:
"Nothing I have read probes as deeply and insightfully into the difficulties of effecting significant change in schools as this straightforward, appropriately documented book by Barbara Benham Tye. Faced with the challenge of picking just one book to help people understand this phenomenon and its implications, I would unhesitatingly pick Hard Truths: Uncovering the Deep Structure of Schooling."
–John I. Goodlad, Institute for Educational Inquiry, Seattle, WA
"Tye carefully and readably shows us why deep changes are hard to accomplish. And the villains are often ‘us.’ No wonder some are looking for shortcuts. But in fact, we'll have to come back to tackling the ornery issues that Tye analyzes."
–Deborah Meier, Principal, Mission Hill School, Boston, MA
"Hard Truths is a grand multilevel book. It is at once macro and comprehensive, while being grounded and specific. It tackles the intractability of reform by going to the roots of the problem. In so doing, Hard Truths reveals deep insights. Benham Tye then gives us a basis for hope by setting out the conditions for moving forward."
–Michael Fullan, Dean of Education, OISE/University of Toronto
This indispensable volume covers such topics as:
- Events and ideas that have shaped American schools
- Conventional wisdom about schooling
- Media representations of schooling
- How institutional structures tend to work against change
- The relationship of school finance and fiscal limitations to school change
- Parental and community involvement in schooling
- The culture of teaching and the lives of teachers
- When school change is likely to succeed
Barbara Benham Tye is Professor of Curriculum and Foundations and Hassinger Chair in Education at Chapman University in Orange, California.
