Self-Reflective Renewal in Schools

Local Lessons from a National Initiative

Bradley S. Portin, Lynn G. Beck, Michael Knapp, Joseph Murphy

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Year: 2003
• eBook ISBN: 9780313072352
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

The primary purpose of this study is to learn from the experiences of schools across the U.S. that are engaged in a largely process-oriented reform strategy. Schools vary in their capacity for productive self-reflection. The authors examine the process of self-assessment that many schools engaged in during this time of widespread public attention to the equlaity of schools. The schools examined in these cases reveal a complex interaction between the nature of the self-reflective activity the schools were engaged in (in this case, a National Education Association school review process entitled KEYS to Success in Schools), the contexts that shape the school, and the readiness on the part of school staff to engage in systematic reflection around issues that affect teaching and learning. The act of self-reflection in schools may not provide, by itself, a source of new ideas, alternative models, and a sense of what might be possible for the school to accomplish. Some external agent can often provide the impetus for (or constrain) the actions of school staffs in examining their programs and capacity for renewal. The acts and outcomes of self-reflection are inevitably guided and/or constrained by various contexts (including the school's history, culture, structure, and supports and pressures provided from communities, districts, and states).

Table of contents

• Preface
• 1 KEYS and the Larger School Reform Movement in the United States Joseph Murphy, Lynn G. Beck, Michael S. Knapp, and Bradley S. Portin
• 2 The KEYS Initiative in Memphis City Schools: A “Jump-start” on the Journey to School Restructuring Linda Bol and Sam Stringfield
• 3 Unions, Politicians, and Educators: The Case of KEYS in River Bluffs Elementary, Minnesota Lisa M. Jones and Karen Seashore Louis
• 4 Building a School Community Using KEYS: The Shoreview School in Maryland Saundra Murray Nettles
• 5 KEYS in California: The Case of Wallace High School Lynn G. Beck
• 6 Finding Meaning in the Mirror: Self-Reflective Improvement in Two Washington State Schools Bradley S. Portin and Michael S. Knapp
• 7 Walter Rumsey Elementary School: Buried Beneath the Churn Mark A. Smylie
• 8 The KEYS Case Study in Mississippi: A Failed “Graft” of One School Reform onto Another Charles Teddlie
• 9 Florida and the KEYS Kathryn M. Borman
• 10 Implementing School Reform in a High-Stakes Testing Policy Environment: The Case of an Urban Elementary School Pedro Reyes
• 11 The School and Self-Reflective Renewal: Taking Stock and Moving On Bradley S. Portin, Lynn G. Beck, Michael S. Knapp, and Joseph Murphy
• Appendix A: A Methodological Note
• Appendix B: Indicators of a Quality School
• Appendix C: The KEYS Survey
• Index
• About the Contributors