特许学校:美国公立学校制度变革的新途径

本文分析了美国特许学校的产生、发展与特点,并从制度变革的视角阐释了特许学校对美国公立学校制度的深刻影响.本文认为特许学校的出现并不会导致公立学校的公共性失范,但它促使美国公立学校制度从传统的"公立学校国家垄断制度"开始向"公立学校国家与社会共建制度"转变.     

学校教研组织与制度的变革:兼顾技术环境与制度环境的改善

具有中国特色的中小学校教研组织与制度,在新的教育改革阶段,需要进一步完善和变革.借助新制度主义组织社会学的理论,分析学校教研组织的特性,发现受强制、模仿、规范三种机制的影响,学校教研组呈现出明显的趋同性.以苏联经验为基础,在三级教研制度的形成中,围绕提升教学质量这个核心,学校教研制度经历了制度的创建、扩散和维持的过程.学校教研组在内部技术环境和外部制度环境的共同支撑下,需要统筹兼顾技术环境与制度环境,将二者对立的矛盾面,转化为统一发展的共同体,去除其趋同性,促使学校教研组织与制度焕发新生.     

Research into the School as an Organization. II: The School as a Complex Organization

Berg, G. & Wallin, E. 1982. Research into the School as an Organization. II: The School as a Complex Organization. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 26, 161‐181. This article starts by examining the development of general organization theory, then proposes an overall organization model for analysing the school. A distinction is made between the school as an institution and the school as an organization, the latter defined as a function of the control emanating from the societal and the ‘actor’ level. A set of conceptual tools believed to describe and analyse the school as an organization is outlined. In the latter part of the article an illustration of how the theoretical discussion can be applied to practical situations is given, firstly by an analysis of a case study and secondly by giving examples of factors worth taking into account in concrete analyses of the organizational structures of schools.     

Lessons Learned from the First Year of an Urban Charter School

This prospective, longitudinal study showed that an intense educational program significantly improved academic performance in underserved students who were selected solely for their desire to participate in the program and their parents' willingness to support them. Mean performance in six representative components of the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement–Revised improved at a rate that substantially exceeded one year for each year in the program. During three years of attendance, performance levels increased from below to more than two years above grade level.     

论科技的发展与学校结构的演变

本文从教育技术的角度 ,阐述了教育与科技 ,尤其是与现代科技相互结合的历史发展过程 ,着重分析了学校在与印刷术、电视和计算机等对人类社会曾产生过重大影响的科技发明结合过程中所取得的成就和存在的问题 ,从中得出了这样一个结论 :尽管科技的最初发源地是教育 ,但科学技术对教育的促进作用却是一个双向的有条件的过程。在教育中成功应用科技的前提条件是 :学校不仅要从宏观结构上 ,而且也要从微观组织上进行变化     

美国教育集团管理授权的制度分析及启示——基于美国《特许学校法》授权条款的研究

美国教育集团的管理是在法律保障下运行的。授权人制度是美国特许学校及特许学校管理组织保障学校及组织合理准入和公正问责的主要措施。通过对美国《特许学校法》授权条款的文本分析,揭示授权方的职责、评估与制裁以及授权方的经费支持等方面的内容,为我国中小学集团化办学的良性发展提供有益借鉴。     

Research into the School as an Organization. I: A Presentation and Discussion of Research Literature with a Bearing on the School as an Organization

Berg, G. 1982. Research into the School as an Organization. I: A Presentation and Discussion of Research Literature with a Bearing on the School as an Organization. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 26, 95‐117. Only to a limited extent has the school as an organization been the subject of any really systematic research, whether on the part of educationalists, sociologists or general organizational theorists. In this article a number of research projects focusing on the school as an organization are described and discussed. Previous research in this field has been either functionalist or structuralist in approach. Nevertheless, certain concepts are common to the analyses of all the researchers referred to here: all describe the school as an organization in terms of professionalism and bureaucracy. We would add that the school can also be described as a coercive organization.     

Scaling Up Success for English Language Learners in Charter Schools: Exploring the Role of Charter School Authorizers

Abstract

The population of English language learners (ELLs) and the number of charter school students have both increased rapidly over the past two decades, but no existing research has examined the role that charter school authorizers play to ensure that ELLs have equitable access to charter schools and that those schools implement research-based programs for ELLs. To fill this gap, our exploratory qualitative study employed a multiple-case case study approach to examine how 10 diverse authorizers considered ELLs in their authorizing practices. Guided by Honig’s (2006) three Ps framework (people, places, and practices), we examined how authorizing practices were shaped by external factors, the agency of the actors within the authorizing office, and by the local context in which the authorizer was situated. Overall we found that ELL-related authorizing practices varied widely across the sample, as some authorizers integrated ELLs into their practices, while others paid little explicit attention to ELLs. In terms of place, contextual factors at the state, district, and authorizer levels contributed to the variation. Within the people component of the framework, the commitment of authorizing staff members to improve access and quality for ELLs in charter schools was an important factor, as was the authorizer’s access to ELL-related expertise. We conclude by outlining implications for research, practice, and policy.     

