"First published 20 years ago, "A Place Called School "is the revolutionary account of the largest on-scene study of U.S. schools ever conducted. Carried on over four years, trained investigators entered more than 1,000 classrooms nationwide to talk to teachers, students, administrators, parents, and other community members. The result is this report. Written by one of the nation's most astute and experienced educators, Goodlad's message of optimism and his agenda for improvement have only grown in importance since the book's original publication.

First published 20 years ago, A Place Called School is the revolutionary account of the largest on-scene study of U.S. schools ever conducted. Data were gathered from more than 27,000 students, teachers and parents, and over 1,000 classes were carefully observed by trained researchers. The result is this book. Written by one of the nation's most astute and experienced educators, Goodlad's message of optimism and his agenda for improvement have only grown in importance since the book's original publication. Book jacket.

This new edition of the classic text extends the scope of critically-oriented work in curriculum studies.

A public school principal’s account of the courageous leaders who have dismantled the tracking systems in their schools in order to desegregate classrooms What would happen if a school eliminated the “tracks” that rank students based on their perceived intellectual abilities? Would low-achieving students fall behind and become frustrated? Would their higher-achieving peers suffer from a “watered-down” curriculum? Or is tracking itself the problem? A growing body of research shows that tracking doesn’t increase learning for the minority and low-income students who are overrepresented in low-track classrooms. This de facto segregation has led many civil rights advocates to argue that tracking is turning back the clock on equal education. As a principal at a New York high school, Carol Corbett Burris believed that the curriculum for the best students was the best curriculum for all. She helped lead a bold plan to eliminate tracking from her school, and the results couldn’t have been further from the doom-and-gloom scenarios of tracking proponents. Instead, there was a dramatic improvement in the achievement of all students, across racial and socioeconomic divisions, and a near elimination of the achievement gap. Today, due to those efforts, International Baccalaureate English is the twelfth-grade curriculum for South Side students, and all students take the same challenging courses, together, to prepare them for college. In On the Same Track, Burris draws on her own experience, on the experiences of other schools, and on the latest research to make an impassioned case for detracking. Not only does the practice of tracking fail to benefit lower-tracked students, as Burris shows, but it also results in the resegregation of classrooms. Furthermore, she argues that many of today’s popular reforms emanate from the same “sort and select” mentality that reinforces social stratification based on race and class. On the Same Track is a rousing, controversial, and yet optimistic account of how we need to change our assumptions and policies if we are to live up to the promise of democratic public education. Only by holding all students to the same high standards can we ensure that all have the same opportunity to live up to their full potential.

Leading Researcher Joseph Murphy and his colleague Daniela Torre shed light on two critical issues in education today: student underachievement and how to build effective, high-performing schools. Murphy draws from considerable research and scholarship in the area of school reform. This research is based on meaningful links with the worlds of practice and policy, and builds upon our most robust understanding about school improvement. The book examines the historical footings of the American public school to expose the economic, political, social, and cultural currents that have shaped and continue to influence our understanding of public education and underachievement.

Presenting the theory underlying management of teaching and learning, as well as discussion of good practice in schools and colleges, the authors of this volume discuss the rationale for learning and teaching though a consideration of curriculum design. This is linked to models of learning and teaching, and the management of contexts for learning, together with the roles and responsibilities of curriculum managers. Examples are drawn from international settings as well as from the United Kingdom, encouraging the reader to explore the context of managing learning and teaching within his/her own institution. The authors provide self-study material, with extensive links to other key texts in the field. This book is a valuable source book for curriculum managers at all levels in schools and colleges, as well as a course book for Masters′ level study in educational management

This text examines how education is changing and outlines what is desirable and workable. The authors suggest clear guidelines for policy-makers and practitioners.