Professional Capital

​Apparently, the single most consistently satisfying occupation in the UK is hairdressing. The authors of this powerful and important book don’t reveal where teachers rate themselves in terms of gratification in the workplace; but the contrast between the significance of these two roles in terms of how they affect society as a whole, and the conditions and motivators they tend to involve is stark. Using clear, accessible language (and saving most of the scholarly underpinning for the footnotes), Hargreaves and Fullan describe a way of valuing and growing what they call ‘professional capital’ in education that is both revelatory and yet somehow, also almost ridiculously obvious. You can read this book and be inspired to change both the way you see yourself, and the way you act. So can your school leaders. But – and ay, here’s the rub – in order for the transformation to be truly complete, government think tanks and decision makers really need to take its advice on board, too.