Book Proposal: Schools & Ecosystems
Schools & Ecosystems: Valuing the complexity of education
Summary
We all too often view education as a linear process of inputs and outputs, but schools can be more accurately described as akin to ecosystems, wherein any change we make must be considered in terms of the impact on the system as a whole.
Description
When it comes to the improvement of public schools, there’s been no shortage of silver bullets, enthusiastically adopted by entire districts, from SMART Boards to open classrooms to state standards. While some efforts have have demonstrated an impact at the margins, few reforms have had an impact at scale, especially for students who need it the most.
Rationale
Key features
If you had to give three key benefits that your book offers to its readers, what would they be?
Table of contents
Chapter outlines
A brief description of the main topics to be covered in each chapter, including the main references upon which the material is based.
Length and delivery
How many words long (including notes and bibliography) will your manuscript be, how many illustrations will you be providing, are there other features, such as an accompanying website, that may be needed? Also indicate when you expect to deliver the completed work – please be realistic.
Permissions
Will you be reusing any previously published material (figures, illustrations, text) of your own or others? If so, please give full details.
Pedagogical features
If appropriate, please outline the main pedagogical feature that you would plan to include (chapter summaries, case studies, study questions, glossary, further reading, website links). Market and Competition
Market and readership
For whom is the book is primarily written, in which discipline(s), at what level(s), which specific courses/modules it might be used upon? Are there secondary markets in other areas or at other levels?
For textbooks and coursebooks, please give details of courses/ modules where your book could be recommended as essential or supplementary reading. Where possible, please provide names and contact information for those teaching on these courses/ modules.
For monographs, please give information on the research context and any relevant organisations, associations and networks.
International markets
Where do you see the main markets for the book, e.g. UK, USA, Canada, Europe, Australasia, etc? Please provide any information that would help us to promote the book in specific markets, e.g. international case studies, contributors, author profile, possible endorsements, etc.
Competition
Please provide details (title, author, publisher, publication date and list price) of comparable books, or books that might compete directly for a reader’s attention. How is your book like, or unlike, the other books. What are their strengths and weaknesses of the competing books? What advantages does your book have over the competition?
Author and Contributor Information
Your details
Include your title, full name (as you would want to appear on the book, in catalogues, etc) and affiliation/job title. Also provide a short biographical note (up to 50 words). For edited volumes, include a list of contributors including the title, full name, and affiliation/job title.
Contact details
Include your email address, work telephone number and an alternative telephone number, and your postal address (to which you’d be happy for all formal correspondence to be sent, such as contacts, books, etc).
Additional information
Please give any additional information which would be helpful in making our decision, e.g. previous books, teaching/research experience, media contacts, etc.
Other Information
Sample material
A sample of your writing for this book, including any special features you propose, such as case studies, or questions for student practice. It may take the form of an introduction to the work, or be part of one of the chapters. 500 words would be sufficient, but more is welcome. This will help us to assess your style and level of writing.
Suggested reviewers
Please provide names of people we might approach to ask their opinions on your proposed book. Ensure that your suggestions reflect the proposed market for the book (i.e. if you feel that there are strong markets in the UK and USA and a small market in Australia, please make a few suggestions from each country, focusing on the UK and USA for the majority of suggestions). These suggestions may be people teaching on courses for which you’d anticipate the proposed text being essential or supplementary reading, key names in the field, people you’ve worked with on other projects, and so on.
Other submissions
Please let us know whether you have submitted, or intend to submit, this proposal elsewhere and, if so, to which publisher(s).
Thank you for taking the time to complete your proposal. Above all, please make sure that someone who may be unfamiliar with your work or the exact area in which you work has enough information to make informed comments on the project.