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The study reported here characterizes
high-capacity schools in terms
of the elements that contribute
to fostering and sustaining
instructional change, providing a new model for
thinking about resource allocation
and leadership roles and suggests
(a) Resources flow through multiple levels
of the school organization and in
multiple directions.
(b) Material, human, and social resources
each play a role in school and district
efforts to support change.
(c) Teacher professional development is an
essential engine for change. Resources include MATERIAL RESOURCES ? things that
can be bought, exchanged, disseminated,
or shared (e.g., computers,
teaching tools, time, compensation),
HUMAN RESOURCES ? qualities of
individuals that can be exchanged
among groups of people (e.g.,
teachers? expertise, understanding of
students? thinking, knowledge of
content domains, insights about
cultural and social aspects of
classroom group interactions), and
SOCIAL RESOURCES ? attributes of
roles, relationships, or methods of
communication that are found within
a group. Social resources, such as
trust and collaboration, create a sense
of community. They result from the
exchange of human and material
resources when individuals and
groups negotiate common purposes
and develop shared norms.
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