Podcast: Groundbreaking study “A Place Called School” retains relevance 35 years on
When “A Place Called School” was published in 1984, the largest on-scene study of U.S. schools ever conducted laid out an ambitious agenda for redesigning schools piece-by-piece, with close partnership among educators and families as the most meaningful way to improve school.
The groundbreaking study by the late ߺ ߺ faculty member John Goodlad visited 1,000 classrooms nationwide to talk with teachers, students, administrators, parents and other community members.
In a new podcast, UW faculty members Elham Kazemi and Cap Peck discuss how challenges pointed out in the study continue to impact schools today and the current relevance of Goodlad’s ideas for strengthening partnerships between schools and communities.
Kazemi, Geda and Phil Condit Professor in Math and Science Education, is nationally recognized for her work designing professional learning experiences that create vibrant intellectual communities for students and teachers. Peck, professor of education, studies issues of policy and practice in teacher education and has a background in special education.
“[A] really big point that Goodlad makes is that school improvement isn’t about driving change through policy,” said Kazemi. “You don’t do change to people, communities have to engage themselves in thinking about what they want schools to be like for their children, because he thinks about the school, especially, as being the unit of improvement and that still really resonates with me.”
On March 18, UW ߺ will celebrate the 35th anniversary of Goodlad’s seminal study during EduTalks: A Place Called School. Education researchers and practitioners will discuss how teachers, students, administrators, parents, communities and researchers are coming together to renew and meaningfully improve how young people experience school during the event at Sartori Elementary School in Renton. .
to listen to more interviews with researchers, practitioners, community leaders and policymakers who are working to transform inequitable systems of education and make learning come alive for all students.
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Dustin Wunderlich, Director of Marketing and Communications
206-543-1035, dwunder@uw.edu