A major problem confronting schools is that many students are turned off from learning and are bored. Boredom is destructive of learning. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) initiative of the US government (2001) stemmed from the claim – accompanied by sharp debates pro and con – that many schools in the United States fail to achieve basic educational objectives, and that many schools are doing a poor job for a wide variety of reasons and surely not just because of student boredom (Brigham, Gustashaw, Wiley, & Brigham, 2004; Essex, 2006; Goodman, Shannon, Goodman, & Rapoport, 2004; Sunderman, Tracey Jr. , Kim, & Orfield, 2004). The model of school organization and instruction presented here seeks to provide an effective plan for significant improvement in secondary school education, one of whose central aims is to make students genuinely engaged in what they are learning. The NCLB legislation emphasizes, inter alia, the need for school improvement. Without it one cannot reasonably anticipate improvement over current levels in student engagement in learning and in academic achievement. The NCLB literature frequently employs the term “school improvement” to refer to the quality of the teachers, such as their academic credentials, instructional competence, and their knowledge of subject matter. Similarly, “school restructuring” is said to include steps such as transforming the school into a charter school, replacing the teaching staff, or inviting a private company to administer the school. The use of those terms in this work is distinctly different.

In 1988, the Chicago public school system decentralized, granting parents and communities significant resources and authority to reform their schools in dramatic ways. To track the effects of this bold experiment, the authors of Organizing Schools for Improvement collected a wealth of data on elementary schools in Chicago. Over a seven-year period they identified one hundred elementary schools that had substantially improved—and one hundred that had not. What did the successful schools do to accelerate student learning? The authors of this illuminating book identify a comprehensive set of practices and conditions that were key factors for improvement, including school leadership, the professional capacity of the faculty and staff, and a student-centered learning climate. In addition, they analyze the impact of social dynamics, including crime, critically examining the inextricable link between schools and their communities. Putting their data onto a more human scale, they also chronicle the stories of two neighboring schools with very different trajectories. The lessons gleaned from this groundbreaking study will be invaluable for anyone involved with urban education.

Provides information to help administrators organize school structure, advance effective techniques, increase worker satisfaction, and promote productivity.

This volume provides a mix of beginning and established scholars and a range of theoretical perspectives. Eight separate but related analyses were selected for publication this year. The book begins with a chapter by Sims and Miskel, which examines national reading policy as part of a broader federal government agenda on children’s literacy. Using a model of punctuated equilibrium, they trace the peaks of congressional and media attention to literacy. Their findings reveal that the broad level of literacy has remained a rather active and durable policy issue for more than three decades. When, however, the analysis shifts to different targets, that is, from elementary and secondary school students to adults and youth to LEP individuals, there are distinct patterns of punctuation and equilibrium. The researchers conclude that the specific issue of children’s literacy in the 1990s is the latest version or episode of literacy policy produced by shifting images and venues.

Improving education is a key priority for governments around the world. While many suggestions on how best to achieve this are currently under debate, years of academic research have already revealed more about how to encourage change than is sometimes assumed. This volume brings together for the first time some of the most significant work of Karen Seashore Louis, one of the foremost thinkers and researchers in the field. Organizing for School Change presents a unique variety of research-based results from studies conducted over the past twenty-five years. What emerges is not an idealistic plan, but a realistic picture of what needs to be done if schools are to be made better. Drawing on a wide and comprehensive list of sources, the ideas brought together in this collection will prove invaluable and insightful reading, stimulating both newcomers and veterans of the field to consider educational research in new ways.

The Self-Organizing School provides ground-breaking insights and guidance about how schools can fulfill their aspirations for quality and productivity in learning and teaching. The book describes a comprehensive decade long school design process and effort that improves teaching quality and student outcomes. The practical guidance and examples employed throughout the book are supported by one of the most extensive longitudinal studies of a school reform process, including data from over 1600 classroom observations, 12,000 student evaluations and research studies of school change, technology use, student achievement, collaboration, and teacher effectiveness.