Gardens or graveyards: Science education reform and school culture

Abstract

This case study describes what happened when two lead teachers in a statewide reform project tried to change science teaching in their schools. Instead of using traditional criteria for leadership, we view their work in the context of their schools' cultures and use Rosenholtz's (1991) concepts of egalitarianism and isolation to analyze how those cultures contributed to and obstructed reform. Five themes illustrate this model of teacher leadership and the first stirrings of school change: reform as a “science look,” change through parental involvement, competing reforms, change through a “sideways door,” and change through public events. The study shows the importance of patience in reform implementation and the need for sensitive study of early change within school contexts. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 757–775, 1998.