Education Policy
Changing Schools: Progressive Education Theory and Practice, 1930-1960, by Arthur Zilversmit (The University of Chicago Press, 5801 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60637; 251 pp., $14.95 paper). Documents the implementation of John Dewey’s progressive-education reforms in Chicago schools from the Depression through the post-World War II period.
Designing Coherent Education Policy: Improving the System, ed. by Susan H. Fuhrman (Jossey-Bass Publishers, 350 Sansome St., San Francisco, Calif. 94104; 338 pp., $32.95, cloth). Shows educators at the district, state, and federal levels how to coordinate the various elements of policy “infrastructure’’ that surround reform-oriented goals.
How to Deal with Community Criticism of School Change, by Marjorie Ledell & Arleen Arnsparger (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1250 N. Pitt St., Alexandria, Va. 22314-1403; 37 pp., $6.95 paper). Provides guidelines for developing an effective communications strategy that will help educators explain restructuring efforts, build support, respond to community concerns, and work successfully with the media to distribute information.
Promoting Change in Schools: Ground Level Practices That Work, by Jon W. Wiles (Scholastic, 730 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10003; 200 pp., $24.95 cloth). A teaching consultant with 20 years’ experience presents his thoughts on viewing the school as an agent of social renewal; includes discussions of such developments as multicultural education, emerging information technologies, and changing family structures.
Renewing America’s Schools: A Guide for School-Based Action, by Carl D. Glickman (Jossey-Bass Publishers, 350 Sansome St., San Francisco, Calif. 94104; 187 pp., $24.95 cloth). Suggests a framework for creating schools that promote cooperation and democratic governance, with methods for implementing the framework from the central administrative level to individual school site.
Roadmap to Restructuring: Policies, Practices, and the Emerging Visions of Schooling, by David T. Conley (ERIC Clearinghouse on Educational Management, College of Education, University of Oregon, 1787 Agate St., Eugene, Ore. 97403-5207; 432 pp., $19.95 paper). Draws on more than 600 sources, along with the author’s experience as an adviser to restructuring schools, to provide a synthesis of what is known about successful implementation of a restructuring plan; compares current restructuring movement to efforts in the past, and presents “12 dimensions’’ of restructuring--from curriculum to governance--with explanations of their interrelationships.
Total Quality Education, by Michael J. Schmoker & Richard B. Wilson (Phi Delta Kappa, 8th & Union, P.O. Box 789, Bloomington, Ind. 47402-0789; 171 pp., $7.50 plus $3.50 shipping, paper). Analyzes W. Edwards Deming’s management principles as they apply to schools and profiles five schools that have successfully adapted them for the learning environment.
Reading & Literacy
Annual Summary of Investigations Relating to Reading, July 1, 1991 to June 30, 1992, ed. by Sam Weintraub (International Reading Association, 800 Barksdale Rd., P.O. Box 8139, Newark, Del. 19714-8139; 220 pp., $23 paper). Summarizes more than 600 reports on reading research, categorizing them in subject areas that include teacher preparation and practice, sociology of reading, and reading of atypical readers.
Generation to Generation: Realizing the Promise of Family Literacy, by Jack A. Brizius & Susan A. Foster (National Center for Family Literacy, 401 S. 4th Ave., Ste. 610, Louisville, Ky. 40202-3449; 157 pp., $19.95 paper). Discusses literacy issues as they affect the family unit, offers guidelines for establishing community programs advancing literacy, and identifies ways families can develop effective literacy practices at home.
Literacy in the United States: Readers and Reading Since 1880, by Carl F. Kaestle, Helen Damon-Moore, Lawrence C. Stedman, Katherine Tinsley, & William Vance Trollinger Jr. (Yale University Press, 92A Yale Station, New Haven, Conn. 06520; 338 pp., $17 paper). Charts trends in reading ability and reading habits, using such diverse sources as school tests, government surveys, 19th-century autobiographies, and popular magazines; the authors argue for a more sophisticated and inclusive approach to literacy training.
Literature in the Secondary School: Studies of Curriculum and Instruction in the United States, by Arthur N. Applebee (National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 Kenyon Rd., Urbana, Ill. 61801; 250 pp., $19.95 paper). A comprehensive research report containing demographic information on English teachers at public, Catholic, and independent schools; an overview of current curricular practices (such as the increasing use of process-oriented frameworks); case studies of critically acclaimed English programs; and tables on popular texts.
Process and Portfolios in Writing Instruction, ed. by Kent Gill (National Council of Teachers of English, 1111 Kenyon Rd., Urbana, Ill. 61801; 99 pp., $11.95 paper). Sixteen elementary, secondary, and postsecondary writing teachers describe strategies for building student interest in writing and suggest classroom-tested programs using writing portfolios.
Urban Affairs
City Schools: Leading the Way, ed. by Patrick B. Forsyth & Marilyn Tallerico (Corwin Press, 2455 Teller Rd., Newbury Park, Calif. 91320; 352 pp., $23.95 paper). A panel of urban school principals, metropolitan youth-agency representatives, and educational-administration faculty members discuss the elements of effective principalship; chapter divisions reflect the panel’s discussion of urban school issues, from the context and conditions of practice to student motivation and governance.
Identity and Inner-City Youth: Beyond Ethnicity and Gender, ed. by Shirley Brice Heath & Milbrey W. McLaughlin (Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Ave., New York, N.Y. 10027; 250 pp. $18.95 paper). Analyzes successful inner-city youth organizations to distill the common elements that can be used as models by educators planning school-based youth programs as well as by urban policymakers.
The Rise and Fall of an Urban School System: Detroit 1907-1981, by Jeffrey Mirel (University of Michigan Press, 839 Greene St., Ann Arbor, Mich. 48106; 456 pp., $42.50 cloth). Offers a comprehensive historical overview, focusing on how various political, social, and financial periods have influenced the formulation and development of educational policy in Detroit; presents some threads of a reform strategy that could restore the system to previous levels of excellence.
