Drawing on a three-year post-critical ethnography, this volume counters deficit-based notions of disability to present a new social and dialogic theory of thinking and learning for students with significant support needs. Dismantling ideas around ableism/disableism, Social and Dialogic Thinking and Learning offers a uniquely theoretical and conceptual contribution to special education and capability research. Illustrating how students exhibit varied practical, social, and creative abilities, possess agency and perform identity, chapters present a challenge to the restrictive ways in which disability is constructed through prescriptive forms of teacher-student interaction and instruction. The text ultimately offers a powerful re-imagining of how educators and researchers can perceive, observe, and respond to students beyond current institutional and cultural norms. This text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in inclusion and special educational needs, disability studies, and the theories of learning more broadly. Those specifically interested in educational psychology and the study of severe, profound, and multiple learning difficulties will also benefit from this book.

Drawing on a three-year post-critical ethnography, this volume counters deficit-based notions of disability to present a new social and dialogic theory of thinking and learning for students with significant support needs. Dismantling ideas around ableism/disableism, Social and Dialogic Thinking and Learning offers a uniquely theoretical and conceptual contribution to special education and capability research. Illustrating how students exhibit varied practical, social, and creative abilities, possess agency and perform identity, chapters present a challenge to the restrictive ways in which disability is constructed through prescriptive forms of teacher-student interaction and instruction. The text ultimately offers a powerful re-imagining of how educators and researchers can perceive, observe, and respond to students beyond current institutional and cultural norms. This text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an interest in inclusion and special educational needs, disability studies, and the theories of learning more broadly. Those specifically interested in educational psychology and the study of severe, profound, and multiple learning difficulties will also benefit from this book.

Taking a close look at the issue of the arts and school reform, this book explores in detail how the incorporation of the arts into the identity of a school can be key to its resilience. Based on the A+ School Program, an arts-based school reform effort, it is much more than a report of a single case - this landmark study is a comprehensive, longitudinal analysis of arts in education initiatives that discusses the political, fiscal, and curricular implications inherent in taking the arts seriously.

Offering a model for implementation as well as evaluation that can be widely adapted in other schools and school districts, this book will inspire arts educators to move from advocating more arts to advocating the arts as a way to reform schools. Administrators and policy makers will see how curriculum integration can be used to revitalize and energize schools and serve as a springboard to wider reform initiatives. Researchers and students across the fields of arts education, school reform, organizational change, and foundations of education will be informed and enlightened by this real-world scenario of large-scale school reform.

This volume will introduce the readers to an alternative nexus of education, equity and economy, pointing to economies and educations that promote a less stratified and exploitive world, and as the chapter authors demonstrate, this view has a wide range of applications, from technology, mathematics, to environmental catastrophes and indigenous cultures. This first volume in the new book series not only introduces the series itself, but also several authors whose chapters that appear here presage the in-depth analysis that will be offered by their volumes in the series. Education is invoked repeatedly in the 'class warfare' that pits the population against the elites as the investment that makes the difference, in terms of both policy and individual commitment, in the economy. The economy in this scenario is competitive, accumulative, exploitive and stratifying, implying education should mirror this and prepare people to fit this economy. However, education has other historic goals of developing common cultures, national identities, and civic engagement that belie this form of economic determinism. This volume and the series will explore this new nexus of economy and education with equity.

This volume will introduce the readers to an alternative nexus of education, equity and economy, pointing to economies and educations that promote a less stratified and exploitive world, and as the chapter authors demonstrate, this view has a wide range of applications, from technology, mathematics, to environmental catastrophes and indigenous cultures. This first volume in the new book series not only introduces the series itself, but also several authors whose chapters that appear here presage the in-depth analysis that will be offered by their volumes in the series. Education is invoked repeatedly in the 'class warfare' that pits the population against the elites as the investment that makes the difference, in terms of both policy and individual commitment, in the economy. The economy in this scenario is competitive, accumulative, exploitive and stratifying, implying education should mirror this and prepare people to fit this economy. However, education has other historic goals of developing common cultures, national identities, and civic engagement that belie this form of economic determinism. This volume and the series will explore this new nexus of economy and education with equity.

A groundswell of interest has led to significant advances in understanding and using Culturally Responsive Arts Education to promote social justice and education. This landmark volume provides a theoretical orientation to these endeavors. Examining a range of efforts across different forms of art, various educational settings, and diverse contexts, it foregrounds the assets of imagination, creativity, resilience, critique and cultural knowledge, working against prevailing understandings of marginalized groups as having deficits of knowledge, skills, or culture. Emphasizing the arts as a way to make something possible, it explores and illustrates the elements of social justice arts education as "a way out of no way" imposed by dominance and ideology. A set of powerful demonstrations shows how this work looks in action. Introductions to the book as a whole and to each section focus on how to use the chapters pedagogically. The conclusion pulls back the chapters into theoretical and pedagogical context and suggests what needs done to be done practically, empirically, and theoretically, for the field to continue to develop.

