD, or Learning Differences" is an essential, necessary, and required resource that is unreservedly recommended for family, highschool, and community library College Admission Reference & Guidance collections. It should be noted that if purchased from a third-party seller, "The K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Differences, 16th Edition: 325+ Schools with Programs or Services for Students with ADHD, ASD, or Learning Differences" is not guaranteed by the publisher for quality or authenticity.

Editorial Note #1: Marybeth Kravets, MA, formerly the President of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, served as a counselor and college consultant at Deerfield High School for over 30 years and is currently the Director of College Counseling at Wolcott College Prep High School in Chicago, Illinois.

Editorial Note #2: Imy F. Wax, MS, is a licensed psychotherapist, educational consultant, and founder of the Aspire Group, a private educational consulting practice. She has written numerous articles about learning differences, and serves clients throughout the world.

Who's Tougher Than Us?: The Realities of Teaching
Donna Gerard
https://www.donnagerard.com
Three Fountain Press
9798986612003, $14.99, PB, 166pp

https://www.amazon.com/Whos-Tougher-Than-Us-Realities/dp/B0B92HPLCL

Synopsis: With the publication of "Who's Tougher Than Us?: The Realities of Teaching", classroom teacher Donna Gerard presents a collection of true stories entirely drawn from her personal experience as an educator.

She shares three kinds of stories. Student stories, both good and bad, tell of the student who came to school with his books, pencils, razor blade, and suicide note, and of the former student who yelled "Ms. Gerard!" across a department store to tell her how well she was doing, all because Ms. Gerard broke a rule. Also, it is not impossible to pay $2 to stop a student from having temper tantrums.

This is a compendium of everyday teacher stories, such as the drama surrounding the copy machine. Donna also includes her top and bottom ten lists of teacher life where she shares the joy of the Catch Up Day, field trip adventures in the rain, and why you need to keep an extra shirt in the classroom.

Finally, there are her true life stories about administrative issues, such as trying to follow the statewide seating mandate in a room where the desks just don't fit, or navigating dress code policies that cause more problems than they solve.

Teaching is a complex profession that is in trouble, as evidenced by our current teacher shortage. By examining and addressing the issues that drive teachers out, we can bring teachers in. Teachers in all stages, from new classroom teachers to veteran educators, will relate to Donna Gerard's experiences and see themselves in these stories.

Critique: Fun, fascinating, revealing, and laced with humor, irony, and insight, "Who's Tougher Than Us?: The Realities of Teaching" is a unique and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, school district, college, and university library Education Career Development and Teacher/Student Mentoring collections, as well as supplemental Educational curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for the personal reading lists of student teachers, classroom teachers, education administrators, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Who's Tougher Than Us?: The Realities of Teaching" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $8.99).

Editorial Note: Donna Gerard (www.DonnaGerard.com) has a BA in sociology, a state teaching certification for K-8, an MA in Middle School Science, and state endorsements in middle school science, secondary social studies, and secondary social science. More importantly, she had 34 years of teaching experience, including K-12 substitute teaching, K-4 basic skills math and reading, grades 5-8 social studies, grades 1, 5, 6 language arts, math, science, and social studies, grade 6 health, and grades 7-8 science. She has taught students classified as special education, gifted and talented, struggling learners, ELL, and general program. Gerard was a practitioner of learning stations, project-based learning, basal readers, formal spelling programs, phonics, whole language, call and response, book learning, hands-on learning, multiple intelligences, computer-based learning, individualized instruction, and cooperative learning, to name a few. She drew the conclusion that every trend in education has merit and should be used, but none are the sole "answer" to how to teach students or should be used exclusively.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.

The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "California Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview (dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugalmuse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publisher, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number, and list price).

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review