ERIC ED359593: Roadmap to Restructuring: Policies, Practices and the Emerging Visions of Schooling.

445 Pages·1993·7.8 MB·English

by  ERIC

-DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 359 593
EA 024 472
AUTHOR
Conley, David T.
TITLE
Roadmap to Restructuring,: Policies, Practices and the
Emerging Visions of Schooling.
INSTITUTION
ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, Eugene,
Oreg.
SPONS AGENCY
Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED),
Washington, DC.
REPORT NO
ISBN-0-86552-120-4
PUB DATE
93
CONTRACT
8188062004
NOTE
445p.
AVAILABLE FROM
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Guides
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DESCRIPTORS
Collegiality; Curriculum; Educational Change;
Educational Environment; Educational Technology;
Elementary Secondary Education; Equal Education;
Governance; Guidelines; *Multicultural Education;
Outcomes of Education; *Program Implementation; Role
Perception; School Community Relationship; *School
Personnel; *School Restructuring; School Schedules
IDENTIFIERS
*Caring; *Educational Restructuring; Teacher
Leadership
ABSTRACT
Designed as a guide for practitioners, this book
draws on over 600 sources to discuss school restructuring
definitions, trends, and issues; achievements of a few select
schools; and implementation techniques and strategies. Two
overarching, indirectly stated issues pervading the
reconceptualization of schooling are multiculturalism and a caring
school staff. The book is organized into four parts. Part 1,
Rationale and Context, presents a historical context for
restructuring and a summary of the current motivations for, and
implications c7, educational restructuring. Part 2, Changing Roles
and Responsibilities, examines the evolution of new roles for
essentially all the groups that participate in public education. Part
3, Dimensions of Restructuring, explores the concepts of incremental
and discontinuous change and extensively discusses current school
restructuring activities along 12 dimensions: learner outcomes,
curriculum, instruction, assessment, learning environment,
technology, school-community relations, time schedules, governance,
teacher leadership, personnel definitions and roles, and working
relationships. Part 4, Process of Restructuring, captures the lessons
being learned about the restructuring process and presents examples
of strategies and techniques. (Contains over 600 references.)
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RESTRUCTURING
POLICIES, PRACTICES
AND THE
EMERGING
VISIONS
OF SCHOOLING
DOIDT.(0\111
I ERIC
ERIC CLEARINGHOUSE ON EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
1993
Copyright
1993 David T. Conley
All rights r-v,rved. No pan of this publication may he reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in anylOrm or by any MeallA.
ruing from the
phOWCOpying, recording or otherwise. without permission in
Publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Conley:. David T.. 1948
Roadmap to restructuring : policies. practices. and the emerging s isions of
schooling / Dag id T. Conley.
cm.
p.
Includes bibliographical references (p.
t.
ISBN 0-86552-120-4
519.95
:
I. Educational changeUnited States. 2. School management and organiza-
tionUnited States. 3. EducationUnited StatesAims and objectives.
II. Title: Road map to
4. Education and stateUnited States. I. Title.
restructuring.
LB2805.C616
1993
371.2.00973dc20
93-13439
CIP
Design: LeeAnn August
T. pc: 11/12.5 Times
Printer: Cushing-Malloy. Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan
Printed in the United States of America. 1993
ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management
University of Oregon
1787 Agate Street
Eugene. OR 97403-207
Telephone: [phone] fray: (5031 346 -2334
ERIC /CENT Accession Number: E.\ 024 472
This publication vas prepared in part \\ ith funding from the Office of Educational
Research and Imprmement. l'.S. Department of Education. under contract no. GERI-
R 188(162004. The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the
positions or policies of the Department of Education. No federal funds mere used in
the printing of this publication.
e action institution
The UM \ ersity of Oregon is an equal opportunity. aft
committed to cultural dix ersity
iv
MISSION OF ERIC
AND THE CLEARINGHOUSE
The Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) is a national information
system operated by the U.S. Department of Education. ERIC serves the educational
community by disseminating research results and other resource information that can
he used in developing more effective educational programs.
The ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management. one of several such units in
the system, was established at the University of Oregon in 1966. The Clearinghouse
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ment in ERIC's index and abstract bulletins.
Research reports are announced in Resources in Education (RIE), available in many
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Most of the documents listed in RIE can he purchased through the ERIC Document
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Journal articles are announced in Current Index to Journals in Education. CIJE is
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Besides processing documents and journal articles, the Clearinghouse prepares
bibliographies. literature revielAs. monographs. and other interpretive research studies
on topics in its educational area.
CLEARINGHOUSE
NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD
Timothy Dyer, Executive Director, National Association of Secondary School Principals
Patrick B. Forsyth. Executit e Director. University Council fit Educational
Administration
Martha McCarthy, Vice-President. Dix ision A (Administration). American Educational
Research Association
,Joyce McCray, Executive Director. Council lOr American Private Education
Richard D. Miller, Executive Director. American Association of School Administrators
Maggie Rogers, Director. Information Center. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
Samuel G. Sava, Exccutke Director, National Association of Elementary School
Principals
Thomas A. Shannon, Executke Director. National School Boards Association
Don I. Tharpe, Executke Director. Association of School Business Officials
Gene Wilhoit. Executix e Director. National Association of State Boards of Education
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Philip K. Pick. Professor and Director
Keith A. Acheson. Associate Director
Stuart C. Smith. Director of Publications
f
V
t .1
DEDICATION
To the Conleys: Frank, Genevieve, Judy. Robyn. Laurel. Gene, Mike,
Karen, Ellen. and Julia.
0
vi
CONTENTS
xiii
FOREWORD
xv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
Purposes and Limitations of This Book
4
Difficulty of Describing Restructuring
Structure and Use of the Book
5
What Is Restructuring?
7
10
Thinking about Change
13
PART 1 RATIONALE AND CONTEXT
14
INTRODUCTION TO PART 1
CHAPTER 1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
15
Restructuring in the I890s
17
Educational
Educational Restructuring in the 1990s
18
The Evolution of the American
High School
19
A Fundamental Difference
26
CHAPTER 2. THE WHYS OF EDUCATIONAL RESTRUCTURING
Societal Forces for Change
Performance of American Students on International Comparisons
3(1
33
Changing Values within Sot iety
43
CHAPTER 3. CREATING NEW HABITS OF HEART AND MIND
55
PART 2 CHANGING ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
56
INTRODUCTION TO PART 2
58
CHAPTER 4. FEDERAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS .
58
The Federal Government
State Gm ernments
61
68
CHAPTER 5. SCHOOL DISTRICTS
68
of Education
Boards
Central Administrator,
71
vii
viii
79
CHAPTER 6. SCHOOL SITES
79
Principals
83
Teachers
86
Students
89
CHAPTER 7. PARENTS AND THE COMMUNITY
89
Parents
94
The Community
98
Summary
101
PART 3 DIMENSIONS OF RESTRUCTURING
102
INTRODUCTION TO PART 3
104
CHAPTER 8. PREVIEW OF THE TWELVE DIMENSIONS
.Central Variables of Restructuring 107
Enabling Variables of Restructuring 108
Supporting Variables of Restructuring
110
113
CHAPTER 9. LEARNER OUTCOMES
Efforts to Develop Performance-Based Standards
114
Content-Related Standards
121
Process-Related Standards
121
125
CHAPTER 10. CURRICULUM
Depth Versus Coverage in the Curriculum
126
128
Balancing Content and Process
130
Curriculum Integration
132
Changes in Curriculum Development
The Role of National Curriculum Reports
133
New Structures for Vocational Education
135
Challenge for Traditional Core Courses
138
142
CHAPTER 11. INSTRUCTION
142
What Is Constructivism?
