Scholars of educational change agree that leaders need to develop a vision, build capacity and ensure ownership of change by staff. We argue that understanding the actual work that leaders must do in order to convert these categories into action, requires a social practice approach. Taking the notion of sense-making as a social practice, drawn…

This paper reflects on experiences of working with schools in urban contexts as they have attempted to improve the quality of learning. Set within the context of the English education system during a period of intense national pressure to "raise standards", these experiences have been focused around issues of performance and leadership…

Sooner or later, every teacher and administrator fantasizes about starting a school of their own. Few, however, move from off-the-cuff theory to the practical steps required to open the school house doors to real students and teachers. Fewer still manage to start an urban high school of their own while only in their mid-30s, a school that manages…

Explores the metaphor proposed by T. Sergiovanni (1992 and following) of school as community, an alternative to conceptualizing school as organization. An extended metaphor, which takes into account organizational aspects, is presented that conceptualizes schools as nested communities. This conceptualization is illustrated through the case study…

Describes an externally funded program that enabled twelve urban elementary schools to expand community outreach by hiring community residents and a program coordinator who worked with service agencies and teachers to develop a wide variety of activities catering to students and neighborhood members. One school's program is profiled. (Author/MSE)

In this article, Mark R. Warren argues that if urban school reform in the United States is to be successful, it must be linked to the revitalization of the communities around our schools. Warren identifies a growing field of collaboration between public schools and community-based organizations, developing a typology that identifies three…

In cultural historical activity theory, the entities that make a system are not conceived as independent but as aspects of mediated relations. Consequently, an individual, a tool, or a community cannot be theorized in an independent manner but must be understood in terms of the historically changing, mediated relations in which they are integral…

This is an account of a teacher education program's attempt to connect with a neighboring community in order to better prepare faculty to teach about the urban context in which their preservice teacher education students practice. Taking a feminist perspective, the two authors discuss their goals--the processes of using a community organization to…

This study explores the types and extent of federal and state aid to Catholic elementary education. It examines the situation in Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio and provides case studies of Catholic elementary schools in Detroit, St. Louis, and Toledo. In Ohio, probably the most generous state with respect to nonpublic schools, the elementary school…

Reports on the results of case studies in two Ohio middle schools that employed a model known as the equity metric to identify factors affecting equity in urban science education reform. (Contains 33 references.) (DDR)

Children and youth require safe and supportive schools and communities if they are to succeed in school and thrive. These needs are particularly great for children who struggle with the impacts of chronic poverty, lead poisoning and lead effect, community and media violence, drugs and alcohol, trauma and loss. There are many such students in…

Each of the articles included in this issue launched the author backward into nostalgia and reconsideration of her own work as they motivated her to ask new questions in current and future studies. The author's goal, therefore, is not to provide a linear road map through the articles but to point to themes and ideas that run through the project…

This report describes the first phase of a School Improvement Project which is currently being implemented in the elementary schools of New York City. The project's design is described as the bringing together of parents, administrators, teachers, community people, and auxiliary staff to write a school improvement plan which could be implemented…

Discusses anthropology's role in policy-relevant educational research, drawing on experiences in evaluating Chicago (Illinois) city schools' restructuring. Questions raised by case studies in school restructuring include qualitative researchers' role in studying educational policy, issues of objectivity in policy research, and networking…

Analyzes the moment-to-moment interaction between one marginalized Latina student and her teacher to illustrate how schooling practice can marginalize the linguistic, social, and cultural capital of a diverse student population. It argues that monologic, monocultural, and monolithic instruction paralyzes both students and teachers, limiting the…