Finding space: Educational reforms in practice in an urban public school.
Item
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Title
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Finding space: Educational reforms in practice in an urban public school.
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Identifier
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AAI3311194
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identifier
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3311194
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Creator
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Tyner-Mullings, Alia Robeson.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Julia Wrigley
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Date
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2008
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, Organizational | Education, Sociology of | Education, Administration
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Abstract
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This dissertation analyzes Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS) and its positioning as an innovative educational institution at the forefront of a movement to change the structure of education. CPESS has been considered by supporters to be an example of a school which has the potential to create social change. However, despite wide acclaim in the ten years after its founding, the school began to decline in 1995.;Through the use of survey and interview methods with former CPESS students, teachers and administrators who were present during the first ten years of the school, the research demonstrated that CPESS was effective by some measures and not by others. The students of the school---mostly low-income, urban and minority students---applied to, were accepted and attended colleges at higher rates than similar students nationwide. However, perhaps unlike their traditional school counterparts, they seemed to struggle more in lecture courses that emphasized standardized tests and memorization.;Overall, much of the decline of CPESS can be attributed to external forces. Changes in educational policy as well as the availability of educational resources posed a serious threat to CPESS. Positive changes such as the spread of alternative schools had the latent dysfunction of recruiting away much of the leadership of the school---teachers, administrators, students and parents. CPESS, and the movement it created, played a major role in the transformation of the educational landscape to include small and alternative schools, particularly in urban areas.;In addition to its application to the sociology of education, this framework is significant because the process that the CPESS organization went through is not uncommon. Similar to the way in which the CPESS organization experienced dispersion as a result of its own success, other organizational structures have undergone similar disintegrations and eventually produced strong social movements and organizations that have outlived their parent organizations. This study both addresses questions about alternative education and suggests methodological approaches for analysis of organizations and movements.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
