Because teaching is an inherently political act, it is important for music teacher educators to consider their role in the public discourse and how they approach the political dimensions of teaching with future music educators. In this interest article, we offer a theoretical basis for engaging preservice music teachers in critical reflection and…

American schools have been dealt a blow that included a pandemic, economic crisis, as well as racial unrest, initiating an energized charge for social justice advocacy. Our superintendents are currently facing an unprecedented challenge in ensuring that the campus community lives in a fair, inclusive, and opportunity-rich society. However, school…

This study investigates teachers' understandings of and perspectives on the role of culture in their educational settings through cultural inquiry studies and reflections. The participants included 22 in-service teachers enrolled in an advanced master's degree program. Using the Cultural Inquiry Process with a social justice stance, teachers in…

The push for STEM has raised the visibility of engineering as a discipline that all students should learn. With the release of the "Framework for K-12 Science Education" and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), engineering now has an official place in the science curriculum. In both the "Framework" and the NGSS,…

The executive summary a case study of two authorizers--Denver Public Schools and the District of Columbia (D.C.) Public Charter School Board--both with strong outcomes in many areas and a high or growing charter enrollment. For each, it summarizes how their approach to authorizing has shaped the way they address the issues that arise as charter…

This report provides a case study of two authorizers--Denver Public Schools and the District of Columbia (D.C.) Public Charter School Board--both with strong outcomes in many areas and a high or growing charter enrollment. For each, it summarizes how their approach to authorizing has shaped the way they address the issues that arise as charter…

Discusses leadership skills necessary for coping with the great institutional systems holding our society together. Leaders must grasp relationships to the larger realities beyond the system they are heading. Needed skills include agreement-building, networking, exercising nonjurisdictional or "insider" power, and institution-building. (MLH)

Recent study of emergent collaborative bargaining processes in several urban school districts charts typical bumpy progression from wrangling to genuine cooperative problem solving among teachers, administrators, and unions. Rules of power game change when one party makes first move toward open communication and trust building, when teachers and…

Numerous dysfunctions result from bureaucratic school organization, including an overemphasis on specialized tasks, routine operating rules, and formal procedures for managing teaching and learning. Such schools are characterized by numerous regulations; formal communications; centralized decision making; and sharp distinctions among…

A study of two small-to-middle-sized midwestern school districts, each observed for over a year, shows that the negotiated order concept can provide a useful framework for viewing schools' organizational functions. According to the negotiated order concept, organizational relationships require constant negotiations concerning values, goals, rules,…

This paper presents an outline of teacher empowerment issues. Section 1, "Definitions of Terms and Concepts Related to Teacher Empowerment," focuses on "Teacher Empowerment,""Dimensions of Empowerment,""Three Views of Empowerment,""Issues Related to Empowerment,""Terms Frequently Used in the…

If school-based management means shift in decision-making authority, all school operations and organizational roles will be affected. Progress may be impeded by participants' traditional mind sets about power, winning and losing, problem solving, model programs, and everyday reality. These and other implementation problems may be resolved using…

Teachers from 34 states and Canada responded to a request to describe teaching practices that give students minor or major decision making responsibilities. Different structures used by teachers to provide students opportunities to practice decision making across the school years from first grade to high school are described in this report.…

Suggests a three part schema for classifying teachers' attitudes towards problems which normally arise in a school system. Based upon these concepts, the authors developed and tested a technique for assessing teachers' views as a source of data to guide principals and superintendents in deciding whom to involve in dealing with what problems. For…

This report describes a study of two small-to-middle-sized midwestern school districts, each observed for about one year. The aim was to clarify the nature of the organizational form of school systems and to examine the organizational processes, using qualitative rather than quantitative methods. Two central concerns of the study were to explore…