Taking a close look at the issue of the arts and school reform, this book explores in detail how the incorporation of the arts into the identity of a school can be key to its resilience. Based on the A+ School Program, an arts-based school reform effort, it is much more than a report of a single case - this landmark study is a comprehensive, longitudinal analysis of arts in education initiatives that discusses the political, fiscal, and curricular implications inherent in taking the arts seriously.

Offering a model for implementation as well as evaluation that can be widely adapted in other schools and school districts, this book will inspire arts educators to move from advocating more arts to advocating the arts as a way to reform schools. Administrators and policy makers will see how curriculum integration can be used to revitalize and energize schools and serve as a springboard to wider reform initiatives. Researchers and students across the fields of arts education, school reform, organizational change, and foundations of education will be informed and enlightened by this real-world scenario of large-scale school reform.

A groundswell of interest has led to significant advances in understanding and using Culturally Responsive Arts Education to promote social justice and education. This landmark volume provides a theoretical orientation to these endeavors. Examining a range of efforts across different forms of art, various educational settings, and diverse contexts, it foregrounds the assets of imagination, creativity, resilience, critique and cultural knowledge, working against prevailing understandings of marginalized groups as having deficits of knowledge, skills, or culture. Emphasizing the arts as a way to make something possible, it explores and illustrates the elements of social justice arts education as "a way out of no way" imposed by dominance and ideology. A set of powerful demonstrations shows how this work looks in action. Introductions to the book as a whole and to each section focus on how to use the chapters pedagogically. The conclusion pulls back the chapters into theoretical and pedagogical context and suggests what needs done to be done practically, empirically, and theoretically, for the field to continue to develop.

How can ethnographic studies be generalized, in contrast to concentrating on the individual case? Noblit and Hare propose a new method for synthesizing from qualitative studies: meta-ethnography. After citing the criteria to be used in comparing qualitative research projects, the authors define the ways these can then be aggregated to create more cogent syntheses of research. Using examples from numerous studies ranging from ethnographic work in educational settings to the Mead-Freeman controversy over Samoan youth, Meta-Ethnography offers useful procedural advice from both comparative and cumulative analyses of qualitative data. This provocative volume will be read with interest by researchers and students in qualitative research methods, ethnography, education, sociology, and anthropology. "After defining metaphor and synthesis, these authors provide a step-by-step program that will allow the researcher to show similarity (reciprocal translation), difference (refutation), or similarity at a higher level (lines or argument synthesis) among sample studies....Contain(s) valuable strategies at a seldom-used level of analysis." --Contemporary Sociology "The authors made an important contribution by reframing how we think of ethnography comparison in a way that is compatible with the new developments in interpretive ethnography. Meta-Ethnography is well worth consulting for the problem definition it offers." --The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease "This book had to be written and I am pleased it was. Someone needed to break the ice and offer a strategy for summarizing multiple ethnographic studies. Noblit and Hare have done a commendable job of giving the research community one approach for doing so. Further, no one else can now venture into this area of synthesizing qualitative studies without making references to and positioning themselves vis-a-vis this volume." -Educational Studies

Education research has seen a phenomenal growth in studies that explore the multiple, fluid, and changing complexities of culture and identity work. The nuanced, contradictory, and process-oriented nature of identity and identification has meant that the studies in education are largely, and appropriately, qualitative and ethnographic. However, because qualitative studies are marked by their focus on the particular, it has been difficult to discern exactly what these studies contribute to identity theory collectively. In Cultural Constructions of Identity, a set of meta-ethnographic syntheses of qualitative studies addressing identity become the vehicle to speak across single studies to address cultural identity theory. Meta-Ethnography, first developed by Noblit and Hare in 1988, incorporates a translation theory of interpretation so that the unique aspects of studies are preserved to the degree possible while also revealing the analogies between these studies. While the studies in this book examine the various intersections of race and ethnicity with respect to gender, age, class, and sexuality, Cultural Constructions of Identity turns its primary focus on what these studies reveal about identity and identification theory itself.

This volume is an examination of how school districts and national school reform organizations can work together to promote effective school reform district wide. It is based on 10 years of research and evaluation studies with James Comer School Development Program (SDP). Using a set of urban school district cases, it analyzes how districts and the SDP learned to collaborate and what mechanisms seem to be especially promising in bringing systemic reform to life. The book also analyzes what school districts should look for in a national reform organization and how districts have learned to support reform efforts by taking on some of the processes of the national reform organization as their own.

