This book offers an alternative approach to secondary school organization. In line with the definition formulated by John Dewey's philosophy of education, the new approach aims to promote productive learning. The book shows the way to extricate schools from their past in order to respond more successfully to the requirements of the information age in which we are living today.

The chapters treat the primary components of teachers' work in schools in light of systems' theory as opposed to the organization of instruction prevalent in today's schools that is designed in light of bureaucratic theory. The book demonstrates how the current principles of organization impede the change and improvement of instruction and by necessity create boredom and the routinization of teachers' and students' activity in schools.

Zusammenfassung
A major problem confronting schools is that many students are turned off from learning and are bored. Boredom is destructive of learning. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) initiative of the US government (2001) stemmed from the claim accompanied by sharp debates pro and con that many schools in the United States fail to achieve basic educational objectives, and that many schools are doing a poor job for a wide variety of reasons and surely not just because of student boredom (Brigham, Gustashaw, Wiley, & Brigham, 2004; Essex, 2006; Goodman, Shannon, Goodman, & Rapoport, 2004; Sunderman, Tracey Jr. , Kim, & Orfield, 2004). The model of school organization and instruction presented here seeks to provide an effective plan for significant improvement in secondary school education, one of whose central aims is to make students genuinely engaged in what they are learning. The NCLB legislation emphasizes, inter alia, the need for school improvement. Without it one cannot reasonably anticipate improvement over current levels in student engagement in learning and in academic achievement. The NCLB literature frequently employs the term school improvement to refer to the quality of the teachers, such as their academic credentials, instructional competence, and their knowledge of subject matter. Similarly, school restructuring is said to include steps such as transforming the school into a charter school, replacing the teaching staff, or inviting a private company to administer the school. The use of those terms in this work is distinctly different.

Inhalt
Two Models of School Structure.- The School as a Community; The School in the Community.- Student Engagement in Learning.- Class Size and School Size.- The Integrated Curriculum.- Duration of Class Sessions and the Problem of Teaching Method.- Student Assessment.- A Systems Approach to Organization and Instruction in Schools.