This article presents findings of a qualitative exploration of prisoners' perspectives on ideal schools. Based on the foundation of systems theory, it sug-gests that many voices are unheard in the school reform dialogue. The results of interviews with maximum-security prisoners pointed to a need for increased rela-tionships among teachers and families and learners. They also wanted signifi-cantly more rule-oriented and rigid regulations within the schools. This is certainly in stark contrast to some earlier studies and was thus surprising. We believe that it is imperative to continue this work, gathering the voices of the homeless, the working poor, migrant workers, and other disenfranchised populations to help cre-ate a school reform agenda that includes the perspectives of the broadest possi-ble segment of the population.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AyerW. (1991). Perestroika in Chicago's schools. Educational Leadership, 48(8), 69–71.
2.
BanathyB. H. (1991). Systems design of education: A journey to create the future. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology.
3.
BanathyB. H. (1992). A systems view of education: Concepts and principles for effective practice. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology.
4.
BurnsJ. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper & Row.
5.
California Department of Education. (2005). California STAR program. Retrieved March 30, 2005, from http://star.cde.ca.gov/star2004/
6.
CapraF. (1982). The turning point: Science, society and the rising culture. New York: Simon & Schuster.
7.
CountsG. S. (1932). Dare the school build a new social order?New York: Arno Press.
8.
CarrA. (1997). User-design in the creation of human learning systems. Educational Technology Research and Development, 45(3), 5–22.
CrouchJ. L.HansonR. F.SaundersB. E.KilpatrickD. G., & ResnickH. S. (2000). Income, race/ethnicity, and exposure to violence in youth: Results from the national survey of adolescents. Journal of Community Psychology, 28(6), 625–641.
11.
CubanL. (1986). Teachers and machines: The classroom use of technology since 1920. New York: Teachers College Press.
12.
DareshJ. C. (1992). Restructuring the schools: Problems and prospects. Berkeley, CA: McCutchan.
13.
DaviesD. (1981). Citizen participation in decision making in the schools. In DaviesD. (Ed.), Communities and their schools (pp. 83–119). New York: McGraw-Hill.
14.
FreireP. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed (RamosM. B., Trans.). New York: Continuum.
15.
FullanM. (1993). Change forces: Probing the depths of educational reform. New York: Falmer Press.
16.
FullanM. (1995). Foreword. In JenlinkP. M. (Ed.), Systemic change: Touchstones for the future school. Palatine, IL: IRI/Skylight Training.
17.
FurmanG. (2004). Moral leadership and the ethic of community. Values and Ethics in Educational Administration, 2(1), 1–8.
18.
GirouxH. A. (Ed.). (1991). Postmodernism, feminism, and cultural politics: Redrawing educational boundaries. Albany: State University of New York Press.
19.
GoodladJ. I. (1984). A place called school: Prospects for the future. San Francisco: McGraw-Hill.
20.
HargreavesA. (2001). Beyond anxiety and nostalgia: Building a social movement for educational change. Phi Delta Kappan, 82(5), 373–377.
21.
IllichI. D. (1971). Deschooling society. London: Calder & Boyars.
22.
JenlinkP. M. (1995). Systemic change: Touchstones for the future school. Palatine, IL: IRI/Skylight Training.
23.
KozolJ. (1991). Savage inequalities: Children in America's schools. New York: Harper-Perennial.
24.
LeeH. (2006, June). NexSchool: 3 approaches of school innovation for the information age. Paper presented at the AECT Research Symposia, Bloomington, IN.
McLarenP. (1999). Schooling as a ritual performance. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
27.
McLarenP. (2003). Life in schools. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
28.
MeierD. (2002). The power of their ideas (2nd ed.). Boston: Beacon Press.
29.
MoustakasC. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
30.
OgbuJ. U., & FordhamS. (1986). Black students' school success: Coping with the “burden of 'acting white.'”Urban Review, 18(3), 176–206.
31.
PatrikakouE. N.WeissbergR. P.ReddingS., & WalbergH. J. (Eds.). (2005). School-family partnerships for children's success. New York: Teachers College Press.
32.
PerkinsD. (1992). Smart schools: From training memories to educating minds. New York: Free Press.
33.
PinarW. F.ReynoldsW. M.SlatteryP., & TabumanP. M. (2004). Understanding curriculum. New York: Peter Lang.
34.
ReigeluthC. M. (1993). Principles of educational systems design. International Journal of Educational Research, 19(2), 117–131.
35.
RossmanG. B., & RallisS. F. (2003). Learning in the field: An introduction to qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
36.
SarasonS. (1971). The culture of the school and the problem of change. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
37.
SarasonS. (1990). The predictable failure of educational reform. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
38.
SeidmanI. E. (1991). Interviewing as qualitative research. New York: Teachers College Press.
39.
SizerT. R. (1992). Horace's compromise: The dilemma of the American high school (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
40.
SpringJ. (1988). The sorting machine: National educational policy since 1945. White Plains, NY: Longman.
41.
StedmanL. C., & KaestleC. F. (1987, Winter). Literacy and reading performance in the United States, from 1880 to the present. Reading Research Quarterly, pp. 8–46.
42.
TerrellS. (1998). It just couldn't have been our school: A phenomenological study of the schooling experiences of African American male inmates. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
43.
U.S. Department of Education. (1993). Goals 2000: Educate America Act. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
44.
Von BertalanffyL. (1968). General systems theory, foundations, development, applications. New York: Braziller.
