Making a Difference in Urban Schools

Jane Gaskell is a professor in the Department of Theory and Policy Studies in Education and former dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.Ben Levin is Canada Research Chair in Education Leadership and Policy and a professor in the Department of Theory and Policy Studies in Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.

‘I would recommend the use of this text in its entirety for graduate level seminars… The authors have provided a valuable study for students interested in exploring the background of urban reform movements in two important Canadian cities.’- Casey Jakubowski (Alberta Journal of Educational Research, vol 60:03:2014)

• IntroductionChapter 1- Setting the stage: Poverty, diversity and urban education Demographic challenge and change PovertyDiversity The changing meaning of equityThe literature on urban educational systemsConclusionsChapter Two – Change in the Winnipeg School BoardChapter Three - Reform at the Toronto Board of Education The Toronto Board of EducationThe 1970's: setting an agenda for reform Some of the Toronto reform trustees The 1980s: institutionalizing changeConclusionsChapter Four – Ideas Matter: The Impact of Evidence and Belief How do ideas matter?Social movements and evidence informed policyFrameworks for thinking about education and equityEducational analysis in the Toronto and Winnipeg boards Ideas as a resource for change in TorontoIdeas as a resource for change in Winnipeg ConclusionsChapter five - Politics, conflict and civic capacity Central and local: Relationships between districts and provincial governmentsTrustees and boardsCommunity involvementRelations with board administratorsConclusionsChapter 6 - Teaching and Learning in Urban Schools Creating a welcoming classroom environmentChanging the curriculumRethinking literacyStreaming and secondary school changeTesting and assessmentRelationships with teachers and their unionsConclusionsChapter 7 - Lessons from Canadian urban school reform Have things improved over the last forty years?Policy proposals and their limits Ideas and researchPoliticsTeaching and learningWhat should be done? School districts need thoughtful strategic plansStronger links are needed between urban districts and provincial governmentsMore public debate based on good data around the political controversies inherent in urban public education.Urban schools must be good places to work and learn so as to attract and retain good peopleA central and sustained focus on improved teaching and learningStrong, consistent community engagementBetter use of research and evidenceThe necessary infrastructure to support all of the above Appendix on methodology The studyIndex of Names and OrganizationsReferences