Abstract
Excerpt: The product of Charlotte Ryan’s dissertation at the University ofMassachusetts is The Open Partnership. Dr. Ryan’s long time efforts inthe PTA and service on a New England school board have convinced herthat chiefly through collaborative efforts the schools can be saved. Shecomes to this conclusion after reviewing the evils of hierarchic gover-nance patterns in the schools that have fostered divisive and debilitatingrivalries and have &dquo;made difficult the natural interest of parents in theirchildren’s education, frequently placed students and teachers in adver-sary positions, and brought legislatures into more and more regulation ofschools.&dquo;’
