How Power Works in Schools and Why It Matters for Maximizing Students’ Learning

Jacob W. Neumann

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Year: 2024
• eBook ISBN: 9781475874136
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education Theory & Practice

People typically misunderstand how power works in schools. Common thinking says that things like high-stakes testing, school reform efforts, and political mandates exert the most power on schools. The reality, however, is that power comes from everywhere. It isn't a thing that only certain people possess, nor does it operate linearly, as in simple actions and reactions. Instead, power acts more like a web: if you exert power in one part of a school, the effects often spread across the rest of it. The usual emphasis on big, easy-to-see influences causes schools to focus on the wrong concerns (the big public ones) instead of the ones which make the most impact (the small daily ones). This book examines everyday phenomena inside schools to reveal the complexity and nuance of power and makes practical suggestions for how schools can manage power more effectively to maximize students' learning.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Contents
• Preface
• Chapter 1: Defining Power in Schools
• Chapter 2: Examining Power Philosophically
• Chapter 3: Students’ Power to Define Themselves
• Chapter 4: The Tension between High-Stakes Testing and Teachers’ Knowledge
• Chapter 5: The Power of “Initiatives”
• Chapter 6: The Problem of Consequences
• Chapter 7: Why the “Big Stuff” Isn’t the Biggest
• Chapter 8: Work with Power to Maximize Students’ Learning
• Bibliography
• About the Author