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"Different by Design shows how impoverished our discussion of educational choice and educational opportunity has become…. This book is a badly needed corrective."
—Gary Orfield, Harvard University"One of the most sensitive and insightful comparative ethnographies in the annals of sociology of education…. Different by Design, with its new Introduction, is to be rediscovered, read, and savored."
—From the series note by Aaron Pallas
"Anyone hoping to understand the politics of race and change in today’s schools would do well to model their questions and their analysis on Different by design."
—Linda McNeil, author of Contradictions of School Reform: Educational Costs of Standardized Testing
Back in print for use in your courses, this classic text features a new introduction by the author that situates the book in the context of present-day educational debates. This historic study analyzes the organizational and political pressures that combined to make three magnet schools distinctive social environments—a rare glimpse at the critical processes with which teachers and students in both "regular" schools and schools of choice must constantly struggle. In her new introduction, Metz discusses many of today’s hot topics, including school choice, curricular reform, and school equity. She also looks at what has transpired in the school district and the schools since her study was first published two decades ago. The depth of detail in these case studies, along with the clear and systematic discussion of each school in terms of the theoretical framework provided by the author, make this a sought-after textbook for educational policy and school organization courses.
