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Providing the conditions for responsive urban school units
Abstract
A major premise of this study is that, due to a number of complex socio-economic factors, the schools of the 1990's will be required to provide a different and wider range of services, some having less academic orientation than "traditional" school practices, and more of a "pastoral", advisory nature. Secondly, the literature reviewed sustained my perception of the effectiveness of change emerging from collaboration among teachers, rather than from top-down strategies and management-imposed accountability grids. Additional perspectives developed over many years in educational practice provided a conceptual model which could promote growth and responsiveness within the school. A report tells of a school-within-a-school staff actively reconsidering how to restructure their teaching roles and secure greater resources. Included in the ethnographic narration is a variety of information useful in providing a context for viewing the school and two "target" teachers. By observing the events and episodes of the model in action, key processes and useful concepts may be identified, as well as information on related school issues. Data showed both an improved school climate and greater teacher satisfaction. Teachers in the intervention clearly articulated a mission which spoke to the impact of societal forces on urban students. They identified four themes which dictated operational goals (the advisory role; student-as-worker; student governance; and making student support more central) and spoke clearly about the support required to make such change. Analysis of the report supports the notion that by helping to raise the level of educational discourse and further staff members' perceptions of themselves as decision-makers, school administrators can help achieve many of the results required by our changing school situations. Teachers, if afforded the right resources and conditions, can fill the void left when the public does not involve itself in the educational process. The study also demonstrates that change in school institutions can successfully emerge from viable, personalized, school-within-school units, and offers one way to utilize technical assistance.
Subject Area
Educational administration|Secondary education
Recommended Citation
Myatt, Larry Michael, "Providing the conditions for responsive urban school units" (1990). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9110193.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9110193