Explores how interaction within an organization facilitates or hinders creation of "communities of difference." Examines how constructing a sense of "we" or "they" may be rigid or exclusive, thus hindering community building. Offers examples from school settings and recommendations for promoting inclusion of…

Summarizes a study of two principals' efforts to restructure schools serving predominantly Native American populations as learning communities. Presents an empirically based conceptualization of community for cross-cultural settings and identifies implications for school leaders. Although consensus can't always be achieved, learning communities…

Describes a small K-6 staff's restructuring plans for its predominantly Navajo student body. The case study, concerned with planning for nongraded classes, represents a lesson in how not to plan. Although some positive curricular changes have occurred, administrative leadership was perceived as ineffective, and staff neglected to plan for cultural…

Case studies compare Red Rock School District on the Navajo Reservation and Running Waters First Nation school system in Canada with regard to governance structures and their relationships to educational practices: bilingual and bicultural education, community participation, "transmission" versus interactionist pedagogy, and standardized versus…

Examines the usefulness of accountability measures for student achievement as empowerment tools for all students, providing examples from Native American schools. The paper posits the need for understanding current standardized testing, demonstrates how content currently tested can help increase the utility of instructional programs, and advocates…