Kim Callahan Lijana - Böcker

In Left Behind, a team of education scholars led by Edward P St John argues that American cities have been engaged for the past three decades in a radical-but failing-effort to transform general and vocational high schools into college preparatory institutions. By examining the educational reforms in four urban charter schools across the United States and four public high schools in New York City, Left Behind reveals how educators contend with the challenge of developing new courses while providing social support for students to build college-going cultures. The research shows that district schools struggle to comply with standards that leave little room to develop advanced thematic curricula and that charter schools have not succeeded in substantially raising student test scores. Many students who start in rigorous charter schools transfer back to public schools while both public and charter schools struggle to prepare their students for college-level work. Left Behind provides crucial insights into the troubling trajectory of public policy while offering teachers and administrators effective strategies for overcoming barriers.

Using Action Inquiry in Engaged Research: An Organizing Guide offers higher education and school professionals practical guidance and methods for using the Action Inquiry Model (AIM) in engaged research initiatives and community partnerships. Replete with group exercises and case studies, this guide was originally developed to supplement workshops for faculty, administrators and students working on action initiatives that focused on critical educational issues facing local communities. It provides a useful framework and straightforward techniques for building empowering partnerships. The Action Inquiry Model (AIM) includes four stages: • Assessment: Using research and experience to identify critical challenges facing the university with respect to the improvement of educational opportunities• Organization: Developing workgroups to collaborate on initiatives that address critical challenges; providing financial support for new initiatives; and providing release time and professional development opportunities for faculty and staff who engage in reform initiatives• Action Initiatives: Treating reforms as pilot tests for new strategies, as a means of promoting organizational learning, professional development, and student success• Evaluation: Integrating the evaluation of current programs and incorporating new initiatives into the reform process.This guide provides two methods for learning the inquiry process: a step-by-step process for defining tasks for teams of researchers and practitioners working together to use research to inform the educational improvement; and sets of case studies on assessment and action inquiry to inform groups in collectively discussing problems and strategies, an approach that supports the classroom use of the Guide.The key tasks in action inquiry initiatives include: 1. Build an understanding of the challenge 2 Identify the causes of the challenge using data to test hypotheses2. Look internally and externally for solutions3. Assess possible solutions4. Develop action plans5. Implement pilot test, and evaluateThis guide is appropriate for professional development programs and as a text for higher education Masters and Ph.D. programs.