Developed in response to the growing interest in examining individual schools as they undergo change, this book features eight case studies of urban elementary and high schools as they face problems and attempt to find solutions in their quest to reform themselves. The cases, with all their pitfalls and problems, provide examples of the very bumpy road of change and of the individual school cultures that sometimes support and often impede reform. Told in the individual voices of various school leaders, the narratives reflect the inevitable biases of people immersed in their work. Their...

Teachers and administrators who understand the "politics" in schools can operate more successfully to facilitate change. This text teaches educators to identify and influence common social patterns that affect their work in school organizations. It combines literature from educational leadership and foundations of education to provide a comprehensive introduction to organizational theories related to schooling. A particularly notable feature is that in addition to traditional bureaucratic and political approaches, there is a substantial focus on recent critical and feminist theories....