School Change and the MicroSociety® Program
Purchase
Description
"A school's MicroSociety program is not a gimmick, as Professor Cherniss carefully describes and discusses. It is a process that gives students responsibilities and obligations. They experience the benefits of collaboration and the problems of group cohesion, and they learn how and why the bottom line of their economic enterprise requires foresight, decision-making, flexibility, creativity, and more. Are there problems in creating and maintaining such an enterprise? Yes, but Professor Cherniss candidly, critically, sympathetically, and constructively explains why readers will have no doubt that the MicroSociety's educational potential is indeed great. It is the opposite of a transient fad, of which there has been a surfeit."
-Seymour B. Sarason, Professor Emeritus
Psychology & Education, Yale University
See meaningful whole-school reform strategies through the lenses of the MicroSociety® program!
The steady stream of quick-fix educational reforms du jour has drowned out the optimism and drive of many school leaders. To buoy the hopes and success of change agents, this guide offers a real look into school reform, with its trials and triumphs, and pinpoints specific strategies for overcoming the former and achieving the latter.
Looking closely at the MicroSociety® whole-school reform model, the text empowers leaders with a systemic approach to implementation and sustainability of meaningful change. Along with the history and basics of MicroSociety®, it highlights research-based tactics, enabling administrators, teachers, parents, and students to fully invest in and affect positive, enduring reform. The book features:
- Actual challenges and proven solutions for everything from dealing with "problem" students and time constraints, to attaining genuine teacher buy-in and seamless curriculum
- 16 straightforward guidelines for before, during, and after implementation
- In-depth case studies illustrating the gamut of outcomes, from failure to success, and why they resulted
- Insights on how "emotional intelligence" influences the change process
- Implications for educational policy
Contents
Dedication
Dedication
Foreword by Roland S. Barth
Foreword by Roland S. Barth
Preface
Preface
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Author
Part One: Overview of the Program
- 1. The MicroSociety® Program
- A Day in the Life of a MicroSociety® Program School
- The Origins of the MicroSociety® Program
- The MicroSociety® Idea Spreads
- The Guiding Philosophy Behind the MicroSociety® Program
- Basic Elements of the Program
- MicroSociety® Program Outcomes: What the Research Shows
- The Problem of Implementation
- Conclusion
- 2. Challenges Encountered in Implementing the Program
- Lack of Teacher Buy-in
- Excessive Time and Work Demands
- Making Links Between the MicroSociety® Program and the Core Curriculum
- What to Do With “Problem” Students?
- The Problem of Staff Conflict
- The “Fog of Change”
- Threats to Sustainability
- Conclusion
Part Two: Guidelines for Successful Implementation
- 3. Creating a Favorable Context
- Guideline 1: Relationships Among Teachers and Principal
- Guideline 2: Goodness of Fit
- Guideline 3: Parent and Community Involvement
- Guideline 4: Principal Support
- 4. Introducing the Program to the School
- Guideline 5: Giving Teachers a Meaningful Voice
- Guideline 6: Planning Before the Program Begins
- Guideline 7: Securing Additional Funding
- Guideline 8: Matching Teachers With Ventures
- Guideline 9: Realistic Goals and Time Perspectives
- 5. Keeping It Running
- Guideline 10: Expand Student Responsibility
- Guideline 11: Seek Out Additional Resources
- Guideline 12: Create a Culture of Experimentation
- Guideline 13: Continue to Set Aside Time for Planning
- Guideline 14: Create an Open and Flexible Decision-Making Structure
- 6. Leadership – The Critical Ingredient
- Guideline 15: The Principal as Advocate
- Guideline 16: Emotionally Intelligent Leadership
Part Three: Case Studies in Implementation
- 7. A Successful Replication: Mesquite Elementary School
- Before-the-Beginning: Providing a Favorable Context
- Introducing the Program to the School
- Making It Work: The Management Team, the Coordinator, and the Consultant
- Maintaining Teacher Commitment Through Decision-Making, Planning, and Training
- Seeking Out and Using Resources
- A Supportive Principal and Organizational Climate
- The Principal’s Social Capital and Emotional Intelligence
- Conclusion
- 8. Wellfleet Elementary: Everything That Can Go Wrong…
- The School and Its History With the Program
- What Went Wrong? The Before-the-Beginning Phase
- Sowing the Seeds of Trouble: Introducing the Program to the School
- Becoming Operational: Trying to Cope With Chaos
- The Organizational Context: Weak Leadership and a Negative Climate
- 9. Montgomery Middle School: Success That Could Not Be Sustained
- The School and Its Community
- Introducing the Program to the School: The Principal Takes the Lead
- Becoming Operational: The Teachers Confront Reality
- The Program Ends
Part Four: Sustaining School Change in an Ever-Changing World
- 10. Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice
- Implementing Change Versus Sustaining It
- Two Central Lessons That Emerge From the Study
- A First Step: The Selection and Training of Educators
- The Role of the External Environment
- Conclusion
- Resource A: A Description of the Study
- Resource B: The Implementation Guidelines
- References
- Index
Additional materials
Description
"A school's MicroSociety program is not a gimmick, as Professor Cherniss carefully describes and discusses. It is a process that gives students responsibilities and obligations. They experience the benefits of collaboration and the problems of group cohesion, and they learn how and why the bottom line of their economic enterprise requires foresight, decision-making, flexibility, creativity, and more. Are there problems in creating and maintaining such an enterprise? Yes, but Professor Cherniss candidly, critically, sympathetically, and constructively explains why readers will have no doubt that the MicroSociety's educational potential is indeed great. It is the opposite of a transient fad, of which there has been a surfeit."
