Conditions for school reform: The views of urban high school teachers

This study explores conditions that lead urban high school teachers to voluntarily participate in school-wide reform programs. The study is significant because of the leadership roles assigned to teachers by the current national and Massachusetts school reforms. Information was gathered through interviews with the teacher leaders of reform programs at three urban high schools in Eastern Massachusetts and a survey of all the teachers at the same schools. At the time of the study, each school was engaged in a reform project that incorporated recommendations from the leading national and Massachusetts reform reports. Six themes emerged from the interviews. The themes included: recognition of the social and academic needs of students; resources to meet the teachers\u27 immediate needs as well as the needs of the reform; time for teachers to participate and time for reforms to be implemented; opportunities for teachers to collaborate; teacher in-put in defining the problems and formulating solutions; and respect for teachers\u27 contributions. All full time teachers at three schools were asked to react to these six conditions. The teachers\u27 responses indicate that it is the collective impact and general climate created by the six conditions that influence their decisions to participate rather than any single condition. There is no significant difference between male and female respondents. Six recommendations are offered for future reform proposals. Reforms must make allowances for the collective histories of teachers and schools; address the most immediate needs of teachers; recognize the special concerns and interests of teachers regarding curricular, pedagogical, and student policies; provide a clear vision of their goals and the essential steps to reach those goals; and connect the research on school reform with the experiential base of teachers