Old Questions for New Schools: What Are the Students Doing?

Abstract

This study was conducted in a lighthouse school with a long and successful history of restructuring. In this article we describe our (surprising) impressions of shadowing Jake, one of the highest achieving students in the school. We present a researcher's account of Jake's classroom experience over the first four periods of a single day and an analysis of what happened in terms of the idea of studenting. We employ an actor-oriented view of studenting, comprising four aspects—pacing, attending, conforming, and selecting. We contrast this with a structure-oriented view of studenting and draw parallels with the notions of students-as-participants and students-as-benefciaries in school reform. Finally, we discuss the problems and possibilities of engaging and involving students in the process of reform.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Corbett

, & Wilson

(1995). Make a difference with, not for, students: A plea to researchers and reformers. Educational Leadership, 24(5), 12–17.

Costa

V. B.

(1997). How teacher and students study ‘all that matters’ in high school chemistry. International Journal of Science Education, 19(9), 1005–1023.

Ellsworth

(1992). Why doesn't this feel like empowering? Working through repressive myths of critical pedagogy. In Luke

, & Gore

(Eds.), Feminisms and critical pedagogy (pp. 90–119). New York: Routledge.

Fenstermacher

(1986). Philosophy of research on teaching: Three aspects. In Wittrock

M. C.

(Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (pp. 37–49). New York: Macmillan.

Fullan

(1991). The new meaning of educational change. New York: Teachers College Press.

Giddens

(1984). The constitution of society. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.

Jegede

O. J.

, & Aikenhead

G. S.

(1999). Transcending cultural borders: Implications for science teaching. Research in Science and Technological Education, 17(1), 45–67.

Larson

J. O.

(1995). Fatima's rules and other elements of an unintended chemistry curriculum. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco.

Louden

, & Wallace

(1997). Australia's grand experiment: School reform and the National Schools Project. International Journal of Educational Reform, 6(3), 266–273.

10.

Rop

C. J.

(1999). Student perspectives on success in high school chemistry. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 36(2), 221–237.

11.

Wallace

, & Louden

(2000). Teachers’ learning: Stories of science education. Dortrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.

12.

Wallace

, & Wildy

(1992). Pioneering school change: Lessons from a case study of school site restructuring. Planning and Changing, 32(4), 193–207.

13.

Wallace

, & Wildy

(1994). The National Schools Project: School site experiences at restructuring. Unicorn, 20(1), 63–72.

14.

Wallace

, & Wildy

(1997). Shifting into top gear: Restructuring classrooms over the long haul. Curriculum and Teaching, 12(2), 75–85.

15.

Waller

(1932). The sociology of teaching. New York: Wiley.

16.

Wasley

(1991). Stirring the chalk dust: Changing practices in Essential Schools. Teachers College Record, 93(1), 28–58.

17.

Wildy

, & Wallace

(1997). Devolving power in schools: Resolving the dilemma of strong and shared leadership. Leading and Managing, 3(2), 132–146.

18.

Wildy

, & Wallace

(2002). Lighting the way: School restructuring and the movement of people and ideas. Leading and Managing, 8(1), 1–17.

19.

Wilson

B. L.

, & Corbett

H. D.

(2001). Listening to urban kids: School reform and the teachers they want. Albany: State University of New York Press.