Schools That Learn (Updated and Revised)

First published in 2000, SCHOOLS THAT LEARN introduced the groundbreaking Fifth Discipline organizational principles to the world of education. This comprehensive revision addresses the increasing challenges facing our educational system and presents practical advice on how schools can use the principles of organizational learning to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world. Few would argue that schools today are in trouble. In the age of "No Child Left Behind," when students, teachers, parents, and school boards are weighed down by increasing pressures, standardized tests are being used as "quick fixes," school violence is growing, advances in science and technology threaten to outpace teachers' effectiveness, and the average tenure of a school district superintendent is less than three years, SCHOOLS THAT LEARN offers much-needed advice on how we can overcome these persistent problems that threaten our educational system. Drawing upon experience and advice from prominent educators, teachers, principals, business and community leaders, parents, and students from across the country, the authors offer clear guidelines for how to implement the principles of organizational learning in the classroom, and explain why these practices work. The book features stories and anecdotes from the classroom and the community; charts, tables and diagrams to illustrate learning principles; individual and team exercises for both educators and students; and recommendations for related books, articles, Web sites, and other resources. This updated and revised edition of a decisive and influential work is invaluable for everyone involved in a dialogue about how to better educate our children in the twenty-first century.

Peter Senge is the author of The Fifth Discipline, "one of the seminal management books of the past 75 years" Harvard Business Review. Together with Arthur D. Little executive Bryan Smith and editorial director Art Kleiner, he is coauthor of The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook and The Dance of Change.

Nelda Cambron-McCabe, professor at the Department of Educational Leadership at Miami University (Ohio), is a nationally known expert on school reform and leadership; Timothy Lucas, a public school superintendent in New Jersey, is a recognized innovator of systems-thinking approaches for schools; and Janis Dutton is an education writer, consultant, and community activist.