SCHOOL RE-CULTURING AS A MEANS TO SCHOOL REFORM

A Look at School Re-culturing as a Means to School Reform

ABSTRACT

This paper examines current issues in restructuring schools and the viewpoints of various researchers on the topic. An analysis of existing approaches to school reform is presented. This analysis is based on the premise that change must be total in order to truly make educational restructuring effective. The paper describes the process of educational systems design and how this process is critical to the success of school restructuring efforts. Following an overview of systems analysis and instructional systems design, educational systems design principles are detailed and discussed in context of various issues such as change and innovation, the nature of the problem, and the current context for reform. The subject of school reform has been addressed by many researchers. While some researchers do contend that fixing or rearranging the current system is all that is needed for successful change , others argue that these reform efforts must transcend the current model of schooling to entail a total change in the current system of schooling. It is our view that the current system will never be able to perform any better than it is now. It simply is no longer enough to change portions of the system as it now exists.

Table of contents

Abstract2

CHAPTER-I: INTRODUCTION4

Definition of the Problem4

Significance6

Guiding/Research Question8

The School Culture10

Teacher Empowerment and School Change15

High School Redesign17

Democracy and the Schools17

No Child Left Behind20

Implications21

SECTION-II: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY24

The research question25

The essential question on which this study is based will be:25

Paradigms and perspectives — influencing philosophies26

The researcher's background26

Research design28

Characteristics of qualitative enquiry28

Multiple perspectives and interpretations29

The researcher as instrument30

Emerging research design30

Traditions within qualitative research31

Insider researcher issues33

Participant-as-researcher33

The multiple roles of this researcher33

Sample selection34

Methods of data collection39

Researcher journal39

Taskforce40

Surveys41

Data Analysis45

SECTION-III: LITERATURE REVIEW46

Change: The complexity of 21st century50

External Pressures on Schools53

Internal Pressures on Schools: The Changing Needs of Young People and Their Families55

The Needs of Girls at the Start of the 21st Century57

The Move towards Standardisation59

School Improvement61

Conclusion63

References66

CHAPTER-I: INTRODUCTION

Culture can be very difficult to strictly define due to such a variety of societal aspects. According to the Webster's Mew Dictionary of English Language, culture is the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. Culture is defined in extremely vague terms as a way of life. American education culture has reached a point of crisis. Current methods of schooling are not meeting the needs of our rapidly changing technological era. National reports have explicitly called for major reform in American education. We have seen a virtual wave of educational improvement plans across both the public and private community. In spite of the various reforms that have been initiated, we have not seen any apparent improvements in educational outcomes. U.S. students continue to lag behind students in other countries on most relevant comparisons.

Definition of the Problem

Today, there is much discussion of the impact of school reform on teaching and leaming, school organization, and parental involvement. Over a decade has passed since the National Commission on Excellence in Education ...