Suchergebnisse

This article illustrates how educational reforms subordinate elementary school teachers and reduce their opportunities for professionalism. Reflecting Foucault's image and discussion of the panopticon, educational administration and the public participate in monitoring teachers' practices, leaving teachers in an untenable position for professional autonomy and therefore opportunities to become professionals. In addition, teachers themselves are complicit in their own subordination and are left with limited opportunities for resistance. Qualitative data of new and veteran New York City schoolteachers provide the basis for the study; the current climate of accountability provides the backdrop for the discussion.

This article presents a study that explores the relationship between charter schools and teacher autonomy. The theoretical framework is based on the charter school concept, whereby three policy levers—choice, deregulation, and accountability—lead to various goals for the charter school. One of the first and foremost of these is the enhancement of professional autonomy and opportunities for teachers. The assumption is that teachers who select the schools they want to work at will be more willing to invest their time and energy and be more dedicated to the school. Although charter school legislation has provided significant autonomy for professionals in exchange for accountability, the school-based initiatives that have been under way suggest that the autonomy is not always present.

From race to speech, from religion to school funding, from discipline to special education, few aspects of education policy have escaped the courtroom over the past fifty years. Predictably, much controversy has ensued. Supporters of education litigation contend that the courts are essential to secure student (and civil) rights, while critics insist that the courts distort policy and that the mere threat of litigation undermines the authority of teachers and administrators. From Schoolhouse to Courthouse brings together experts on law, political science, and education policy to test these claim