Professional Communities And The Work Of High School Teaching

About the AuthorMilbrey W. McLaughlin is the David Jacks Professor of Education and Public Policy, annd Joan E. Talbert is the senior research scholar at Stanford University, where they codirect the Center for Research on the Context of Teaching. With David Cohen, they are coauthors of Teaching For Understanding.Product DescriptionAmerican high schools have never been under more pressure to reform: student populations are more diverse than ever, resources are limited, and teachers are expected to teach to high standards for all students. While many reformers look for change at the state or district level, the authors here argue that the most local contextsschools, departments, and communitiesmatter the most to how well teachers perform in the classroom and how satisfied they are professionally. Their findingsbased on one of the most extensive research projects ever done on secondary teachingshow that departmental cultures play a crucial role in classroom settings and expectations. In the same school, for example, social studies teachers described their students as 'apathetic and unwilling to work,' while English teachers described the same students as 'bright, interesting, and energetic.'With wideranging implications for educational practice and policy, this unprecedented look into teacher communities is essential reading for educators, administrators, and all those concerned with U. S. High Schools.From the Inside FlapAmerican high schools have never been under more pressure to reform: student populations are more diverse than ever, resources are limited, and teachers are expected to teach to high standards for all students. While many reformers look for change at the state or district level, the authors here argue that the most local contextsschools, departments, and communitiesmatter the most to how well teachers perform in the classroom and how satisfied they are professionally. Their findingsbased on one of the most extensive research projects ever done on secondary teachingshow that departmental cultures play a crucial role in classroom settings and expectations. In the same school, for example, social studies teachers described their students as 'apathetic and unwilling to work,' while English teachers described the same students as 'bright, interesting, and energetic.'With wideranging implications for educational practice and policy, this unprecedented look into teacher communities is essential reading for educators, administrators, and all those concerned with U. S. high schools.From the Back CoverAmerican high schools have never been under more pressure to reform: student populations are more diverse than ever, resources are limited, and teachers are expected to teach to high standards for all students. While many reformers look for change at the state or district level, the authors here argue that the most local contextsschools, departments, and communitiesmatter the most to how well teachers perform in the classroom and how satisfied they are professionally. Their findingsbased on one of the most extensive research projects ever done on secondary teachingshow that departmental cultures play a crucial role in classroom settings and expectations. In the same school, for example, social studies teachers described their students as 'apathetic and unwilling to work,' while English teachers described the same students as 'bright, interesting, and energetic.'With wideranging implications for educational practice and policy, this unprecedented look into teacher communities is essential reading for educators, administrators, and all those concerned with U. S. high schools.