Asserts that the urban-high-school film genre (in which a classroom of socially troubled, low-achieving students is transformed by the singular efforts of an outside middle class teacher or principal) reinforces the "culture of poverty" thesis, representing the fantasies that suburban middle class America has about life in urban high…

Examines qualitative case study data of a partnership between corporate Cincinnati and an urban public secondary school, evaluating the partnership based on democratic criteria established by Deweyan pragmatism. The 10-year relationship did not always merit the label partnership, as business interests were at times the central focus. However, over…

Explores the tension between professional control of schools through educational administrators and lay governance as provided by a board of education as this tension relates to issues of student diversity. New models of school governance are considered for their effects of teacher professionalism with respect to student diversity. A particular…

Examines the importance of the notion of community in a remedial writing class at an urban university. Though labeled a "community of writers," the group did not write, and students were considered failed writers. Their story illustrates the high value placed on the notion of community in school, its vulnerable nature, and the…

Describes the urban decay and deconcentration process in the St. Louis metropolitan area and its relationship to changes in local public schools. Offers evidence suggesting that schools are as much victims of urban decay as causes of it. (CMG)

Discusses whether schools become more responsive to parents and more equitable when "chosen" by the clients they serve. Reveals that even where schools are outwardly characterized by values cohesion, shared goals, and voluntary affiliation, interaction between a school and its environment is likely to be a process of ongoing negotiations…

The author contends that a voucher system including private schools would allow greater access to quality education and broaden curricular options while reducing the costs of central school administration and ultimately of welfare and crime. (DM)

Examines links between community development and educational initiatives in improving the quality of life in America's most disadvantaged communities. Reviews community development and the education-restructuring movement, defines community development, discusses two theories undergirding the movement toward increased collaboration between…

Examines school security in relation to consumerism, pointing out that security is big business. Draws from studies in education, geography, and communication to demonstrate how security has developed into a consumer activity involving suburbanization, technology, self-segregation, and the partitioning of neighborhoods in schools in homogeneous…

Studied perspectives of 192 principals and 148 teachers in urban schools with regard to the challenges of urban teaching. Findings suggest that many of the challenge areas suggested in the literature on urban teachers were not ranked as very important by these educators, making the point that not all urban schools face the same challenges. (SLD)

Examined how 11 developmentally disabled students made sense of their experiences in inclusive and segregated classrooms in urban elementary and junior high schools over 6 years. Information from observations and teacher and student interviews supported inclusive schooling, indicating that as students moved into and out of traditionalist and…

Studies changes in the motivation of senior student teachers to teach in an urban setting during their student teaching internship in an urban public school. Findings with 38 teacher candidates indicate that motivation to teach in an urban setting was strengthened during student teaching. (SLD)

Examined staff decision making at a restructuring urban middle school, noting how some of the decisions were made. The decision making process included balancing the relative needs of individual students and the whole class; managing consensus, dissent, voice, and democracy; and recognizing leadership, authority, and accountability. Collective…

This paper describes the attempt of the St. Louis public school system's educational bureaucracy to become more manageable, responsive, and productive. Issues seminars, which provide a structure for problem identification, examination and remediation, took place at all levels of the school system's hierarchy. (Author/KR)