GARDENS OR GRAVEYARDS - SCIENCE-EDUCATION REFORM AND SCHOOL CULTURE

This case study describes what happened when two lead teachers in a st atewide reform project tried to change science teaching in their schoo ls. Instead of using traditional criteria for leadership, we view thei r work in the context of their schools' cultures and use Rosenholtz's (1991) concepts of egalitarianism and isolation to analyze how those c ultures contributed to and obstructed reform. Five themes illustrate t his model of teacher leadership and the first stirrings of school chan ge: reform as a ''science look,'' change through parental involvement, competing reforms, change through a ''sideways door,'' and change thr ough public events. The study shows the importance of patience in refo rm implementation and the need for sensitive study of early change wit hin school contexts. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.