Professional Communities and the Work of High School Teaching - Softcover

McLaughlin, Milbrey W.; Talbert, Joan E.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226500713 ISBN 13: 9780226500713

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2001

Synopsis

American high schools have never been under more pressure to reform: student populations are more diverse than ever, resources are limited, and teachers are expected to teach to high standards for all students. While many reformers look for change at the state or district level, the authors here argue that the most local contexts—schools, departments, and communities—matter the most to how well teachers perform in the classroom and how satisfied they are professionally. Their findings—based on one of the most extensive research projects ever done on secondary teaching—show that departmental cultures play a crucial role in classroom settings and expectations. In the same school, for example, social studies teachers described their students as "apathetic and unwilling to work," while English teachers described the same students as "bright, interesting, and energetic."

With wide-ranging implications for educational practice and policy, this unprecedented look into teacher communities is essential reading for educators, administrators, and all those concerned with U. S. High Schools.

About this title

About the Author

Milbrey W. McLaughlin is the David Jacks Professor of Education and Public Policy, annd Joan E. Talbert is the senior research scholar at Stanford University, where they codirect the Center for Research on the Context of Teaching. With David Cohen, they are coauthors of Teaching For Understanding.

From the Back Cover

American high schools have never been under more pressure to reform: student populations are more diverse than ever, resources are limited, and teachers are expected to teach to high standards for all students. While many reformers look for change at the state or district level, the authors here argue that the most local contexts-schools, departments, and communities-matter the most to how well teachers perform in the classroom and how satisfied they are professionally. Their findings-based on one of the most extensive research projects ever done on secondary teaching-show that departmental cultures play a crucial role in classroom settings and expectations. In the same school, for example, social studies teachers described their students as "apathetic and unwilling to work," while English teachers described the same students as "bright, interesting, and energetic."

With wide-ranging implications for educational practice and policy, this unprecedented look into teacher communities is essential reading for educators, administrators, and all those concerned with U. S. high schools.

From the Inside Flap

American high schools have never been under more pressure to reform: student populations are more diverse than ever, resources are limited, and teachers are expected to teach to high standards for all students. While many reformers look for change at the state or district level, the authors here argue that the most local contexts-schools, departments, and communities-matter the most to how well teachers perform in the classroom and how satisfied they are professionally. Their findings-based on one of the most extensive research projects ever done on secondary teaching-show that departmental cultures play a crucial role in classroom settings and expectations. In the same school, for example, social studies teachers described their students as "apathetic and unwilling to work," while English teachers described the same students as "bright, interesting, and energetic."

With wide-ranging implications for educational practice and policy, this unprecedented look into teacher communities is essential reading for educators, administrators, and all those concerned with U. S. high schools.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0226500713
• ISBN 13: 9780226500713
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 230