{"title":"Changing the Grammar of Schooling: An Appraisal and a Research Agenda","authors":"Jal Mehta, Amanda Datnow","doi":"10.1086/709960","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/709960","url":null,"abstract":"In 1994 and 1995, David Tyack, William Tobin, and Larry Cuban (Tyack and Cuban 1995; Tyack andTobin 1994) coined the term “grammar of schooling” to characterize the long-lasting and largely unchanging core elements of schooling. These elements include batch processing of students, separation of classes by academic discipline, age-graded classrooms, teaching as transmission, leveling and tracking, and schooling as a mechanism for sorting students by perceived ability. In recent years, however, there has been a range of efforts that in different ways try to move us away from the century-old grammar of schooling. These include personalized learning, blended schools, competency-based schooling, deeper learning, community-infused and social justice–oriented schools, and many more. Although these developments have been covered in the press, they have not yet been the subject of much serious research that helps us understand how these innovations develop and sustain over time.Most research, both quantitative and qualitative, is conducted within the existing grammar of schooling. We seek to understand what produces achievement gaps among students (Duncan and Murnane 2011; Jencks and Phillips 1998), why schools ask students to suppress rather than reveal their cultural identities (Valenzuela 1999), and why school","PeriodicalId":47629,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Education","volume":"126 1","pages":"491 - 498"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1086/709960","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45413822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Neoliberal Grammar of Schooling? How a Progressive Charter School Moved toward Market Values","authors":"E. Castillo","doi":"10.1086/709513","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/709513","url":null,"abstract":"Although initially ideologically diverse, the charter school movement has become increasingly aligned with neoliberal ideology, which assumes that public services, including education, are improved through market forces, such as accountability, competition, efficiency, and managerialism. Yet little is known about how leaders of ideologically progressive charter schools sustain their founding pedagogical and political missions amid widespread market values. This qualitative case study of one progressive charter school in New York City investigates this phenomenon. Findings demonstrate that the school’s enrollment, instructional, school governance, and community engagement practices moved toward market values as school leaders and board trustees prioritized attaining favorable test outcomes, garnering resources, and ensuring the renewal of the school’s charter. Findings illustrate a neoliberal grammar of schooling, or powerful forces that led school leaders to move their practices toward market values, in turn constraining the realization of the school’s founding progressive mission.","PeriodicalId":47629,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Education","volume":"126 1","pages":"519 - 547"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1086/709513","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47743172","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julie A. Marsh, Taylor N. Allbright, Katrina E. Bulkley, K. Kennedy, Tasminda K. Dhaliwal
{"title":"Institutional Logics in Los Angeles Schools: Do Multiple Models Disrupt the Grammar of Schooling?","authors":"Julie A. Marsh, Taylor N. Allbright, Katrina E. Bulkley, K. Kennedy, Tasminda K. Dhaliwal","doi":"10.1086/709516","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/709516","url":null,"abstract":"The structure of US public education is changing. Rather than exclusive district management of schools with standardized programs, new types of systems have emerged. In the case of “portfolio” systems, advocates argue that choice, performance-based accountability, and autonomy challenge traditional schooling and foster a diversity of options for parents. Yet there is limited empirical evidence on these claims. Our mixed-methods study examines the values and reported practices of schools in Los Angeles. We find limited evidence of variation across schools. Rather, institutional forces appear to be shaping common commitments to academics, whole child support, community, and professionalism, with some fine-grained differences connected to organizational characteristics. Ultimately, this lack of diversity and the complexity of multiple logics do not appear to challenge the idea of a shared “grammar of schooling” across schools. This research advances our understanding of institutional logics in schools and provides implications for policy and future research.","PeriodicalId":47629,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Education","volume":"126 1","pages":"603 - 651"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1086/709516","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46125812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Overlapping Opportunities for Social-Emotional and Literacy Learning in Elementary-Grade Project-Based Instruction","authors":"Miranda S. Fitzgerald","doi":"10.1086/709545","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/709545","url":null,"abstract":"Project-based learning (PBL) approaches seek to challenge the grammar of schooling by providing opportunities for students to (a) explore meaningful questions using multiple disciplinary lenses; (b) read, interpret, and produce a wide range of texts as they engage in disciplinary inquiry; and (c) develop and use a range of social-emotional skills as they work together to solve real-world problems. As PBL gains momentum in K–12 classrooms, we need to better understand the ways in which teachers and students take up these opportunities. This case study explored how one third-grade teacher’s enactment of a PBL curriculum provided opportunities for students to learn and use social-emotional skills and literacy in the service of disciplinary learning. Findings revealed that the curriculum and enactment diverged from the grammar of schooling by providing opportunities for students to use