The purpose of this ethnographic study is to examine how a commitment to socially just pedagogies influences the core practices and policies of a school. This article presents a comprehensive description and analysis of two public middle schools committed to teaching for social justice: Urban Promise Academy and San Francisco Community School.…

This book examines the reactions of schools in Massachusetts and California to policies that sought to persuade schools to abandon or reduce tracking--the practice of grouping students into classes by ability and organizing curriculum by level of difficulty. The text is divided into 8 chapters: (1) "Implementing Tracking Reform," which…

A discussion of technology transfer describes four strategic technologies identified as important to California's economy (biotechnology, advanced materials, information technology, and manufacturing technology) and suggests that university policymakers not lose sight of their responsibility for directing university efforts to improve the human…

Five case studies of implementation of instructional policy changes at the classroom level by elementary-school mathematics teachers are discussed. The case studies focus on California's new Mathematics Framework. The interaction between teacher practice and policy is emphasized. Teachers' inherited beliefs, knowledge, and existing practices are…

An introduction to five case studies of mathematics teachers and ancillary essays on implementation of instructional policy change at the classroom level is provided. The case studies and associated discussions focus on California's new Mathematics Framework, which features changes in textbooks, tests, and commonly held conceptions of subject…

A commentary on five case studies of implementation of instructional policy change at the classroom level by elementary school mathematics teachers is provided. The case studies focus on California's new Mathematics Framework. An organizational control perspective is taken in this commentary. (TJH)

This report examines political conflict in decision making in three public schools, and describes how the Teacher Participation Project (TPP), which was implemented in two of the schools, sought to minimize such conflict by institutionalizing local governance structures for teachers. The report consists of two parts. Part I investigates various…

Investigated in this study are the school sorting process (how students are matched with schools, courses, and teachers) and the possible positive effects of mandating that schools disclose how this process occurs. After an introduction, chapters 2 and 3 present findings about the sorting practices in seven California school districts. It was…