Improving Schools

Studies in Leadership and Culture

Edited by:
Wayne K. Hoy, The Ohio State University
Michael DiPaola, The College of William and Mary

A volume in the series: Research and Theory in Educational Administration. Editor(s): Arnold B. Danzig, San José State University. William R. Black, University of South Florida.

Published 2008

Improving Schools: Studies in Leadership and Culture is the seventh in a series on research and theory dedicated to advancing our understanding of schools through empirical study and theoretical analysis. This book is organized around two broad concepts—leadership and culture, which have important implications for improving schools.

The book begins with an analysis of the saliency of trust in the culture of schools. In the first chapter, Patrick Forsythís review of the consequences of school trust sets the tone for seeking and developing school cultures that enhance high academic performance of students. The investigation of school trust is traced over several decades at four research universities as scholars at each institution conceptualized, refined, and examined the consequences of school trust. It seems fair to conclude that a school culture that is anchored in values and norms of faculty trusting students and parents facilitates high academic achievement and positive outcomes.

CONTENTS
Preface, Wayne K. Hoy and Michael DiPaola. The Empirical Consequences of School Trust, Patrick B. Forsyth. Building Trust in Schools: A Review of the Empirical Evidence, Curt M. Adams. Evaluating the Culture of High Schools in Relation to Their Demographic Characteristics and Performance, Ted J. Kowalski and Kathleen Hermann. Defining, Measuring, and Validating Teacher and Collective Responsibility, Laura LoGerfo and Roger Goddard. Systems Thinking and Culture Change in Urban School Districts, Leigh McGuigan. Measuring District Climate, Michael DiPaola and Kathleen Smith. U-Turn Required: How Virginia's First School Turnaround Specialists are Meeting the Challenges of Improving Low-Performing Schools, Daniel L. Duke, Pamela D. Tucker, Michael J. Salmonowicz, and Melissa K. Levy. Encouraging Teacher Leaders, Marc A. L. Shelton, Virginia Davidhizar Birky, and W. Scot Headley. Curriculum and Instruction Policy in the Context of Multiple Accountabilities, Jason P. Nance and Helen M. Marks. African American Female Superintendents Speaking the Language of Hope: Reconstructing the Multi-Dimensions of Passion, Juanita Cleaver Simmons and W. Yvonne Johnson. Charter Schools, Communities, and Local Newspapers: New Questions to Examine, Ann Allen and Dwan V. Robinson. About the Editors. About the Contributors.

REVIEWS
"Ann Allen and Dwan Robinson offer an exploratory study of the relationship between charter schools and the community in which they are imbedded. Specifically, in Charter Schools, Communities, and Local Newspapers: New Questions to Examine they describe the study of the coverage of charter schools in the local newspapers in the eight cities with the highest concentration of charter schools. Pointing to the fact that the “public is largely confused about what charter schools are and who they serve”, Allen and Robinson conclude that newspapers cover democratically controlled district schools much more than autonomous charter schools despite the fact that charter schools are also public institutions. The exploratory content analysis and the adept weaving in of political science and communications research presented in this chapter points to a number of important issues that need further study with regards to how the flow of information shapes our abilities to be democratically involved in our public schools." Curtis Brewer Clemson University in Education Review (Read full review)