Relational Knowing in the Reform of Educational Cultures

Drawing on examples of collaborative projects in two urban Professional Development Schools, the authors argue against educational reform based solely on curricular standards. They advocate the resources and structures to establish critical relationships enabling educators to learn about themselves as they learn with others, thereby creating the opportunity for the understanding and development of different perspectives. Analyzing relationships characterizing contrastive PDS collaborations, they suggest that relational knowing—or knowledge of curriculum and instruction, knowledge of self and other, and knowledge of critical action—must be in place before school and university reform can occur.