New books highly recommended for education practitioners
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 | The Vice-Chancellor and President of USP, Professor Rajesh Chandra with Dr Lingam at the book launch. |
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Two innovative books on educational leadership and teacher workforce planning were launched by the Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of the South Pacific, Professor Rajesh Chandra on 30 November, 2012.
The first book titled, 'Educational Leadership: Emerging Issues and Successful Practices' was edited by USP academic, Dr Govinda Lingam. He was also one of the significant contributors in this book.
This book highlights the need for effective educational leadership that is both transformative and contextualized to enhance the quality of work in educational systems.
“The book argues for immediate attention to leadership improvement and ongoing development at all levels of the education systems that mould the citizens of our future,” said Dr Lingam.
The second book on 'Teacher Workforce Planning in the Pacific: Towards a Qualitative Perspective in Primary Education' was authored by Dr Lingam, who is a senior lecturer with the University’s School of Education.
In the second book, Dr Lingam stresses on one of the most critical inputs in achieving a good quality education that is the teaching workforce.
The 168-page publication demonstrates that it is fitting to give credit to the crucial role of primary teachers in particular, and provide the support needed in the provision of education that enables children to realise their full potential.
“The major contention of the book is that unless the supply of teachers is adequate in both qualitative and quantitative terms, quality education is unlikely to be achieved. In light of this, the book argues that raising the standards in primary education firstly requires a better teacher establishment planning approach,” he explained.
During the launch, Professor Chandra congratulated Dr Lingam for his outstanding achievement in publishing the two books.
“The books have all the hallmarks of good international collaboration and the potential to influence our educational systems and quality of educational outcomes,” he said.
The Vice-Chancellor elaborated that the books deal with very topical and important issues such as educational leadership and teacher workforce planning which are crucial priorities in education.
Professor Chandra said that while the region feels that USP’s School of Education should undertake more research on important educational issues, the release of the two books will go to some extend in changing this perception.
“These books speak of the quality of scholarship that we are capable of,” he added.
The launch was well attended by representatives from the Ministry of Education and teacher unions, University staff and students, members of the media as well as other invited guests.
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