Changing Schools from the Inside Out Small Wins in Hard Times

by Larson, Robert L.

• ISBN13: 9781607095286
• ISBN10: 1607095289
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-06-09
• Publisher: R&L Education

Summary

At any time, public schools labor under great economic, political, and social pressures that make it difficult to create large-scale, 'whole school' change. But current top-down mandates require that schools close achievement gaps while teaching more problem solving, inquiry, and research skills_with fewer resources. Failure to meet test-based standards can produce consequences such as school closure or staff replacement. With this real-world challenge to education foremost, this book presents pertinent research and instructive case studies of two 'good' high schools. It advocates a proven strategy of small-scale, incremental change_small wins_which increases the likelihood that schools will improve despite a climate of 'do more with less.' Chapters describe the current societal context; the history of major change projects since the 1970s; the organizational and social characteristics of schools and classrooms; human factors that encourage and support improvement; the effects of technology; forces affecting teachers and principals; commonplace components of and vehicles for change; and practical 'levers and footings' for change that can have a high positive payoff.

Author Biography

Robert L. Larson is professor of education emeritus at the University of Vermont College of Education and Social Services.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Foreword	p. xi
Preface	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
The Current Context for School Improvement	p. 9
What Research and Practice Teach Us about Change	p. 37
Schools as Organizations	p. 67
Bromley and Mansfield: Two Case Studies	p. 93
Good Schools and Small-Scale Change	p. 115
Magnifying the Innovation Map	p. 129
The Potential of Small Wins and Related Strategies	p. 151
Levers and Footings for Change	p. 171
Concluding Comments	p. 199
Bibliography	p. 205
Index	p. 225
About the Author	p. 237
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