literacy as a tool for disciplinary inquiry while simultaneously advancing goals associated with social-emotional learning.","PeriodicalId":47629,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Education","volume":"126 1","pages":"573 - 601"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1086/709545","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41550068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Design Thinking, Leadership, and the Grammar of Schooling: Implications for Educational Change","authors":"L. Hubbard, Amanda Datnow","doi":"10.1086/709510","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/709510","url":null,"abstract":"A growing number of schools across the globe have implemented design thinking (DT) as an instructional approach to increase student engagement, motivate creative thinking, and teach students to problem solve. Although offering significant opportunity to students, implementing DT can involve pushing against the traditional “grammar of schooling.” Drawing on in-depth qualitative case study data, we present findings on a previously low-performing, underenrolled middle school that underwent a dramatic shift when becoming a magnet school focused on DT. We explain the intentional leadership actions that facilitated structural and cultural changes, including building a collaborative leadership structure. Interactions between the principal and the teachers led to the emergence of practices that supported innovation schoolwide. At the same time, internal and external challenges rooted in the grammar of schooling arose, requiring educators to respond to sustain the momentum for change. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.","PeriodicalId":47629,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Education","volume":"126 1","pages":"499 - 518"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-06-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1086/709510","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45320976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Roland G Pourdavood, Kathy S McCarthy, Tess McCafferty
{"title":"The Impact of Mental Computation on Children’s Mathematical Communication, Problem Solving, Reasoning, and Algebraic Thinking","authors":"Roland G Pourdavood, Kathy S McCarthy, Tess McCafferty","doi":"10.30958/aje.7-3-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.7-3-1","url":null,"abstract":"Moving from arithmetic to algebraic thinking at early grades is foundational in the study of number patterns and number relationships. This qualitative study investigates mental computational activity in a third grade classroom’s and its relationship to algebraic thinking and reasoning. The data sources include classroom observations, field notes, students’ verbal and written communications, and interviews. The study occurs in two phases; phase one includes establishing roles, rules, and expectations regarding how to talk about mathematical ideas; and phase two involves creating a classroom community that encourages participation, active listening, students’ voices, and multiple perspectives. The findings of the study suggest that students’ verbal communication enhances their problem-solving, reasoning, and communication. In addition, the findings suggest that creating learning opportunities for all students to do sophisticated mathematics requires competent and caring teachers who know their students’ backgrounds, who understand the subject, and have strong pedagogical knowledge.","PeriodicalId":47629,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Education","volume":"7 1","pages":"241-253"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44819468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Deploying Engineering-Based Learning in High School Students STEM Learning","authors":"A. Zeid","doi":"10.30958/aje.7-3-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.7-3-2","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47629,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Education","volume":"7 1","pages":"255-271"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46393844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"On Teaching Quantum Physics at High School","authors":"E. Bonacci","doi":"10.30958/aje.7-3-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.30958/aje.7-3-5","url":null,"abstract":"In the Italian education system, secondary students (ages 14-19) are confronted with the foundations of quantum physics during the final term of scientific high school (pre-university year). The Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (acronym MIUR) has remarked its importance in the syllabus to address the high school exit examination (30% of the 5 year physics course) but, due to limited learning time and intrinsic difficulty, this branch of physics is neither assimilated nor appreciated as it should. We wish to illustrate six didactic suggestions focused on learning motivation, emerged during a 17-year long teaching experience, which could help to tackle the main problems found. The key references are two peer-reviewed talks given, respectively, in 2018 at the 6th Annual International Conference on Physics by the Athens Institute for Education and Research and in 2013 at the 2 Rome workshop Science Perception by the Roma Tre University together with a concise and evocative poster outlining the history of quanta (Figure 1). Other useful resources are a 2015 conceptual diagram (Figure 2) and four invited lectures held in the years 2010-2017.","PeriodicalId":47629,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Education","volume":"7 1","pages":"313-329"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43969165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s South Side by Eve L. Ewing. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018. 275 pp., $22.50.","authors":"M. Gopalan","doi":"10.1086/708253","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1086/708253","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47629,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Education","volume":"126 1","pages":"483-489"},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2020-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1086/708253","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48355571","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}