The Struggle for Change The Story of One School

Originally published in 1994. The story of Hansel and Gretel is familiar to many people. Most believe that the witch was wicked. But has this issue ever been seriously challenged? In the Introduction to this book, Marvin Wideen describes the day he saw this well-known fairy story being taught and through it draws us along a path of education reform in Lakeview School, British Columbia, and shows how, by this process of reform, the school changed from within. He considers the ideology supporting educational change, what change means to those who undertake it, and how the experience relates to the larger social and political context. The book effectively demonstrates that change will always create anxiety; needs careful and sensitive implementation, and occurs in isolation or as a result of activity within a larger context.

Preface 1. Introduction 2. The Background Context: Promises and Problems 3. The Story of One School 4. The Substance of the Change 5. The People who Tried to Change what they Taught 6. The Unit of Change 7. Factors at Work 8. Reflections and Implications. Bibliography. Appendix A: One Student’s Story. Appendix B: Events, Changes and Influences Involved in the Project at Lakeview School. Appendix C: Report of Wendy Strachan. Appendix D: Notes on the Methodology

Wideen, M. F.