The Public Purpose of Education and Schooling

"I have been waiting for this book for a decade. In an age in which the national debate on school reform is concerned principally with tactics and process, this volume focuses on the most important of all questions. What is the purpose of school? How do we know if a school is working? The authors are the most highly regarded names in education. This is an important book for anyone interested in schooling in America today." -- Arthur Levine, president, Teachers College, Columbia University

Introduction: The Changing Purposes of Education and Schooling: A Look Back. CONCEPTS. 1. Public Schooling: Education for Democracy (Benjamin R. Barber). 2. The Meanings of? Public Education? (Theodore R. Sizer). 3. Education, Equity, and the Right to Learn (Linda Darling-Hammond). 4. On Restoring Public and Private Life (Gary D Fenstermacher). 5. Toward a Democratic Rhetoric of Schooling (Donna H. Kerr). 6. Democracy: Do We Really Want It? (Roger Soder). CONVERSATIONS. 7. Education for Civility and Civitas (Panel Discussion). 8. Prospects for Reform (Conversation with the Audience). A PUBLIC AGENDA? 9. Reprise and a Look Ahead (John I. Goodlad).