The quality and effectiveness of teaching are a constant subject of discussion within the profession and among the broader public. Most of that conversation focuses on the question of how teachers should teach. In "The Enduring Classroom," veteran teacher and scholar of education Larry Cuban explores different questions, ones that just…

In "Confessions of a School Reformer," eminent historian of education Larry Cuban reflects on nearly a century of education reforms and his experiences with them as a student, educator, and administrator. Cuban begins his own story in the 1930s, when he entered first grade at a Pittsburgh public school, the youngest son of Russian…

Eminent historian and educator Larry Cuban provides a thorough examination of, and challenge to, past and present definitions of what constitutes educational success in the US. Cuban argues that in the history of American education, standards of achievement and inadequacy--as well as the reform efforts issuing from them--have been neither stable…

The job of superintendent is tough and demanding. Although conditions seem to be getting worse, the job has always been demanding because of its origins and its relationship with the board of education. As the job developed, dominant conceptions of leadership developed. The three dominant conceptions--teacher-scholar, administrative chief, and…

This book reviews the history of the increasing importance of research and the declining importance of teaching at the 125 major public and private research universities (Carnegie Research I and II classifications), using Stanford University (California) as a case example. It examines how, over the last century, university structures and processes…

Why have libraries and schools---both public institutions committed to community-based learning---adopted new technologies in dramatically different ways? Exploring the differences of technology use in schools and libraries across the country, the authors describe ways that these two institutions can collaborate to improve teaching and learning…

This study examines three veteran urban school superintendents who were highly respected by their colleagues but who came under intense pressure from forces outside the school systems in the 1960's. Chapter 1 explores the context of the desegregation controversy and the furor over an independent evaluation that faced Benjamin C. Willis in Chicago.…

This book investigates teaching practices before, during, and after reform impulses in the 20th century aimed at changing what teachers routinely do. Patterns of stability and change over a 90-year period are developed from evidence from a wide variety of sources, including classroom photographs, textbooks and tests used, student recollections,…

This second edition updates material in the first edition for another decade to 1990 and responds to criticisms of findings in the first edition. This book investigates teaching practices before, during, and after 20th-century reform efforts aimed at changing what teachers routinely do. Patterns of stability and change over a 100-year period are…

A tension has long existed between Americans' intense faith in education and the slow pace of changes in educational practices. Citizens have attempted to improve the future by arguing about how to improve youth through education, but actual school reforms have rarely matched expectations. Why this situation has occurred, and why such resistance…