Approaches to School Reform & Improvement

Undergraduate / Graduate

The U.S. preK-12 education landscape is covered in the vestiges of failed or only partially fulfilled efforts to improve our schools. Yet our public schools now educate more people, for more time, in content areas beyond the "3 R's", and with better results than at any time in our history as a nation. This course gives students an opportunity to critically examine several promising school-level improvement strategies within the context of larger reform efforts. Students will consider the role that values, beliefs about learning and people, and local context play in the success of school improvement efforts. Additionally, students will consider the factors that are necessary for sustaining the implementation of school improvement strategies. Ultimately, students will leave the course with a deeper understanding of what they believe the purpose of school is, how people and organizations learn and change, and strategies for influencing change in their own careers, regardless of sector. The course includes one field experience for students to consider the impact of reforms on preK-12 education institutions.