The School Reform Landscape Reloaded

The School Reform Landscape Reloaded
Author: Christopher H. Tienken
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 201
Release: 2020-10-30
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1475850301

The School Reform Landscape Reloaded: More Fear, Myths, and Lies peels back the curtain of school reform to examine the tensions that exist between the democratic and equitable system of public education and the emerging dual system based on elite interests aimed at profit-making and decreasing education equity. The author takes in-depth and controversial look at school reform since the launch of Sputnik I. Education reform events, proposals, and policies are examined through the lens of progressivist philosophy and critical social theory. Some of the issues and policies critiqued include the neoliberal corporate influence on education, the Sputnik myth, A Nation At Risk, standardization, charter schools, and other relevant topics. The author provides an evidence-based view of the free-market reform ideas and he pierces the veil of the new reform policies to find that they are not built upon empirical evidence, but instead rest solidly on foundations of myth, fear, and lies. Ideas for a new set of reform policies, based on empirical evidence and supportive of a unitary, equitable, and democratic system of education are presented.

The School Reform Landscape

The School Reform Landscape
Author: Christopher Tienken
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2013
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1475802587

In The School Reform Landscape: Fear, Mythologies, and Lies, the authors take an in-depth and controversial look at school reform since the launch of Sputnik. They scrutinize school reform events, proposals, and policies from the last 60 years through the lens of critical social theory and examine the ongoing tensions between the need to keep a vibrant unitary system of public education and the ongoing assault by corporate and elite interests in creating a dual system. Some of events, proposals, and policies critiqued include the Sputnik myth, A Nation At Risk, No Child Left Behind, the lies of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and other common reform schemes. The authors provide an evidence-based contrarian view of the free-market reform ideas and pierce the veil of the new reform policies to find that they are built not upon empirical evidence, but instead rest solidly on foundations of myth, fear, and lies. Ideas for a new set of reform policies, based on empirical evidence and supportive of a unitary, democratic system of education are presented.

Narrative Inquiries of School Reform

Narrative Inquiries of School Reform
Author: Cheryl J. Craig
Publisher: IAP
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2003-05-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1607526751

This book culminates five years of extensive field-based inquiry with teachers and principals in four reforming school contexts. It arises from living alongside teachers and principals, entering into their realities, engaging them in conversations, seeing school life through their eyes, and employing the words and images they use to wrap around their experiences. It involved thinking narratively about schools as sites of high drama within which teachers and principals negotiate meaning as knowledgeable and knowing human beings. It gave primacy to everyday events taking shape on school landscapes. It meant creating spaces and devoting enormous amounts of time to observing and listening hard to what teachers and principals say and do when reform initiatives become personally lived in context--from their points of view.

The Jossey-Bass Reader on School Reform

The Jossey-Bass Reader on School Reform
Author: Jossey-Bass Publishers
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
Total Pages: 560
Release: 2001-02-05
Genre: Education
ISBN:

From the student teacher interested in educational policy to thenew school board member dedicated to school improvement, thisdistinctive reader is for anyone who cares about innovation andchange in the nation's schools. The Jossey-Bass Readers on SchoolReform offers a definitive collection of articles, book excerpts,and seminal reports on educational reform and its many challenges. Containing selected commission reports and other public documentsthat signal important shifts in the policy arena, you'll listen inas expert contributors debate controversial issues such as schoolchoice, desegregation, bilingual education, school finance, andstudent needs, offering diverse policy perspectives and givingreaders a rich and seasoned view of the reform landscape. You'llalso gain insight into issues of school governance and organizationand examine how reforms in teaching, testing, curriculum, andstandards are changing classrooms, schools, and the profession ofteaching. Grounded in scholarship and filled with wisdom, TheJossey-Bass Reader on School Reform is a comprehensive introductionto the complexities of educational change and what we can do tomake reform lasting and meaningful.

Education Restated

Education Restated
Author: Elliot Regenstein
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2022-07-26
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1475865902

Education Restated: Getting Policy Right on Accountability, Teacher Pay, and School Choice offers the education policy community a roadmap for change in three hot-button policy areas. In each of these areas policy has been anchored around the wrong core values. By putting the right core values at the heart of policy, state governments can create more favorable conditions for education improvement at the local level. Education Restated takes a pragmatic approach to policy change, recognizing that the forces that created today’s policies have not gone away—and that on complex issues there are legitimate competing interests. This book harmonizes the best ideas of opposing policy camps and identifies opportunities to strengthen connections between K-12 and early childhood. For advocates seeking common ground with historical adversaries, Education Restated provides some ideas on where they might find it.