Constructivism and School Restructuring
145
148
Examples of Constructivist Instructional Practices
151
CHAPTER 12. ASSESSMENT
Some Limits of Current Assessment Approaches
151
Some Early Attempts to Develop New Assessment Tools
153
156
Examples of Assessment Strategies
163
The Challenge of Changing the Central Variables
165
CHAPTER 13. LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
166
Mixed-Age or Nongraded Grouping Strategies
168
Schools within Schools
Creating Learning Communities
171
174
Commun ity-Based Learning
0
CONTENTS
ix
177
Alternatives to Tracking
179
Untracking Schools
183
Inclusion of Special-Education Students
187
Conclusion
188
CHAPTER 14. TECHNOLOGY
189
The ACOT Project
191
Some Often-Overlooked Technologies
193
The Evolution of Integrated Learning Systems
196
Emerging Multimedia Technologies
198
Issues to Consider When Developing Technology Plans
199
New Assessments
201
CHAPTER 15. SCHOOL-COMMUNITY RELATIONS
203
The Role and Expectations of the Business Community
208
Cooperation with Social-Service Agencies
213
New Expectations for Parental Involvement
217
CHAPTER 16. TIME
217
Redesigning Time in Secondary Schools
222
Extending the School Year
Caution: Change in the Enabling Variables Is Not Necessarily
125
Restructuring
227
CHAPTER 17. GOVERNANCE
218
Two Strategies for Change
"8
Decentralized. Participatory Decision-Making
Charter Schools: Bridge Between Site-Based Decision- Making
233
and Choice
235
School Choice: The Ultimate Change in Governance
Is Decentralization the "Magic Buller to School Restructuring?
2.42
245
CHAPTER 18. TEACHER LEADERSHIP
245
Why Develop Teacher Leadership?
148
Creating a Range of Options for Teacher Leadership
257
CHAPTER 19. PERSONNEL
257
Creating New Definitions of Teacher
260
New Conceptions of the Paraprofessionals Role
161
The Changing Role of Certified Support Staff
262
Enhancing the Performance of Newly Hired Teachers
265
CHAPTER 20. WORKING RELATIONSHIPS
265
Roots in Industrial Unionism
168
Unionism vs. Professionalism
170
Can Conflict Be Avoided?
271
Restructuring Requires Flexibility
275
Collaborative Bargaining and Policy Trust Agreements
280
The Importance of Faculty Collaboration
Cat
x
CHAPTER 21. DISCONTINUOUS RESTRUCTURING
281
Some Examples
282
Threats to Change
297
Need for Congruence of Goals
298
PART 4
PROCECS OF RESTRUCTURING
101
INTRODUCTION TO PART 4
302
CHAPTER 22. THE DIFFICULTY OF CHANGE IN EDUCATION
106
Ambiguous and Confusing Policy Toward Education
306
Equity of Finance Systems
308
Bureaucratic Nature of Educational Organizations
311
Failure vs. Success of Reforms
313
Nine Pitfalls of School Restructurin.!
316
CHAPTER 23. CULTURE, LEADERSHIP, AND READINESS
321
Understanding Culture and Organizational Frames of Reference
321
The Critical Role of the Principal
326
Creating Readiness for Restructuring
329
The Ten Commitments: Prerequisites to Restructuring
333
Key Questions to Frame Restructuring Efforts
337
Looking for Models by Visiting Other Schools
341
CHAPTER 24. THE ROLE OF VISION AND SOME
REPRESENTATIVE VISIONS
345
Vision-Building: A Potentially Powerful Component
of Restructuring
346
Some Prerequisites for Successful Vision-BuildirT
348
Some 'How To's' of Vision-Building
350
A Vision of a Restructured School System
354
Principles of the Coalition of Essential Schools
358
CHAPTER 25. SOME TOOLS FOR TAKING THE NEXT STEPS TOWARD
RESTRUCTURING
Systems Thinking and Total Quality Management
6
1()821
33
Implementing the Vision: Outcome-Based Education
Lessons from Oregon's "2020" Schools
375
Finding the Time to Restructure
377
Note to School Leaders
382
CHAPTER 26. EMERGING VISIONS OF SCHOOL
RESTRUCTURING
384
.
Contradictions of Restructuring
384
Emerging Visions of Educational Restructuring
Are the Visions Being Implemented')
395
BIBLIOGRAPHY
0