Bang for the Buck: Autonomy and Charter School Efficiency in Milwaukee

Charter schools are a relatively new phenomenon in American education. Since the first charter school opened in Minnesota in 1991, they have expanded to 42 states and represent 6.2% of all public schools in the country.¹ This growth has been attributed to a number of factors, chief among them evidence that charter schools can improve performance (Lamdin and Mintrom, 1997). While there is a substantial evidence for relative performance benefits of charter schooling (e.g. CREDO, 2015) far less research been conducted on the efficiency of charter schools relative to traditional public schools. What research there is has produced both positive (e.g. Wolf et. al., 2014) and negative results (e.g. Carpenter and Noller, 2010). What can account for the disparity in these findings? In this paper, I make the case that differences in charter efficiency may be accounted for by differences in their level of autonomy from the school district. I base this argument on economic theories that the devolution of power to the lowest level possible tends to produce gains in efficiency (Johnson, 1991; Duncombe and Yinger, 1997). Those that are “on the ground” are thought to be more effective at monitoring expenditures, and allocations of resources have to pass through less ‘red tape (Hess 2006).’ In addition, more autonomous charter schools better fit the original purpose of charter schools in devolving power from centralized authorities (Budde, 1996). In order to test this theory, I take advantage of a unique situation that exists in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in which three types of charter schools with varying levels of autonomy operate simultaneously. Using school type as a proxy for autonomy, I find that more independent charter schools are more efficient than traditional public schools and charter schools with less autonomy.     

Consumerism and Gender in an Era of School Choice: A look at US Charter Schools

This article concerns gendered dimensions of parental involvement in two US charter schools. Drawing on the narratives of parents who have founded charter schools, and on conversations with school administrators and parents in the main public school district, it presents an analysis of the way parent-teacher interactions are being reframed in the context of school choice. The author argues that in a context in which parents are being asked both to produce and consume new educational programs, parents-practically speaking, mothers-who involve themselves in organizing charter schools run the risk of being seen as stepping out of their roles as consumers and caregivers. The implications of mothers' involvement in charter schools for parent-teacher interactions and for the trajectory of school reform are explored.     

Examining Variation Within the Charter School Sector: Academic Achievement in Suburban,Urban, and Rural Charter Schools

ABSTRACT

To date, there is a paucity of research that examines differences between charter schools that operate in suburban and nonsuburban contexts. This article examines whether students in suburban charter schools perform better or worse than their counterparts in traditional public schools or students in urban charter schools. Boasting the largest and most diverse charter school population in the United States, California offers a fertile urban-suburban context for the study of geographically differentiated charter school impacts and, thus, serves as the focus of our study. The student achievement data (2009–2010, 2010–2011 and 2011–2012 school years) for this study come from the California Department of Education. Using propensity score matching and virtual control records, our findings show that suburban charter schools do not improve academic achievement relative to the matched comparison group of traditional public schools. Suburban charter schools (namely, charters in high-income areas) are largely ineffective and appear to leave their students’ achievement unchanged or diminished. This study adds to the existing literature by examining the effects of charter schools on the neighborhoods in which they operate. Methodologically, another important contribution of this study is that it supplements traditional selection criteria for suburban charters (NCES classification) with census-based neighborhood factors. Finally, this study provides evidence of the broader implications of school choice policies in a suburban setting.     

Tangles and Glimmers: How African Immigrant Students in an Urban Charter School Describe Congruencies and Disconnections in Caring Between Home and School

The Urban Review - Misalignments in caring between home and school can often be a source of alienation for minoritized students. This study explores how African immigrant middle school students at...     

美国特许学校的基本特色——与公立学校的比较研究

特许学校是美国20世纪90年代基础教育改革中出现的一种新式学校。本从招生、学校规模、年级水平分布、师生比例和教学计算机的使用等五方面对其进行了描述，以求展现特许学校的基本特色。     

试论学院制改革中的放权问题

在学院制改革的过程中,放权是一个重要问题。从学院制的本质来看,学术权力是放权中的首要内容;同时,还必须放置与学术权力相应的行政权力。学术权力是一个体系,掌握和行使学术权力不应该是一个主体,而应该是多重主体。     

美国特许学校政策演变及启示

特许学校作为美国近10年发展起来的一种新型公立学校形式。以其灵活的办学形式、高效的办学绩效极大地促进了美国教育的公平。对这一办学形式产生背景、内在特性的分析以及与我国基础教育公平程度现状的比较,可以发现我国在促进教育公平的进程中可积极实施分类特许学校制度。引入绩效考评机制、逐步改变教育投资重心,明确国家责任,从而形成一个全社会重视基础教育公平建设的氛围。     

Beyond Stigma and Stereotypes: An Ethnographic Study on the Effects of School-Imposed Labeling on Black Males in an Urban Charter School

This study explores the ways in which school-imposed labeling in a “no-excuses” charter school that was explicitly designed for the purpose of benefiting Black students, impacts teachers’ perceptions of Black male students who were labeled as being high risk or struggling academically, and how these students perceive their own schooling experiences. A conceptual framework with the history of how and why Black masculinity is constructed as deviant and different in the context of U.S. schools, as well as the impact of labeling on Black male students’ learning and self-esteem are detailed. While centering the labeled-students’ experiences, we examine the interactions between key stakeholders (i.e., labeled-students, teachers/administrators, and non-labeled students) at the charter school and overall the findings speak clearly to how language of deficit and pathology impacted Black male students’ schooling experiences as they negotiate racial stigma as racialized bodies at a “no-excuses” public charter school.