Behaviour that involves an abuse of a teacher's position of trust or a breach of the standards of propriety is regarded as misconduct and may lead to a teacher being barred from the teaching profession. This book offers the school leader advice on making decisions arising from misconduct or alleged misconduct of their staff. It addresses issues such as:

• how to deal with an allegation of a teacher's sexual misconduct
• how to judge when a relationship between a pupil and teacher becomes abusive
• how to decide what to do about drug abuse
• how to support an 'outed' gay or lesbian teacher
• how to decide when private matters become public ones
• how to deal with the media.

Often there are no clear-cut answers, or easy solutions, but this book will raise the dilemmas and explain the employment and criminal law in jargon-free language. School leaders have to make important decisions about such incidents, considering their responsibility to their staff, to the local community, and to their pupils. Leadership training rarely includes exposure to these issues, but most people working in schools may have to face them at some point in their career.

Teachers Behaving Badly draws on real cases and explores the dilemmas faced, offering practical and legal advice to help school leaders prepare for such critical incidents.

About the Author
Kate Myers is Emeritus Professor at the University of Keele. She is a Senior Associate of The Leadership for Learning Network at the University of Cambridge and an adviser for The London Challenge.

Reviews

'This book is an excellent and topical exploration of issues of sex and sexuality in schools today, encompassing not only theory and discussion but also practical advice on dealing with sexualality issues in educational settings. This book is also a reminder that these sensitive topics extend beyond the well-known teacher-pupil scandals, to more complex situations involving colleagues or colleagues spouses, or indeed the harassment of teachers by students.'

- Gender and Education, Volume 19, No.1, January 2007

'The many excellent ideas and practical tips given in this book make it essential reading for teachers (particularly new teachers), school principals and governors, educational policy makers and teacher trainers. Teachers behaving badly therefore serves as an important foray into the beginnings of an informed and insightful debate on sexuality and sexual behaviour in the classroom.' - Gender and Education, Volume 18, No.6, November 2006

'This book raises the dilemmas and outlines the employment and criminal law in jargon-free language.' - Education Today

'The book offers guidelines for managing teachers who have abused their position of trust, or who are perceived by colleagues or the community as having done so.' - Genevra Fletcher, XCM

'An essential read for heads today as it addresses issues every head will face. A key area not addressed elsewhere handled very sensitively' - Alan Davison, head of Dame Alice Owen's School, Hertfordshire

'I was very supported by this straight forward, very readable book. I would recommend it wholeheartedly to any senior manager in education.' - Peter Blenkinsop, Head of Whitefields School, Barnet, UK

Book Information
ISBN 9780415321150
Author Kate Myers
Format Paperback
Page Count 192
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 226g