Change without Difference: School Restructuring in Historical Perspective

In this article, Jesse Goodman examines the current "third wave" school restructuring movement and its attempt to reform U.S. schools based on the perceived needs of the information age. Goodman places this school reform movement in historical context and explores the way it emerged from the interrelated fields of educational technology, instructional design, and systems theory. Goodman argues that four core principles that underlie the third wave school restructuring movement — social functionalism, efficiency and productivity, individualism, and expertism — will likely reinforce existing school practices and values instead of substantively transforming teaching and learning in U.S. classrooms.