The current wave of science education reforms emphasizes more equitable opportunities for students as they learn disciplinary core ideas and apply crosscutting concepts by engaging in the practices of scientists. Formative assessment--the assessment teachers and students conduct while learning is in progress--also needs to shift to support this…

Globalization has become one of the most recurrent concepts in social and political sciences. More often than not, however, the concept is handled without much of a properly articulated theory capable of explaining its historical origin and expansion. For education researchers attempting to elucidate how global changes and processes affect their…

Agreeing on what the major goals of art education should be is particularly important in an era of national school reform and accountability. The need to be accountable and to provide data that supports that accountability is evident, although not always provided. Without clear and measurable goals, art education cannot be made accountable in…

This book is a collection of 11 essays about research into the phenomena of leadership and other social processes of influence in organizations. After a context-setting introduction by Ken W. Perry and James R. Meindl, the main text includes the following essays: (1) "Salient Bias in Discussion and Research on Leadership" (Micha Popper);…

This book discusses various major aspects of competition in education. It identifies competition within educational policies, programs, and practices, as well as the problems that certain forms of competition create. It also traces the influences of American competitive values on education. Chapter 1 provides an introductory overview of the…

This book introduces critical theory, providing a practical starting point for teachers interested in exploring alternatives for creating a new kind of classroom experience, both for themselves and their students. Critical theory offers most educators an approach to education that is radically different from the norm. This book provides the…

This book reviews recent developments in the study and theory of leadership and explores new applications. It examines the questions that structuration theory raises for leadership, explores the theory of charisma and critical theory as posing new challenges to the understanding of leadership, and describes the uses of postmodernist theory for a…

This book serves as a call to action to anyone who works with young people. It discusses what it means to care for young people at all levels of social interaction: as individuals; in a professional capacity; within an organization; and as a society. It attempts to integrate theories and concepts of those who work with youth. It is intended to…

The 11 papers in this book address, from a sociological perspective, a variety of contemporary educational reform issues in Great Britain. The papers examine the direction and role of sociological research in education. Sociology education has an important role to play in raising questions about the British educational system and its premises. The…

This book describes an interactive-interdisciplinary way of looking at the social conditions which impinge upon schooling, and which impact upon the social facts of life. It examines current schooling problems from the perspective of radical social democratic thought. The book is organized into four major sections. Part 1 provides an overview and…

Schools are perhaps the most complex of all U.S. formal organizations. The primary objective of this book is to enhance insight into human behavior within organizations in order to promote greater skill in governing skills. The book develops three major conceptual frameworks that have important implications for schools. Chapter 1 develops the…

A collection of chapters examines the applicability of postmodern/poststructural theory to educational leadership and school restructuring in the United States today. Based on the assertion that educational administration research and publications have been traditional, conservative, and naive, this book presents a review of Weberian positivism,…

Since 1898 the work of defining and realizing development in Puerto Rico has been carried out within the context of a political-economic relationship with the United States under colonialism. This book focuses on an assessment of the relationship between the history of educational reform policies in Puerto Rico and the issue of economic…

The existing knowledge of the school environment is reviewed in this book, with a focus on its impact on educational effectiveness and student achievement. Chapter 1 examines how the composition of educational groups affect learning; chapter 2 focuses on the learning climate and cultures--the norms and values that characterize learning…

This book examines the nature of power in the classroom, school system, and society. Power relations in schools reflect the larger societal forces and the interconnections of institutions. This book also analyzes the empowerment of teachers and students. It explores the process through which people develop more control over their lives and acquire…