When it comes to motivating people to learn, disadvantaged urban adolescents are usually perceived as a hard sell. Yet, in a recent MetLife survey, 89 percent of the low-income students claimed "I really want to learn" applied to them. What is it about the school environmentâ€"pedagogy, curriculum, climate, organizationâ€"that encourages or discourages engagement in school activities? How do peers, family, and community affect adolescents' attitudes towards learning? Engaging Schools reviews current research on what shapes adolescents' school engagement and motivation to learnâ€"including new findings on students' sense of belongingâ€"and looks at ways these can be used to reform urban high schools. This book discusses what changes hold the greatest promise for increasing students' motivation to learn in these schools. It looks at various approaches to reform through different methods of instruction and assessment, adjustments in school size, vocational teaching, and other key areas. Examples of innovative schools, classrooms, and out-of-school programs that have proved successful in getting high school kids excited about learning are also included.

Hammack has gathered a distinguished group to assess current reform efforts in their sociological and historical context, taking into account the vision of James B. Conanat, the major proponent of the comprehensive high schools. Contributors are: Mary Erina Driscoll, Joseph P. McDonald, Jeannie Oakes, John L. Rury, Roger Shouse, Amy Suart Wells.

Traces the development of the comprehensive high school model in the US, evaluating the influence of sociopolitical forces on - and historical interpretations of - the model. He assesses the impact of successive reform movements and offers recommendations for enhancing its effectiveness.

Produced in cooperation with the National Association of School Nurses, this text includes comprehensive coverage of the multiple facets of school nursing—from the foundations of practice and the roles and functions of a school nurse through episodic and chronic illness and behavioral issues, to legal issues and leading and managing within school settings. Written and edited by school nurses and pediatric experts, it features real-world-tested, best practices based on evidence and experience. There’s content here that you won’t find in other books, such as health assessments, individualized health plan development, mental health conditions including adolescent depression, contemporary legal issues, and current policy statements essential to school nursing.

This provocative new study of the American high school examines the historical debates about curriculum policy and also traces changes in the institution itself, as evidenced by what students actually studied. Contrary to conventional accounts, the authors argue that beginning in the 1930s, American high schools shifted from institutions primarily concerned with academic and vocational education to institutions mainly focused on custodial care of adolescents. Claiming that these changes reflected educators' racial, class, and gender biases, the authors offer original suggestions for policy adjustments that may lead to greater educational equality for our ever-growing and ever more diverse population of students.