The Risky Business of Education Policy

The Risky Business of Education Policy
Author: Christopher H. Tienken
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2021-09-09
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1000428605

The Risky Business of Education Policy focuses commentary and analysis on some of the most pressing policy challenges facing public school educators and those invested in a healthy, vibrant public-school system. The book shares insights and makes recommendations from leading scholar-practitioners, namely from educational leadership and science education, on ways to ponder, navigate, and challenge serious policy issues. The chapters present important policy topics and critical analysis of the topics from the authorial perspective of experienced educators leading the preparation of future school leaders and teachers. Through fast paced, user-friendly chapters, contributors grapple with an education reform policy issue of the day, reflecting what is contentious territory while wading through it. These educational researchers also make evidence-informed practical recommendations for educators and policymakers on how to better approach the policy challenges presented, so public education can be improved for all children. Each chapter contains stimulating ideas, useful information, and practical tips for school practitioners, higher education faculty, and constituent groups.

Contemporary Curriculum

Contemporary Curriculum
Author: John D. McNeil
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2014-11-17
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1118916514

The Eighth Edition of Contemporary Curriculum: In Thought and Action prepares readers to participate in the discussion of curriculum control and other matters important to K-12 and university educators. The text highlights major philosophies and principles, examines conflicting conceptions of curriculum, and provides the intellectual and technical tools educators and administrators need for constructing and implementing curriculum.

Reform Can Make a Difference

Reform Can Make a Difference
Author: Darlene Leiding
Publisher: R&L Education
Total Pages: 182
Release: 2009-10-16
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1607094088

Public education in the United States does not fulfill either the educational needs or the social needs of children. Its deficiencies have serious negative consequences in our political system, our economy, and within our social and cultural affairs. We must seek to improve education through research, policy analysis, and the development of alternatives to existing policies and practices. Educational reform should include promoting greater parental choice in education, a competitive educational industry, and other policies that address the problems of both public and private schools. The ultimate goal is improved student achievement, especially in our nation's cities, where large numbers of students, are not reaching the levels of achievement they need in order to live successful lives as adults. This book explores some of the unique characteristics of school reform and focuses on the role of poverty in reform, including the negative effects of low-income neighborhoods on the youth who reside there, concluding that reducing poverty can lead to more positive academic behavior and success. Reform Can Make a Difference enables readers to look at different reform programs that are available for schools and determine which model, if any, will fit their needs. The book assists schools in designing their own reform model that will help address issues students and families have with public schools.

Cracking the Code of Education Reform

Cracking the Code of Education Reform
Author: Christopher H. Tienken
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 153
Release: 2019-08-07
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1544368232

Lead between the lines— evaluate Ed policies to emphasize the positives and minimize the negatives Although educational reform is intended for positive change, sometimes it misses the mark. However, when school leaders capitalize on the positive aspects of reforms they can strategize to ensure the best outcomes for students. Christopher Tienken, professor and international speaker, shares his insights on how to identify both positive and negative aspects of education reform to maximize the benefits for students. This book introduces a practical framework for interpreting educational reform within an evidence-based practice, and provides thoughtful ways to finesse results out of challenging policies. Designed for use on the ground level, this book features: • Seven specific creative compliance strategies to maximize student and educator success • Case studies that illustrate how to critique reforms and take action • Reflective questions to guide evaluation and application • Ethical decision-making checklist Analyzing both successful and unsuccessful reform ideas from the past, this book champions creative compliance and how to lead innovatively/judiciously.

Fatigued by School Reform

Fatigued by School Reform
Author: Jack Jennings
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 146
Release: 2020-04-13
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1475851308

After a half-a-century of school reform, a majority of Americans consider the public schools as worse today than when they attended school. Those reforms missed the mark because they were not focused on the backgrounds of the students’ parents--by far the most important indicator of students’ progress in school. The importance of parents was documented by the Coleman Report more than 50 years ago. School reform must be continued but re-directed to over-come the power of low parental socio-economic status. The best way to improve the schools is to create a better, fairer economy providing parents with good jobs and decent wages. In the meantime, good pre-school, after-school, and other aids are needed to help students from low income families. Teacher quality, although not as influential as the parents’ backgrounds, is the second most significant indicator of student success. Teachers, like parents, have not been the focus of the attention their importance deserves. In particular, teachers should be fairly paid, and their verbal and cognitive skills improved. The Coleman Report again documented the importance of those skills more than half-a-century ago. Instead, money, time, and effort have been spent on reforms that won’t bring about great improvement because they did not address adequately those two important factors.