Bringing Context into Effective Schools Research: Urban-Suburban Differences

Abstract

This study extends a long line of research on factors that promote or undermine school effectiveness. Taking as the criteria two dimensions of effective internal organization, teacher community and principal leadership, the article examines effects of school context variables generally excluded from prior research. It further explores the possibility that models of context effects on internal school conditions differ for urban, suburban, and rural schools, given substantial differences in their social and organizational environments. The findings show distinct patterns for schools in urban, suburban, and rural settings and challenge researchers to take into account the diversity among U.S. schools in their research