Inventing better schools : an action plan for educational reform /

Schlechty (Center for Leadership in School Reform) offers a rational, pragmatic account of what it might mean to change the social and cultural underpinnings of schools. Opposing the individual, unit analysis emphasized by many educational researchers and practitioners, Schlechty has long argued (from Teaching and Social Behavior: Toward an Organizational Theory of Instruction, CH, Oct'76, to Schools for the 21st Century: Leadership Imperatives for Education Reform, CH, Sep'90) for a systemic approach to school reform. That continues to be the major strength of this book. Schlechty also affirms the essential need to become more student-focused in educational planning, implementation, and evaluation. The volume's fundamental weakness is Schlechty's uncritical adoption of business metaphors and applications. His transference of performance-driven models, Total Quality Management, and other industrial frames of reference may not be fully warranted in educational institutions. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. J. L. DeVitis; SUNY at Binghamton

A well-known school reform advocate, Schlechty adds a refreshing voice to the ongoing how-to-fix-our-schools debate (e.g., E.D. Hirsch, The Schools We Need & Why We Don't Have Them, LJ 10/1/96). Drawing from strategic planning and quality management, he argues that truly reinventing schools requires a fundamental conceptual shift, replacing the focus on teacher and student test performances and behavior with a renewed focus on "knowledge work": intellectual challenge and daily creative engagement. Blocking this shift is our obsession with test scores, teacher performance, and policy nostrums such as charter schools and privatization; as an alternative, Schlechty suggests a "charter district system" that would assemble public schooling's major constituencies‘parents, educators, business, community leaders‘and force them toward common goals. The basic plan of this lively book, including several process-oriented chapters, is founded on years of trial and error. Despite a disappointing bibliography, it is highly recommended for all academic education collections.‘Jessica George, Illinois State Univ., Normal (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.