Dennis L. Shirley

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Campion Hall
Room 210

617.552.4180

EDUCATION

Ed.D., Harvard University

EXPERTISE/INTERESTS

Models of community organizing for school reform; history of education

HONORS/PUBLICATIONS/PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

books

Valley Interfaith and School Reform: Organizing for Power in South Texas (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002)

Community Organizing for Urban School Reform (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997)

The Politics of Progressive Education: The Odenwaldschule in Nazi Germany (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992)

chapters and articles

Promoting Participatory Democracy Through Community Organizing, in Francine P. Peterman, Ed., Partnering to Prepare Urban Teachers:  A Call To Activism (New York: Peter Lang, 2007)

From Radical Visions to Messy Realities:  Complexities of Urban Teacher Education and the Preparation of Teacher Educators, In Francine P. Peterman, Ed., Partnering to Prepare Urban Teachers:  A Call to Activism (New York:  Peter Lang, 2007)

Community Organizing and No Child Left Behind, in Marion Orr, Ed., Transforming the City:  Community Organizing and the Challenge of Political Change (Manhattan, KS:  University Press of Kansas, 2007,

Community Organizing and Teacher Education, in Mary E. Finn and Patrick Finn eds., Teacher Education with an Attitude (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2007)

Data-Driven to Distraction: Why American Educators Need a Reform Alternative-And Where they Might Look to Find It, with Andy Hargreaves, Education Week, vol. 26, no. 4, October 4, 2006, 32-33

The Massachusetts Coalition for Teacher Quality and Student Achievement: An Introduction, Excellence and Equity in Education, vol. 39, no. 1, February 2006, 4-14

Bringing the Community Back in: Change, Accomodation, and Contestation, in a School and University Partnership, with Afra Hersi, Elizabeth MacDonald, Maria Teresa Sanchez, Connie Scandone, Charles Skidmore, and Patrick Tutwiler, Excellence and Equity in Education vol. 39, no. 1, February 2006, 27-36

Boundary Spanning Urban Teacher Preparation: Complex Processes and Outcomes from the Massachusetts Coalition for Teacher Quality and Student Achievement, in Kenneth Howey, ed., Boundary Spanners: A Key to Success in Urban P-16 University-School Partnerships (Washington, DC: American Association of State Colleges and Universities, 2006), 90-126

Growing Teacher Leadership in the Urban Context: The Power of Partnerships, with Elizabeth MacDonald, in Kenneth R. Howey, Linday M. Post, and Nancy L. Zimpher, eds., Recruiting, Preparing and Retaining Teachers for Uran Schools (Washington, DC: American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, 2006), 125-144

Developing Culturally Responsive Teachers Through Community-Based Collaboratives, Higher Education in the World 2006: The Financing of Universities (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2006), pp. 244-247.

Street-Level Democrats: Realizing the Potential of School, University, and Community Coalitions, in The Education Forum, vol. 70, no. 2, 2006, pp. 116-122.

Transforming Urban Education through the Massachusetts Coalition for Teacher Quality and Student Achievement, in Lauri Johnson, Mary E. Finn, and Rebecca Lewis, eds., Urban Education with an Attitude (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2005)

Excellence in Schools of Education: An Oxymoron?,” with Mary M. Brabeck, in Phi Delta Kappan, vol. 84, no. 5, January 2003, pp. 368-372.

“The Case That Won’t Go Away: Besieged Institutions and the Massachusetts Teacher Tests,” with Larry Ludlow and Camilia Rosca, in Educational Policy and Analysis Archives, vol. 10, no. 50, December 2002.

“Faith-Based Organizations, Community Development, and the Reform of Public Schools,” Peabody Journal of Education, vol. 76, no. 2, 2002, pp. 222-239.

“Faith-Based Organizations and the Reform of Public Education: Promises and Perils,” in E.J. Dionne, Jr., and Ming Hsu Chen, eds., Sacred Places, Civic Purposes: Should Government Help Faith-Based Charity? (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2001), pp. 176-190.

“Linking Community Organizing and School Reform: A Comparative Analysis,” in Robert Crowson and William Boyd, eds., Community Development and School Reform (New York: Elsevier, 2001), pp. 139-170.

“Patience and Politics: Alliance Schools Develop Parental Leadership,” Shelterforce, July/August 2001, vol. 23, no. 4, pp. 8-24.

"Community Organizing for Parental Engagement: The Educational Collaboratives of the Texas Industrial Areas Foundation," in Robert H. Wilson, ed., Public Policy and Community: Activism and Governance in Texas (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1997)

"La résistence pédagogique. Paul Geheeb et l'école de l'Odenwald sous le Nazisme," in Daniel Hameline, Jürgen Helmchen, and Jürgen Oelkers, eds., L'Éducation Nouvelle et leíenjeux de son histoire. Actes du colloque international des Archives Institut Jean-Jacques Rousseau (Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1995), pp. 105-116 (translation)

"Radikaler Humanismus: Die Lebensarbeit von Paul und Edith Geheeb in der Odenwaldschule und in der Ecole d'Humanité," Die Reformpädagogik auf den Kontinenten, Hermann Röhrs and Volker Lenhart, eds., (Frankfurt: Peter Lang, 1994), pp. 249-258

"Promising Practices in the Social Studies," Promising Practices in Teaching Social Responsibility, Sheldon Berman and Phyllis LaFarge, eds., (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1993), pp. 163-181

"Impressions of a School Reform in the Year of German Unification: The Team/Small Group Model," From Two to One: Impressions of German Unification (Bonn: Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, 1992), pp. 159-178

