Book Review: Excellence in Bilingual Education: A Guide for School Principals

Parts 1 to 5 are practical, exploring the four strands of their whole-school approach. They each contain current theoretical thinking, supported with discussion through in-depth case studies. Detailed advice includes curriculum planning, the practical issues of lesson structure and planning, different types of assessment, and the role of leadership in creating the culture required for a whole-school approach. An additional chapter on the role of literacy in all subject areas supports their view that learning occurs through dialogue, making the acquisition of general and subject-specific literacy skills essential to success. In the introduction, the authors question both the simple conveyance of academic subject matter and the teaching of generic thinking skills, arguing that skills are embedded in distinctive methods of inquiry. While a generic, cross-curricular approach accesses concepts and knowledge in a superficial way, Knight and Benson suggest approaching a Fertile Question through the lens of different subjects in a way that recognizes and exploits each discipline’s unique approach to the construction of knowledge. Fertile Questions pose problems that need solving, requiring students to utilize concepts and skills generic to each particular discipline. Learner Profiles outline characteristics and qualities of learners within each school’s context in order to move both surface and deep knowledge towards conceptual thinking and understanding in students. This added rigour is increasingly necessary as students grapple with the challenges of GCSE and A-Level curriculum changes and a highly competitive job market. Part 1 describes mediumand long-term curriculum planning developed around identified Fertile Questions. Beginning with skills and concepts required for undergraduate study in a discipline, the stages seek to extrapolate concepts, dispositions, academic language and specialist knowledge required to solve set Fertile Questions. The proposed planning is initially labour-intensive, but the authors maintain that this effort is worth the resultant gains. Advice and examples provide ideas and methods that would benefit individual teachers, but the intensive nature of the suggested planning perhaps demands sharing the workload. Questions designed to trigger discussion would also benefit from collaboration. Part 2 considers individual lessons, exploring structure, planning, questioning and class cultures. A four-part lesson framework connects lessons to previous learning, activates the conceptual and knowledge base required for further learning, allows demonstration of student skills, and consolidates learning through reflection, performance or feedback. The authors acknowledge Ofsted’s move from restricting lesson plans, but argue that a clear, agreed approach is needed to reduce the current variance between teachers and lessons. Parts 3 to 5, examining language acquisition, assessment and the role of leadership, are equally packed with ideas and examples that can be lifted from the book or adapted to suit different contexts. The handbook assumes a systematic and dedicated application of the different stages of development. The detail and depth could prove daunting, but numerous summaries, tables and outlines facilitate easier referencing back to the main concepts. Although some ideas can be lifted out in isolation, a systematic reading gives the individual tasks and suggestions a coherent context. Levels of implementation in each section would allow schools to adjust and adopt the ideas to suit their own context and ethos. It is not a ‘quick fix’ approach to building excellence, but rather a new way of doing education. Having said this, I think it contains many insightful challenges to modern methods and assumptions in education, making this a book well worth reading.