This volume is an examination of how school districts and national school reform organizations can work together to promote effective school reform district wide. It is based on 10 years of research and evaluation studies with James Comer School Development Program (SDP). Using a set of urban school district cases, it analyzes how districts and the SDP learned to collaborate and what mechanisms seem to be especially promising in bringing systemic reform to life. The book also analyzes what school districts should look for in a national reform organization and how districts have learned to support reform efforts by taking on some of the processes of the national reform organization as their own.

This book brings together some of the foremost ideas on reforming education for 14-18 year olds with a focus on more significant reforms for revisioning of high school. The first chapter provides a context for understanding the rationale, conceptual framework, obstacles, and political context of high school reform. Each of the following chapters describes a whole-school model of reform, providing a brief history of the model, its principles, a description of the model's implementation in specific schools, and a summary of impact. The final chapter considers whether significant and widespread reform of the traditional high school is possible. Some of the main ideas for revisioning high school are summarized and key factors affecting successful implementation of reform are described. The important role of teacher education in high school reform is also considered. Finally, a list of pertinent questions considering whether reform of high school is possible is presented.

This book brings together some of the foremost ideas on reforming education for 14-18 year olds with a focus on more significant reforms for revisioning of high school. The first chapter provides a context for understanding the rationale, conceptual framework, obstacles, and political context of high school reform. Each of the following chapters describes a whole-school model of reform, providing a brief history of the model, its principles, a description of the model's implementation in specific schools, and a summary of impact. The final chapter considers whether significant and widespread reform of the traditional high school is possible. Some of the main ideas for revisioning high school are summarized and key factors affecting successful implementation of reform are described. The important role of teacher education in high school reform is also considered. Finally, a list of pertinent questions considering whether reform of high school is possible is presented.

In this book, the authors explore the position that systemic reform requires addressing the culture of individual schools, and that various reform efforts address school culture in different ways. The chapters promote that the key to success is the match between the strategy in use and the setting. In the chapters, reforms and their interactions in particular schools and school cultures are explored through fieldwork. They clearly Illustrate that when accountability policy has run its course, there is a need to re-engage systematic reform. Such dramatic change requires schools to be both restructured and recultured. The reader can learn from the cases in this book what it takes to mount and sustain a systemic reform initiative at the school level. This book is intended for parents, school principles, teachers, and others as a window into how to think about reforming their schools, even as they must comply with the demands of accountability policy.

In this book, the authors explore the position that systemic reform requires addressing the culture of individual schools, and that various reform efforts address school culture in different ways. The chapters promote that the key to success is the match between the strategy in use and the setting. In the chapters, reforms and their interactions in particular schools and school cultures are explored through fieldwork. They clearly Illustrate that when accountability policy has run its course, there is a need to re-engage systematic reform. Such dramatic change requires schools to be both restructured and recultured. The reader can learn from the cases in this book what it takes to mount and sustain a systemic reform initiative at the school level. This book is intended for parents, school principles, teachers, and others as a window into how to think about reforming their schools, even as they must comply with the demands of accountability policy.

In the USA, the Comer programme assists underachieving urban schools by examining their system and their students. The implications of the successes reported in this volume show that children from all backgrounds can gain vital social and academic skills when education addresses their needs.

How can ethnographic studies be generalized, in contrast to concentrating on the individual case? Noblit and Hare propose a new method for synthesizing from qualitative studies: meta-ethnography. After citing the criteria to be used in comparing qualitative research projects, the authors define the ways these can then be aggregated to create more cogent syntheses of research. Using examples from numerous studies ranging from ethnographic work in educational settings to the Mead-Freeman controversy over Samoan youth, Meta-Ethnography offers useful procedural advice from both comparative and cumulative analyses of qualitative data. This provocative volume will be read with interest by researchers and students in qualitative research methods, ethnography, education, sociology, and anthropology. "After defining metaphor and synthesis, these authors provide a step-by-step program that will allow the researcher to show similarity (reciprocal translation), difference (refutation), or similarity at a higher level (lines or argument synthesis) among sample studies....Contain(s) valuable strategies at a seldom-used level of analysis." --Contemporary Sociology "The authors made an important contribution by reframing how we think of ethnography comparison in a way that is compatible with the new developments in interpretive ethnography. Meta-Ethnography is well worth consulting for the problem definition it offers." --The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease "This book had to be written and I am pleased it was. Someone needed to break the ice and offer a strategy for summarizing multiple ethnographic studies. Noblit and Hare have done a commendable job of giving the research community one approach for doing so. Further, no one else can now venture into this area of synthesizing qualitative studies without making references to and positioning themselves vis-a-vis this volume." -Educational Studies

This volume is a series of studies of schooling in its social context. The intent is to reframe the policy debate of the 1980s by examining schooling from this viewpoint. The first section focuses on becoming and being a teacher. The second section focuses on the school and the district, and the implementation of change. The third part attempts to establish how effectiveness is defined and operationalized in practice. The final section concerns the transition to adulthood and explores the ways young workers learn on the job.