"When Did New England Women Acquire Literacy?" with Joel Perlmann, The William and Mary Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 3, 1991, pp. 50-67

"A Critical Review and Appropriation of Pierre Bourdieuís Analysis of Social and Cultural Reproduction," Journal of Education, vol. 168, no. 2, 1986, pp. 96-112

"Reproduction, Contestation, and Political Theater: Reflections on Three Productions," Journal of Education, vol. 168, no. 1, 1986, pp. 93-104

recent conference papers

“All Communities Left Behind?  How New School Accountability and Performance Regimes Undermine Sustainable Civic Capacity in Recent US Reforms,“ American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, New York, New York, March 2008

Community Organizing und Bildungswandel,” Schools in Societies of Immigration: International Perspectives in Research and Practice Conference, Freie Universität Berlin, February 2008

“Perspektiven der LehrerInnenausbildung in Hinblick auf die Anforderungen einer globaliserten Gesellschaft,”  Symposium on the Future of University-based Teacher Education, University of Vienna, Austria, November 2007

“Excelencia in la Formación Docente en los Estados Unidos:  Un Terreno Disputado,” Research Seminar, University of Barcelona, Spain, June 2007

“Unintended Consequences of the Accountability Movement in the US and the UK,” Freudenberg Foundation, Weinheim, Germany, June 2007

“Recent Research Findings on Turning Around Struggling Schools in the United States,” International Symposium of the Interdisciplinary Dortmund Research Group on Youth, Schools, and Education, June 2007

“Teaching Parent Power:  The Challenge of Integrating Community Organizing into Teacher Education,” American Educational Research Association, Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, April 2007

“Changing Conceptions of Educational Quality in Community Organizing,” American Educational Research Association, Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois, April 2007

“American Perspectives on German Traditions of Educational Theory and Research,” German Society for Educational Science, Hildesheim, Germany, March 2007

“Mindful Innovation, Mindful Teaching,” International Education Summit, Boston, Massachusetts, November 2006

“Community Organizing for Educational Change:  Past Illusions, Future Prospects,” International Invitational Symposium, St. Patrick’s College, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland, July 2006

“The Mindful Teacher:  A Research Agenda,” American Educational Research Association, Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, April 2006

“No Child Left Behind and Community Organizing,” American Educational Research Association, Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, April 2006

“Community Organizing, Urban Education, and Social Change,” American Educational Research Association, Annual Meeting, San Francisco, California, April 2006

“Reinventing Teacher Education:  Lessons from the ‘Teachers for a New Era’ Project at Boston College,” Holmes Partnership Annual Conference, February 2006

“Collaboration for Quality Teacher Preparation Through the Higher Education Act, Title II Grants Program,” American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, February 2005

“Teacher Education and Community Organizing,” Second International Summit for Leadership in Education,  Boston,  Massachusetts, November 2004

“Involvement of Faith-Based Organizations in Community Development and Urban School Reform,” 2004 Urban Schools Conference:  New Models for Urban Improvement, John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy, Ohio State University, April 2004

“Critical Appraisal of What We’ve Learned from Collaborative Practice:  Massachusetts Coalition for Teacher Quality and Student Achievement,” American Educational Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, April 2004

“Transforming Urban Education Through the Massachusetts Coalition for Teacher Quality and Student Achievement,” American Educational Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, April 2004

“Successes and Challenges of Multifaceted Collaboration Within a School-University Partnership,” American Educational Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, California, April 2004

“Doing Dewey:  The Practices of Deliberative Democracy for Improving Teacher Quality and Student Achievement,”  American Association of Colleges of Teacher Educators Annual Meeting, Chicago,  Illinois,  February 2004

“Building Communities of Inquiry and Practice:  Maximizing Learning in the Social Contexts of Education,” American Association of Colleges of Teacher Educators Annual Meeting, Chicago,  Illinois,  February 2004

“Transforming Teacher Education to Serve Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students,” American Association of Colleges of Teacher Educators Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois,  February 2004

“Requisite Variety and Collaboration in Teacher Education,” American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, April 2003

“Street-Level Bureaucrats and the Massachusetts Teacher Tests: A Study in Unanticipated Consequences of State and Federal Policies,” American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, April 2003

"Challenges of Community Engagement in Urban Teacher Preparation,” American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, April 2003

“Promoting Participatory Democracy through Community Organizing,” American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, April 2003

“Building Civic Capacity in Urban Schools and Communities,” Holmes Partnership Annual Conference, Washington, DC, February 2003

“K-16 Partnerships Link Staff Development and Student Achievement,” National Staff Development Council Annual Conference, Boston Massachusetts, December 2002

“Enhancing Quality Teaching and Learning through the Massachusetts Coalition K-16 Partnerships,” National Staff Development Council Annual Conference, Boston, Massachusetts, December 2002

“The Massachusetts Coalition for Teacher Quality and Student Achievement,” Holmes Partnership Annual Conference, San Antonio, Texas, January 2002

“From Parent Involvement to Parent Engagement: Lessons from Texas’ Alliance Schools,” Industrial Areas Foundation Conference on School Reform, Los Angeles, California, July 2001

“Building Communities of Inquiry and Practice in the Massachusetts Coalition for Teacher Quality and Student Achievement,” American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, April 2001

“Community Development and School Reform: A New Challenge to Site-Level Leadership,” American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, April 2001

“The New Private Universities in Germany,” Annual Meeting, German Chancellors Scholars, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation,Washington, DC, April 2001