Bøker av Larry Cuban

With this significant new work, Larry Cuban provides a unique and insightful perspective on the bridging of the long-standing and well-known gap between teachers and administrators. Drawing on the literature of the field as well as personal experience, Cuban recognizes the enduring structural relationship within school organizations inherited by teachers, principals, and superintendents, and calls for a renewal of their sense of common purpose regarding the role of schooling in a democratic society.Cuban analyzes the dominant images (moral and technical), roles (instructional, managerial, and political), and contexts (classroom, school, and district) within which teachers, principals, and superintendents have worked over the last century. He concludes that when these powerful images and roles are wedded to the structural conditions in which schooling occurs, "managerial behavior" results, thus narrowing the potential for more thoughtful, effective, and appropriate leadership. Cuban then turns to consider this situation with respect to the contemporary movement for school reform, identifying significant concerns both for policymakers and practitioners.This honest, thought-provoking book by a leading scholar, writer, and practitioner in the field represents an invaluable resource-an insightful introduction for those just entering the field and a fresh, new perspective for those long-familiar with its complexities. Cuban's ethnographic approach to the development of his own career and viewpoint, as well as his highly readable style, make this a work of lasting value.

In the first edition of this seminal study, Larry Cuban presented the last century of American teaching as one of a stable teacher-centered pedagogy. Within this framework, Cuban explored how major school reform efforts to alter classroom teaching often resulted in modest shifts in pedagogy in elementary schools and even less change in secondary schools.Now, in this second edition, How Teachers Taught: Constancy and Change in American Classrooms, 1890-1990, Larry Cuban returns to his pioneering inquiry into the history of teaching practice in the United States, responds to criticisms, and incorporates the scholarship of the last ten years. While not abandoning his basic thesis of the remarkable continuity in teacher-based instruction, Cuban now examines more closely the phenomenon of "hybrids" of student-centered and teacher-centered pedagogy, and finds many instances of classroom change sufficient to give pause to those who see futility in classroom reform. The author looks closely at socioeconomic contexts and the evolution of curriculum content. In the final chapter, Cuban directly assesses the implications of his work for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers. Historians, sociologists, and educators will also find powerful relevancy to their work, and the general reader will join in an exciting search for historical realities.

One of the most respected voices in American education demonstrates that when teachers are not given a say in how new technology might reshape schools, students and teachers use that technology far less in the classroom than they do at home, and that teachers who use computers for instruction do so infrequently and unimaginatively.

Focusing on three diverse school districts (Arlington, Virginia; Denver, Colorado; and Oakland, California), this book offers a portrayal of how teachers teach. It looks at a range of workable pedagogical options educators are using to engage students while satisfying parents and policymakers - options that succeed by creating hybrid practices.

Larry Cuban offers educators tools to make sense of the daily complexities they encounter in their work. Using case studies and examples from the workplace, he provides a practical framework for indentifying, defining and coping with both puzzling problems and tension-filled dilemmas.

Cuban takes a richly detailed history of the Austin, Texas, school district, under Superintendent Pat Forgione, to ask the question that few politicians and school reformers want to touch: given effective use of widely welcomed reforms, can school policies and practices put all children at the same academic level?

In this provocative new book, Cuban takes aim at the alluring cliche that schools should be more businesslike, and shows that in its long history in business-minded America, no one has shown that a business model can be successfully applied to education.