How Power Works in Schools and Why It Matters for Maximizing Students’ Learning

Jacob W. Neumann

doi:10.5771/9781475874136

Summary

People typically misunderstand how power works in schools. Common thinking says that things like high-stakes testing, school reform efforts, and political mandates exert the most power on schools. The reality, however, is that power comes from everywhere. It isn’t a thing that only certain people possess, nor does it operate linearly, as in simple actions and reactions. Instead, power acts more like a web: if you exert power in one part of a school, the effects often spread across the rest of it. The usual emphasis on big, easy-to-see influences causes schools to focus on the wrong concerns (the big public ones) instead of the ones which make the most impact (the small daily ones). This book examines everyday phenomena inside schools to reveal the complexity and nuance of power and makes practical suggestions for how schools can manage power more effectively to maximize students’ learning.

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Bibliographic data

Edition: 1/2024
Copyright Year: 2024
ISBN-Print: 978-1-4758-7411-2
ISBN-Online: 978-1-4758-7413-6
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 166
Product Type: Monograph

1. Contents No access
2. Preface No access
Defining Power in Schools No access Pages 1 - 14
Examining Power Philosophically No access Pages 15 - 32
Students’ Power to Define Themselves No access Pages 33 - 54
The Tension between High-Stakes Testing and Teachers’ Knowledge No access Pages 55 - 78
The Power of “Initiatives” No access Pages 79 - 96
The Problem of Consequences No access Pages 97 - 118
Why the “Big Stuff” Isn’t the Biggest No access Pages 119 - 130
Work with Power to Maximize Students’ Learning No access Pages 131 - 152
Bibliography No access Pages 153 - 164
About the Author No access Pages 165 - 166