Collaboration and networking have recently come to the fore as major school improvement strategies in a number of countries. A variety of initiatives, from government and other agencies, have encouraged collaboration and led to a lot of practical activity in this area. However, at present there are no texts in education that explore collaboration and networking from both a theoretical and practical perspective.

1. Introduction: Networking in schools.- PART 1: THEORIES AND BACKGROUNDS: 2. Networking and collaboration as a public policy framework.- 3. Localised theories of networking and collaboration.- 4. Societal theories of networking and collaboration.- 5. Towards a typology of educational networks.- PART 2: NETWORKING IN PRACTISE: 6. Federations of schools: Case studies of practise.- 7. The impact of federations on student achievement.- 8. Achieving excellence and equity: reflections on the development of practices in one local district over ten years.- 9. Widening opportunities? A case study of school-to-school collaboration in a rural district.- 10. Leadership in full-service extended schools: Communicating across cultures.- PART 3: SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION: 11. Reflections on networking and collaboration.- 12. Successful networking: in-school conditions.- 12. Successful networking: external conditions.- 14. Leading networks.- 15. Some final thoughts.- References.- Index.