Schools, Communities, and the Courts: A Dialogic Approach to Education Reform

Abstract

Dissatisfaction with student achievement, problems of educational governance, and value clashes in schools have embroiled students, parents, and educators in controversy and confrontation in recent decades. Many of these conflicts have been brought before the courts, and some have resulted in extensive judicial intervention in educational affairs. This intervention has had mixed results because courts often cannot provide effective, long-lasting solutions to deep-rooted educational controversies.