Teachers and Educational Change: The Lived Experience of Secondary School Restructuring

Presents powerful lessons about the realities of school reform by portraying the experiences of five teachers involved in a restructuring initiative. This book vividly portrays the experiences of five secondary teachers who were involved in a school restructuring initiative that focused on interdisciplinary curriculum development, team teaching, and block scheduling. Though much has been written during the past decade concerning the need for fundamental restructuring of American schools, the track record in accomplishing change is extremely weak. One reason for this is the lack of understanding of what change means from the point of view of teachers, who are both the objects and subjects of change efforts. The year the authors spent with the teachers resulted in a deeper understanding of the phenomenology of change experiences that can be used to develop more fruitful, empowering, and teacher sensitive strategies. The story of the change experience is presented through five interlocking and mutually reinforcing themes that dominated the teachers’ experience and understanding: uncertainty; intensification; lack of administrative leadership; subject allegiance versus team loyalty; and craft pride, caring, and moral purpose.