Karen Seashore Louis is Professor, Department of Educational Policy and Administration, at the University of Minnesota. She has more than 30 years experience of studying school improvement.

A selection of key works by Karen Seashore Louis, one of the foremost thinkers and researchers in studying school improvement, this book presents a variety of research-based results from studies conducted over the last twenty-five years.

Foreword Andy Hargreaves and Kathryn Riley Part 1. The Process of Change and Innovation 1. Knowledge Use and School Improvement 2. Permanent Innovations: Theoretical and administrative issues in institutionalizing change 3. Planning Improvement Efforts 4. Reforming Schools: Does the myth of Sisyphus apply? 5. Beyond 'Managed Change': Rethinking how schools improve 6. Organizational Learning and High Performance Learning Communities Part 2. Teachers in Changing Schools 7. Cultivating Teacher Engagement: Breaking the iron law of social class 8. Effects of Teacher Quality of Work Life on Commitment and Sense of Efficacy 9. Does Professional Community Affect the Classroom? Teacher' work and student work in restructuring schools 10. The Problem of Reform in Urban High Schools: A tale of two teams Part 3. Organizational Perspectives on Innovation and Change 11. Adoption Revisited: Decision-making and school district policy 12. Creating Community in Reform: Images of organizational learning in urban schools 13. A Culture Framework for Education: Defining quality values for U.S. high schools 14. Organizational Culture and Change: The impact of mental models, professional community, and interdisciplinary teaming on teacher practice Part 4. Educational Knowledge in Action 15. Policy Research in a Policy Vacuum 16. Improving Urban and Disadvantaged Schools: Dissemination and utilization perspectives 17. Reconnecting Knowledge Utilization and School Improvement: Two steps forward, one step back