Revisiting "The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change" provocatively and seamlessly joins Seymour Sarason's classic, landmark text on school change with his own insightful re ections on those same issues in the face of today's crisis in public schools. This is an extensive, monograph-length revisiting. ;Part I of this book reproduces the second edition of Sarason's ground-breaking work, The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change, in which he detailed how change can affect a school's culturally diverse ...
Read More
Revisiting "The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change" provocatively and seamlessly joins Seymour Sarason's classic, landmark text on school change with his own insightful re ections on those same issues in the face of today's crisis in public schools. This is an extensive, monograph-length revisiting. ;Part I of this book reproduces the second edition of Sarason's ground-breaking work, The Culture of the School and the Problem of Change, in which he detailed how change can affect a school's culturally diverse environment--either through the implementation of new programs or as a result of federally imposed regulations. Throughout, many of the major assumptions about change in institutions are challenged. Speci c events and examples demonstrate that any attempt to implement change involves some existing regularity within the school. Dr. Sarason also takes a close look at government involvement in change efforts in schooling--and includes a detailed examination of current efforts to implement PL 94-142 into public schools. He presents compelling evidence that the federal effort to change and improve schools has largely been a failure. Also included are investigations into the purposes of schooling and how these purposes can be affected by change, and the process by which educators and administrators formulate intended outcomes of change efforts. ;In Part II, Dr. Sarason "revisits" the text and the issues 25 years after the original publication. As he explains in his preface, to him the word crisis means "a point in time when a dangerous situation contains con icting forces of an intensity or seriousness that in the near term will be dramatically altered depending on which forces win out. When I wrote the book a quarter century ago, I did not regard our schools as in crisis...(though) my intuition...was that a crisis would come sooner or later. It has, in my opinion, come." Believing that "what happens in our cities and our schools will determine the fate of our society," Dr. Sarason is deeply concerned that the reform arena is being manipulated by forces that are at best untroubled by and at worst intent on the dismantling of the public school system. That, coupled with his fear that even the system's defenders are not focusing on the real issues, has infused Dr. Sarason's return to the topic of educational change with a great sense of urgency. The important things he has to say will be welcomed by all who truly care about the state of the public schools that America's children attend.
Read Less
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very Good. . All orders guaranteed and ship within 24 hours. Your purchase supports More Than Words, a nonprofit job training program for youth, empowering youth to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Very good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used books may not include companion materials, and may have some shelf wear or limited writing. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine. 0807735434. This specific softcover book is in fine condition with very minimal wear and a cover that has sharp edges and corners and a tight binding. The pages are clean, crisp, unmarked and uncreased. We package all books in custom cardboard book boxes for shipment and ship daily with tracking numbers; "When Sarson first published his work 25 years ago, he was, without a doubt, far ahead of his time in his thinking about schools, teachers, principals, and the ability of the students to learn. He questioned the problems associated with the whole educational environment, and suggested such "outlandish" ideas such as de-emphasizing the teaching of reading and arithmetic in the early grades and eliminating the role of the school principal and the boards of education as they were then known (13). He judged the new math as being pretty dull and ineffectual. He relished giving teachers more control over their classroom environments. To emphasize his points, he referred to his man from outer space who frequently observed schools from a purely non-partisan role. For example, this spaceman would puzzlingly see schools filled five days a week, observe virtual bustling communities of activity, only to close down two days a week. He would then ponder better school scheduling and community involvement. Sarason took on the great educators of the time-names like Conant and Dewey, Koerner and Rickover, and offered sound proposals for the changing world that was profoundly influencing the school culture. But in his REVISITING section of the book, he offers his opinions on a gammed of subjects, including school organizations, teachers, students, vouchers, and social change, to name a few. One of his most fascinating points is that of reiterating the idea that schools need to create and maintain environments that are continually providing productive learning for students that allows "knowing" to become internalized. This book is a fascinating look at the past, as well as a glimpse at the present and future of education in the United States. Sarason provides the reader with an opportunity to examine the ideas he first propounded a quarter century ago, and to see how well they fit into the 21st century. His work is tremendously written, carefully crafted, and lovingly offered to the educator of today."; 9.10 X 6 X 1.20 inches; 416 pages.