Professionalism and Community

Karen Seashore Louis is the Rodney Wallace Professor of Educational Policy and Administration at the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities. Her area of expertise includes improvement in K–12 leadership and policy over the last 30 years, particularly in urban secondary schools. Louis also conducts research on organizational changes within higher education, with particular attention to faculty roles, and on international comparative policy in educational reform. A past president of Division A of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), she is a widely published author in the field. Recent books include Organizing for School Change, Leadership for Change and School Improvement: International Perspectives, Handbook of Educational Administration, Second Edition, and Organizational Learning in Schools. Louis earned a bachelor′s degree in History from Swarthmore College and a doctorate in sociology from Columbia University. Dr. Sharon D. Kruse is Academic Director and Professor at Washington State University- Vancouver. Her scholarship broadly addresses two concerns, (1) to help teachers and school leaders better understand the key role leadership plays in schools and (2) to explore how education is currently structured and influenced by social and organizational complexity. Kruse’s work focuses on understanding how schools can be better places for the children who attend them and the teachers who work in them. By focusing on the ways issues are framed, decisions are made and problems are identified she seeks to understand how schools can better educate and meet the needs of students. Kruse has served as a project level evaluator for six Teaching American Historygrants, and PI for evaluation of the Ohio Department of Education Supplemental Educational Services program. Kruse’s expertise in qualitative methods, developing interview and focus group protocols, data collection and analysis tools and interpretation contributes to the growing body of knowledge concerning organizational practices and outcome measures. Her recent publications include Building Strong School Cultures (with Karen Seashore Louis, 2009), Decision making for educational leaders: Under-examined dimensions and issues (with Bob L. Johnson Jr. 2009). She co-edits the Journal of Research on Leadership Education with Gordon Gates.WSU link: https://education.wsu.edu/sharon-kruse/

• PART ONE: PROBLEMS AND CONCEPTSProfessionalism and Community - Karen Seashore Louis, Sharon D Kruse and Anthony S BrykWhat Is It and Why Is It Important in Urban Schools?An Emerging Framework for Analyzing School-Based Professional Community - Sharon D Kruse, Karen Seashore Louis and Anthony S BrykPART TWO: CASES FROM URBAN SCHOOLSProfessional Community and Its Yield at Metro Academy - Mary Anne RaywidThomas Paine High School - Jean A King and Daniel A WeissProfessional Community in an Unlikely SettingCatalyzing Professional Community in a School Reform Left Behind - Sharon Rollow and Anthony S BrykChanging the Tire on a Moving Bus - M Peg Lonnquist and Jean A KingBarriers to Professional Community at Whitehead SchoolDewey Middle School - Daniel A Weiss, Karen Seashore Louis and Jeremy HopkinsGetting Past the First Stages of RestructuringPART THREE: REFLECTIONS ON PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY IN URBAN SCHOOLSDeveloping Professional Community in New and Restructuring Urban Schools - Sharon D Kruse and Karen Seashore LouisGetting There - Karen Seashore Louis and Sharon D KrusePromoting Professional Community in Urban Schools