The Open Schools Handbook: A resource guide for managers

This book is one in a developing series of handbooks for practitioners in open and distance learning (ODL). The series covers the key roles and functions of ODL systems from the practitioner perspective. The purpose is to give practitioners advice and guidance about their tasks, functions and roles, and to enable practitioners to reflect on the critical issues they face. In this way, the series aims to model good ODL study materials and to provide key study materials for ODL training. In developing this series, the Commonwealth of Learning seeks to address the needs of ODL practitioners for accessible and practical training materials for professional development.

This handbook has been developed specifically for practitioners who seek to provide primary, secondary and vocational education for out-of-school learners using ODL methods.

The handbook has been designed to meet the needs of chief executive officers, managers and other senior staff who are:

• working in existing open schools or colleges
• in the process of setting up a pre-tertiary ODL institution from scratch, or
• charged with the transformation of a unit in a government structure into an autonomous open school.

This handbook can be used in a number of ways, including as:

• an informative text offering practical suggestions and advice
• a “how to” guide with step-by-step instructions for carrying out common management tasks
• a source of resource materials for a workshop or short training programme
• a kit of management tools
• a reference work to dip into as required, and
• a starting point for networking with other practitioners.

 Contents:
   
Preface 
Introduction
 Chapter 1   Strategic planning for an open school
 Chapter 2  Recruiting and developing staff
 Chapter 3  Research for development
 Chapter 4  Aquiring, developing and distributing study materials
 Chapter 5  Marketing, recruiting and enrolling learners
 Chapter 6  Learner support services
 Chapter 7  Monitoring and evaluation
 Chapter 8  Ensuring accountability to stakeholders
 Glossary of key terms, abbreviations and acronyms