MindWorkers

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Learning from L.A.: Institutional Change in American Public Education

Authors: Charles Kerchner

Contact: charles.kerchner@cgu

The first sentences in The Transformation of Great American School Districts lays out the conclusion of the research of my colleagues and I undertook over the last five years:

This book argues that urban education reform can best been understood as a process of institutional change rather than a series of failed projects. More specifically, we argue that to understand such changes one needs to pay attention to the basic ideas and assumptions that underpin these institutions. Indeed, we argue that virtually all the Progressive Era assumptions that provided the underpinning for urban education have now been violated, and that a set of new underlying ideas is being “auditioned,” and in some cases “rehearsed,” as we transition to a new and more hybrid set of institutions.

The institutional argument is developed in the pages of The Transformation… and in its companion book, Learning from L.A.: Institutional Change in American Public Education, both published by Harvard Education Press, and available from their web site.

· For a short summary of the book and why it matters.

· For a video interviewexplaining the difference between a project and institutional viewpoint.

· For background papers about Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unified School district that contain data beyond the capacity of Learning from L.A.

In June, we introduced the ideas in Learning from L.A. to an audience of reformers who had led the LEARN and LAAMP reforms in the 1990s and reformers active today in the District, in charter schools, and in community based organizations. For videos of the conference including the opening speech by Virgil Roberts, my PowerPoint presentation, and videos of the panels of education reformers.

A discussion of what Learning from L.A. means for schools and educators outside of central cities is contained in this current issue of the Claremont Graduate University Education Letter. Click here to read.

Your comments are welcome below; we will respond.

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Date submitted: 02/18/2010
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List of Comments

Last Name	First Name	Comments
Blyth	Mark	Learning from L.A. is both an outstanding political history of educational reform and a first class, theoretically sophisticated analysis of how institutions change. [From the book jacket.]
Hannaway	Jane	This is an important book by seasoned analysts of education reform. Their grounded, long-term perspective provides insights that gets out thinking out of the weeds and provides clarity about where urban education reform has been and where it is going. [From the book jacket. Hannaway is director of the Urban Institute Education Policy Center]
McWalters	Peter	Learning from L.A. provides a detailed analysis of a system in transition. The authors make a fine distinction between reform 'projects' and systemic, institutionalized reform movements--both of which are necessary to propel deep-rooted, dynamic education reform. They identify initiatives that can be the springboard for widespread institutional transformation. This account of a changing school system, with its focus on grassroots politics and processes, will prove particularly useful to both educators and policy makers. It is a refreshing reminder of the challenges of urban education. Peter McWalters is Rhode Island commissioner of elementary and secondary education.

Last Name

First Name

Comments

Blyth

Mark

Learning from L.A. is both an outstanding political history of educational reform and a first class, theoretically sophisticated analysis of how institutions change. [From the book jacket.]

Hannaway

Jane

This is an important book by seasoned analysts of education reform. Their grounded, long-term perspective provides insights that gets out thinking out of the weeds and provides clarity about where urban education reform has been and where it is going. [From the book jacket. Hannaway is director of the Urban Institute Education Policy Center]

McWalters

Peter

Learning from L.A. provides a detailed analysis of a system in transition. The authors make a fine distinction between reform 'projects' and systemic, institutionalized reform movements--both of which are necessary to propel deep-rooted, dynamic education reform. They identify initiatives that can be the springboard for widespread institutional transformation. This account of a changing school system, with its focus on grassroots politics and processes, will prove particularly useful to both educators and policy makers. It is a refreshing reminder of the challenges of urban education.

Peter McWalters is Rhode Island commissioner of elementary and secondary education.