Sharon D. Kruse

Teachers’ Professional Community in Restructuring Schools

Professional community among teachers, the subject of a number of recent major studies, is regarded as an ingredient that may contribute to the improvement of schools. The research reported in this article is grounded in the assumption that how teachers interact with each other outside of their classrooms may be critical to the effects of restructuring on students. The analysis focuses on the type of professional community that occurs within a school and investigates both the organizational factors that facilitate its development and its consequences for teachers’ sense of responsibility for student learning. The findings suggest that wide variation in professional community exists between schools, much of which is attributable to both structural features and human resources characteristics, as well as school level. Implications for current school reform efforts are discussed.

Teacher Teaming in Middle Schools: Dilemmas for a Schoolwide Community

This article presents an analysis of the experiences of four middle schools with interdisciplinary teams. The findings suggest that although teaming is often considered to be a vehicle for the development of community in schools, it may also present tensions for the development of cohesiveness across teams. The findings are presented in the form of dilemmas for middle school administrators who seek to develop a school wide community that can support both teacher and student development.

Creating communities of reform: continuous improvement planning teams

Presents an analysis of the potential for continuous improvement planning teams to foster organizational learning and professional community in three school district teams. The findings of this three‐year study suggest that carefully orchestrated continuous improvement efforts can succeed in creating conditions responsive to the development of both learning and community. Organizational factors that influence development of both learning and community include: the development of leadership within and among faculty; ongoing focus on data‐driven decision making and the creation of venues for dense interpersonal dialogue related to issues of curriculum and instruction. The findings further suggest that the context of instruction and the work of instruction are important factors in sustaining learning and community.

Remembering as organizational memory

Reform efforts increasingly promote collaboration among faculty and staff in schools with the intent to increase student achievement. Central to this literature is a focus on the members of the schools community to learn as individuals and as a community. Called organizational learning, this discussion has most commonly developed notions of knowledge acquisition and use, this study extends existing theory in organizational learning to include the construct of memory as an important organizational tool for staff and faculty to advance innovation and student achievement. Key to the school organizations ability to use memory in ways that foster the potential for change are the organizational members capacity for using data within the school structure, to develop both information systems and knowledge structures, the groups ability to develop a coherent and shared memory of events and practices and school leaders capacity to apply aspects of wisdom theory to each problem resolving opportunity.

Women, leadership, and power revisiting the Wicked Witch of the West

By examining the cultural images present in the popular musical Wicked, cultural norms and biases toward women in leadership and women’s leadership practices are explored. The discussion rests on conceptions of male and female leadership ‘styles’, how power is obtained and utilised within organisational settings and how resistance and reproduction play key roles in how women as leaders are accepted.

Student Voices: A Report from Focus Group Data

Academic experiences of middle level, high school, and college students from both public and private schools were examined. Seventy-one participants from midwestern urban and rural communities reported their observations within the context of reform. Points discussed include instructional method, quality of teaching, school safety, and further implications.

Reflections on Leading and Learning for Change An Introduction

This essay summarizes the key themes of each article in this special issue of Education and Urban Society and addresses complimentary issues raised within the articles. Each article addresses an important issue facing school leaders—perennially low-performing schools, enacting instructional leadership in the face of accountability, the districts role in school improvement, and effective practices of instruction and assessment. Together they suggest that leading school improvement is more than the process of leading pedagogical adoptions, professional development, or making sound decisions. They also suggest that leading in low-performing schools requires sustained attention to both the people within the system and the context in which the system operates.

MEDIA REVIEW of Wicked

Everybody knows and “loves” the story of the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, that childhood favorite that pits good against evil. The movie, based on the original book by L. Frank Baum, brings to life characters who continue to enchant and haunt Americans of all ages. Many of us watched this battle between good and evil play out every year on our television sets, and for many it was not only a yearly viewing, but a special family event that in many cases revolved around specific traditions like staying up late and being able to eat and drink special treats. Through this yearly viewing, many of us learned lifelong lessons about good and evil, especially as they relate to women and femininity. The story, as characterized in the movie, depicts the Wizard as all-powerful; Glinda as sweet, good, and beautiful; and the Wicked Witch of the West as just plain evil, not to mention ugly and scary. However as viewers, most of us “simply” watched the movie, taking in these lessons about good, evil, and women’s roles, without questioning or critiquing. We never questioned the assumptions we held about these well-known characters and what these assumptions could tell us about ourselves and our world. However, such a critique is important because, as Giroux (1999) argued, the media:

From Colds to Condoms and Beyond

This case reports a district’s creative use of a school-based health clinic to address high student absenteeism. The clinic becomes more controversial as the type of health interventions provided by the clinic expands to meet students’ sexual and reproductive health issues. Teacher notes describe how this case can be used to introduce students to a variety of issues related to the ISLLC standards, including ethics, school-community relations, gender, diversity and social justice issues. The notes explain how this case can be used as an in-class, take-home or exam activity. A shorter version of the case is provided at the end of this article for use in classes that have more limited time allowance.