Improve Schools and Transform Education In order for educational systems to change, we must reevaluate deep-seated beliefs about learning, teaching, schooling, and race that perpetuate inequitable opportunities and outcomes. Hatch, Corson, and Gerth van den Berg challenge the narrative when it comes to the "grammar of schooling"--or the conventional structures, practices, and beliefs that define educational experiences for so many children―to cast a new vision of what school could be.
The book addresses current systemic problems and solutions as it:
- Highlights global examples of successful school change
- Describes strategies that improve educational opportunities and performance
- Explores promising approaches in developing new learning opportunities
- Outlines conditions for supporting wide-scale educational improvement
This provocative book approaches education reform by highlighting what works, while also demonstrating what can be accomplished if we redefine conventional schools. We can make the schools we have more efficient, more effective, and more equitable, all while creating powerful opportunities to support all aspects of students’ development.
"You won’t find a better book on system change in education than this one. We learn why schools don’t change; how they can improve; what it takes to change a system; and, in the final analysis, the possibilities of system change. Above all, The Education We Need renders complexity into clarity as the writing is so clear and compelling. A powerful read on a topic of utmost importance."
~Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus, OISE/Universtiy of Toronto
"I cannot recommend this book highly enough – Tom tackles long-standing and emerging educational issues in new ways with an impressive understanding of the challenging complexities, but also feasible possibilities, for ensuring excellence and equity for all students."
~Carol Campbell, Associate Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
Thomas Hatch (@tch960) is a Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University and Director of the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST). His research includes studies of school improvement efforts at the school, district, and national levels. His latest book, The Education We Need for a Future We Can’t Predict (Corwin, 2021), focuses on efforts to create more powerful learning experiences both inside and outside schools in developed and developing contexts. He is also the founder and managing editor of internationalednews.com. He previously served as a Senior Scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. His other books include Managing to Change: How Schools can Survive (and Sometimes Thrive) in Turbulent Times (Teachers College Press, 2009); Into the Classroom: Developing the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (Teachers College Press, 2005); and School Reform Behind the Scenes (Teachers College Press, 1999). Learn more about Tom and keep up with his latest blog posts at thomashatch.org.
Jordan Corson is an assistant professor of education and affiliated faculty member of immigration studies at Stockton University. He recently completed his doctorate at Teachers College, Columbia University, where he defended his dissertation, Undocumented Educations: Everyday Educational Practices of Recently Immigrated Youth Beyond Inclusion/Exclusion. Jordan has published research in the fields of education and philosophy, educational change, and teacher education. His research takes up ethnographic and historical methods to interrogate issues of transnational migration and curriculum studies through anti-colonial and abolitionist praxis.
Sarah Gerth van den Berg is a doctoral candidate at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research explores the design and theory of curriculum involving nontraditional spaces, materials, and processes. She has published in the fields of curriculum studies, participatory arts-based practices, and out of school learning.