-Seymour B. Sarason, Professor Emeritus
Psychology & Education, Yale University
See meaningful whole-school reform strategies through the lenses of the MicroSociety® program!
The steady stream of quick-fix educational reforms du jour has drowned out the optimism and drive of many school leaders. To buoy the hopes and success of change agents, this guide offers a real look into school reform, with its trials and triumphs, and pinpoints specific strategies for overcoming the former and achieving the latter.
Looking closely at the MicroSociety® whole-school reform model, the text empowers leaders with a systemic approach to implementation and sustainability of meaningful change. Along with the history and basics of MicroSociety®, it highlights research-based tactics, enabling administrators, teachers, parents, and students to fully invest in and affect positive, enduring reform. The book features:
- Actual challenges and proven solutions for everything from dealing with "problem" students and time constraints, to attaining genuine teacher buy-in and seamless curriculum
- 16 straightforward guidelines for before, during, and after implementation
- In-depth case studies illustrating the gamut of outcomes, from failure to success, and why they resulted
- Insights on how "emotional intelligence" influences the change process
- Implications for educational policy
Contents
Dedication
Dedication
Foreword by Roland S. Barth
Foreword by Roland S. Barth
Preface
Preface
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Author
Part One: Overview of the Program
- 1. The MicroSociety® Program
- A Day in the Life of a MicroSociety® Program School
- The Origins of the MicroSociety® Program
- The MicroSociety® Idea Spreads
- The Guiding Philosophy Behind the MicroSociety® Program
- Basic Elements of the Program
- MicroSociety® Program Outcomes: What the Research Shows
- The Problem of Implementation
- Conclusion
- 2. Challenges Encountered in Implementing the Program
- Lack of Teacher Buy-in
- Excessive Time and Work Demands
- Making Links Between the MicroSociety® Program and the Core Curriculum
- What to Do With “Problem” Students?
- The Problem of Staff Conflict
- The “Fog of Change”
- Threats to Sustainability
- Conclusion
Part Two: Guidelines for Successful Implementation
- 3. Creating a Favorable Context
- Guideline 1: Relationships Among Teachers and Principal
- Guideline 2: Goodness of Fit
- Guideline 3: Parent and Community Involvement
- Guideline 4: Principal Support
- 4. Introducing the Program to the School
- Guideline 5: Giving Teachers a Meaningful Voice
- Guideline 6: Planning Before the Program Begins
- Guideline 7: Securing Additional Funding
- Guideline 8: Matching Teachers With Ventures
- Guideline 9: Realistic Goals and Time Perspectives
- 5. Keeping It Running
- Guideline 10: Expand Student Responsibility
- Guideline 11: Seek Out Additional Resources
- Guideline 12: Create a Culture of Experimentation
- Guideline 13: Continue to Set Aside Time for Planning
- Guideline 14: Create an Open and Flexible Decision-Making Structure
- 6. Leadership – The Critical Ingredient
- Guideline 15: The Principal as Advocate
- Guideline 16: Emotionally Intelligent Leadership
Part Three: Case Studies in Implementation
- 7. A Successful Replication: Mesquite Elementary School
- Before-the-Beginning: Providing a Favorable Context
- Introducing the Program to the School
- Making It Work: The Management Team, the Coordinator, and the Consultant
- Maintaining Teacher Commitment Through Decision-Making, Planning, and Training
- Seeking Out and Using Resources
- A Supportive Principal and Organizational Climate
- The Principal’s Social Capital and Emotional Intelligence
- Conclusion
- 8. Wellfleet Elementary: Everything That Can Go Wrong…
- The School and Its History With the Program
- What Went Wrong? The Before-the-Beginning Phase
- Sowing the Seeds of Trouble: Introducing the Program to the School
- Becoming Operational: Trying to Cope With Chaos
- The Organizational Context: Weak Leadership and a Negative Climate
- 9. Montgomery Middle School: Success That Could Not Be Sustained
- The School and Its Community
- Introducing the Program to the School: The Principal Takes the Lead
- Becoming Operational: The Teachers Confront Reality
- The Program Ends
Part Four: Sustaining School Change in an Ever-Changing World
- 10. Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice
- Implementing Change Versus Sustaining It
- Two Central Lessons That Emerge From the Study
- A First Step: The Selection and Training of Educators
- The Role of the External Environment
- Conclusion
- Resource A: A Description of the Study
- Resource B: The Implementation Guidelines
- References
- Index
Additional materials
Reviews
June 2005 | 232 pages | Corwin
| Format | Published Date | ISBN | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 27/02/2023 | 9781412917605 | $79.95 |
| Paperback | 27/02/2023 | 9781412917612 | $40.95 |
| Lifetime | 27/02/2023 | 9781483361789 | $37.00 |
"A school's MicroSociety program is not a gimmick, as Professor Cherniss carefully describes and discusses. It is a process that gives students responsibilities and obligations. They experience the benefits of collaboration and the problems of group cohesion, and they learn how and why the bottom line of their economic enterprise requires foresight, decision-making, flexibility, creativity, and more. Are there problems in creating and maintaining such an enterprise? Yes, but Professor Cherniss candidly, critically, sympathetically, and constructively explains why readers will have no doubt that the MicroSociety's educational potential is indeed great. It is the opposite of a transient fad, of which there has been a surfeit."
