Suchergebnisse

Due to the plethora of educational reform measures, teachers often find themselves in a quandary of educational ills. Reform movements in the 21st century originated with federal legislation in the late 1950s and culminated in the Race to the Top grant program sponsored by the United States Department of Education under Secretary Arnie Duncan. Reform measures include controversial practices such as value-added teacher evaluations, high-stakes testing, school closures, and the establishment of charter schools. Many of the strategies promoted by school reformers have negatively impacted the public school system as evidenced by higher teacher attrition rates, added expenses, gentrification, and wide-spread cheating within school systems. The reasons for the negative impact of school reform are made visible through the lens of critical and phenomenological philosophies.These perspectives, coupled with factual research, allow the reader a clearer understanding of how school reform transmutes into more poison that cure. Public education in Finland, a reduction of political/economic influences in education, and practical pedagogical considerations offer restoration to an ailing system.

In Germany, the poor performance in PISA 2000 stimulated a heated public debate and a strong policy response. The government reacted to the low average and remarkable disparities registered by the test, and spurred reforms led to a significant improvement in the country's educational performance and to a reduction of the gap between children from advantaged and disadvantaged educational backgrounds. Still, between-group achievement inequalities persist within the country. This paper, first, informs about important policy reforms following the PISA shock in 2000. It further gives a description of the current situation and persisting inequalities at secondary schools, with particular attention paid to students with migratory backgrounds.

Cover -- THIS IS OUR SCHOOL! -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- CONTENTS -- Introduction -- 1. The National Context: Neoliberal Education Reform, Race, and Resistance -- 2. The Reformers: Race, Privilege, and Saving Children from Disaster -- 3. The Dispossessed: Neighborhood Activists Beating Back Gentrification -- 4. Fragile Alliances: Cross-Racial Solidarity and Conflict in Community Claims to the Neighborhood School -- 5. No Permanent Enemies, No Permanent Allies: The Politics of Reformer-Community Nonprofit Partnerships -- Conclusion -- Acknowledgments -- Methodological Appendix: Researching Urban School Reform and Community Movements -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About the Author.

This qualitative ethnographic case study explored the evolution of a public urban high school in its 3rd year of small school reform. The study focused on how the high school proceeded from its initial concept, moving to a small school program, and emerging as a new small high school. Data collection included interviews, observations, and document review to develop a case study of one small high school sharing a multiplex building. The first key finding, "Too Many Pieces, Not Enough Glue," revealed that the school had too many new programs starting at once and they lacked a clear understanding of their concept and vision for their new small school, training on the Montessori philosophies, teaching and learning in small schools, and how to operate within a teacher-cooperative model. The second key finding, "A Continuous Struggle," revealed that the shared building space presented problems for teachers and students. District policies remain unchanged, resulting in staff and students resorting to activist approaches to get things done. These findings offer small school reform leaders suggestions for developing and sustaining a small school culture and cohesion despite the pressures to revert back to top-down, comprehensive high school norms.

This paper discusses an application of Vilfredo Pareto's theory of elite- circulation in viewing the problems of in-service teacher training in Sweden