Expect miracles : charter schools and the politics of hope and despair / Peter W. Cookson, Jr., and Kristina Berger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cookson, Peter W.

Contributor:

Berger, Kristina.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Charter schools--United States.

Charter schools.

United States.

Physical Description:

viii, 195 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : Westview Press, 2002.

Summary:

Charter schools are the most significant educational experiment in the last two decades. In Expect Miracles, Peter W. Cookson, Jr. and Kristina Berger focus on the current trend toward deregulation in public education. The issue of deregulation is of critical importance because the spirit of entrepreneurship that is behind deregulation is seldom examined from a sociological perspective. This book places the debate concerning the future of public education in a meaningful framework that allows the reader to ask new questions and seek genuine solutions. Using the latest research as the basis for discussion, this book provides a fresh look at the growing and politically volatile charter school movement. The authors present the most balanced analysis to date of the movement that is changing the landscape of American education.

Contents:

Prologue: faith versus reason in educational reform. Charter schools: created in the image of their founders. The charter school promise. The politics of hope and despair

The landscape of charter schools. The educational and social context of the charter school movement. How charter schools work. Turning dreams into reality: building a charter school. The many faces of charter schools: six states, six scenarios. Projections versus actuals: have charter schools fulfilled the promise. Conclusion

The social and political geology of charter schools

Postscript: the goodness of America

an education for democracy. Curriculum as stewardship. The goodness of America.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 181-188) and index.

ISBN:

0813366313

OCLC:

49283703