-Seymour B. Sarason, Professor Emeritus
Psychology & Education, Yale University
See meaningful whole-school reform strategies through the lenses of the MicroSociety® program!
The steady stream of quick-fix educational reforms du jour has drowned out the optimism and drive of many school leaders. To buoy the hopes and success of change agents, this guide offers a real look into school reform, with its trials and triumphs, and pinpoints specific strategies for overcoming the former and achieving the latter.
Looking closely at the MicroSociety® whole-school reform model, the text empowers leaders with a systemic approach to implementation and sustainability of meaningful change. Along with the history and basics of MicroSociety®, it highlights research-based tactics, enabling administrators, teachers, parents, and students to fully invest in and affect positive, enduring reform. The book features:
- Actual challenges and proven solutions for everything from dealing with "problem" students and time constraints, to attaining genuine teacher buy-in and seamless curriculum
- 16 straightforward guidelines for before, during, and after implementation
- In-depth case studies illustrating the gamut of outcomes, from failure to success, and why they resulted
- Insights on how "emotional intelligence" influences the change process
- Implications for educational policy
Table Of Contents:
- Dedication
- Foreword by Roland S. Barth
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Part One: Overview of the Program
- 1. The MicroSociety® Program
- A Day in the Life of a MicroSociety® Program School
- The Origins of the MicroSociety® Program
- The MicroSociety® Idea Spreads
- The Guiding Philosophy Behind the MicroSociety® Program
- Basic Elements of the Program
- MicroSociety® Program Outcomes: What the Research Shows
- The Problem of Implementation
- Conclusion
- 2. Challenges Encountered in Implementing the Program
- Lack of Teacher Buy-in
- Excessive Time and Work Demands
- Making Links Between the MicroSociety® Program and the Core Curriculum
- What to Do With “Problem” Students?
- The Problem of Staff Conflict
- The “Fog of Change”
- Threats to Sustainability
- Conclusion
- Part Two: Guidelines for Successful Implementation
- 3. Creating a Favorable Context
- Guideline 1: Relationships Among Teachers and Principal
- Guideline 2: Goodness of Fit
- Guideline 3: Parent and Community Involvement
- Guideline 4: Principal Support
- 4. Introducing the Program to the School
- Guideline 5: Giving Teachers a Meaningful Voice
- Guideline 6: Planning Before the Program Begins
- Guideline 7: Securing Additional Funding
- Guideline 8: Matching Teachers With Ventures
- Guideline 9: Realistic Goals and Time Perspectives
- 5. Keeping It Running
- Guideline 10: Expand Student Responsibility
- Guideline 11: Seek Out Additional Resources
- Guideline 12: Create a Culture of Experimentation
- Guideline 13: Continue to Set Aside Time for Planning
- Guideline 14: Create an Open and Flexible Decision-Making Structure
- 6. Leadership – The Critical Ingredient
- Guideline 15: The Principal as Advocate
- Guideline 16: Emotionally Intelligent Leadership
- Part Three: Case Studies in Implementation
- 7. A Successful Replication: Mesquite Elementary School
- Before-the-Beginning: Providing a Favorable Context
- Introducing the Program to the School
- Making It Work: The Management Team, the Coordinator, and the Consultant
- Maintaining Teacher Commitment Through Decision-Making, Planning, and Training
- Seeking Out and Using Resources
- A Supportive Principal and Organizational Climate
- The Principal’s Social Capital and Emotional Intelligence
- Conclusion
- 8. Wellfleet Elementary: Everything That Can Go Wrong…
- The School and Its History With the Program
- What Went Wrong? The Before-the-Beginning Phase
- Sowing the Seeds of Trouble: Introducing the Program to the School
- Becoming Operational: Trying to Cope With Chaos
- The Organizational Context: Weak Leadership and a Negative Climate
- 9. Montgomery Middle School: Success That Could Not Be Sustained
- The School and Its Community
- Introducing the Program to the School: The Principal Takes the Lead
- Becoming Operational: The Teachers Confront Reality
- The Program Ends
- Part Four: Sustaining School Change in an Ever-Changing World
- 10. Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice
- Implementing Change Versus Sustaining It
- Two Central Lessons That Emerge From the Study
- A First Step: The Selection and Training of Educators
- The Role of the External Environment
- Conclusion
- Resource A: A Description of the Study
- Resource B: The Implementation Guidelines
- References
- Index