This book begins with the claims of policymakers and explores charter schools at each stage of the policymaking process, from legislation to implementation. Powers carefully and thoroughly examines how features of schools' policy contexts shape the ways that charter school reform unfolds at schools, providing a nuanced portrait of the schools participating in this much discussed and little understood reform movement. While policymakers are often prone to making sweeping claims about the efficacy of charter schools, in practice charter school reform is much more complex. By drawing on an extensive and compelling range of data, Powers assesses the validity of policymakers claims.

"This is a very ambitious undertaking by Powers! It will be a serious and comprehensive contribution to the knowledge base on charter schools, which is sorely needed these days." - Gary Miron, Ph.D., Professor of Education, Western Michigan University

"Powers has convincingly demonstrated the necessity of examining any education reform from multiple points of view: the talk that spawns it; the local environment in which it is implemented; and the broader policy environment that shapes and limits it. Taking charter schools as the focus of her analysis, the message of Charter Schools:From Reform Imagery to Reform Reality is both a warning and a promise: whoever seeks to understand the complexities of education reform must be prepared to look across a wide and complex policy landscape." - Gene V Glass, Author of Fertilizers, Pills & Magnetic Strips: The Fate of Public Education in America

"Powers offers a useful overview of the national charter school scene, including the development of legal frameworks for charter-prominent states such as Arizona and Michigan. Using national data sets from 1999-2000 and 2005-06, Powers presents useful information, including the characteristics of those who attend and work in charters, variations in program offerings and management, and more." - CHOICE

Autorentext
Jeanne M. Powers is Assistant Professor in the Division of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Arizona State University.

Inhalt
Charter Schools in the Reform Imagination The Landscape of Charter School Reform State Level Policy Dynamics Policy Implementation at the School Level Policy Dynamics Part I: Policy Contexts, School Foundings, and School Conflict Policy Dynamics Part II: Schools and Shifts in Accountability Policies Looking Nationally at Policy Talk Versus Policy Implementation