SEDL - School Context: Bridge or Barrier to Change - 0 views
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Discipline is the overwhelming obstacle to school success.
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Brendan Murphy on 18 Aug 10This is so true especially in low SES schols.
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According to Gault and Murphy (1987), many American schools claim to practice cultural pluralism, but in reality all students are expected to fit into the white middle class culture. Students with different cultural backgrounds, values, and skills than those generally valued by American schools may be perceived as incapable of performing according to the school's standards.
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Minorities don't care about education. (p. 39)
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Welch (1989) reports that teachers assess advantages and disadvantages of collaborative consultation primarily in terms of how implementation will impact them personally, rather than how it might impact student growth
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For [many students] the main benefit of the school is the opportunity it provides to interact with close friends on a daily basis" (p. 181
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Students will participate, according to Fullan, if they understand, have the necessary skills, and are motivated to try what is expected.
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With teachers unable to explain why they were adopting this innovation, concern increased and parents put an end to the innovation.
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in situations where the school board and the district are actively working together, substantial improvements can be achieved,
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Cynicism and apathy may reflect negative experiences and produce teachers who are unwilling to proceed regardless of the content or quality of the program (Corbett, Dawson, & Firestone, 1984; Fullan, 1991).
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Lasting fundamental change (e.g. changes in teaching practices or the decision making structure) requires understanding and, often, altering the school's culture; cultural change is a slow process.
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Those new to the organization must learn the culture or suffer consequences, such as the feeling of alienation.
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a school can make significant gains, in spite of faculty weaknesses, through sound staff development. Schools, however, commonly fail to have a norm regarding the need for in-service work during implementation (Fullan, 1991)
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sharing a common vision increases the likelihood that school improvement efforts will succeed (Beer, Eisenstat, & Spector, 1990; Deal, 1985; Carlson, 1987; Miles & Louis, 1990; Norris & Reigeluth, 1991; Schlechty & Cole, 1991).
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A cultural norm supporting the involvement of teachers in decisions or plans that will affect them heightens the possibility that changes will be appropriate in a particular setting.
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Not only teachers, but students as well need to internalize the norms of the school improvement culture.
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Students are rarely informed regarding plans in spite of the fact that the plans cannot be carried out successfully when students are not committed to cooperate with the plan, and do not know what to do or how to do it. (Fullan, 1991)
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Negative side effects that may occur from accommodation are students' expectations that accommodations will always be made, a lack of active student engagement with the content of instruction and increased student boredom and apathy (Miller, Leinhardt, & Zigmond, 1988).