The Lifeworld of Leadership: Creating Culture, Community, and Personal Meaning in Our Schools.

Thomas J. Sergiovanni. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000. 240 pp. $29. In an age in which standards are imposed from above and assessment means above-the-norm achievement on standardized tests, Sergiovanni chooses to redefine accountability by presenting another perspective of how schools can work and be judged effectively. He links leadership directly to the construction of meaning, the facilitation of learning, and the development of collective responsibility. He uses Jurgen Habermas's terminology of lifeworld and systemsworld as interdependent domains. The lifeworld represents a local school's unique culture, traditions, rituals, and norms. The systemsworld provides management designs, strategic and tactical actions, policies, and procedures.

Although both the lifeworld and the systemsworld are necessary, the lifeworld needs to inform and determine the systemsworld. When the systemsworld is the generative force in the school, the lifeworld in fact becomes "colonized." Sergiovanni examines the increased colonization pattern and suggests alternative accountability measures that recognize state and local goals and standards. He develops lifeworld / systemsworld balance by providing a wonderful flow of educational theories and explanations with real-life examples. He gives examples of schools where decisions on standards, policies, and regulations are made from afar without consulting parents, teachers, or students, and often have catastrophic effects when implemented.

Sergiovanni addresses diversity in a refreshing way. This community of difference is "based on the ethics of acceptance of others with respect, justice, and appreciation, and on peaceful cooperation within difference" (p. 69). His notion of the school as a democratic entity within a democratic society drives his argument for a closer examination of what standards are and how they are measured. Standards and standardized tests are neither scientific nor precise. By their very nature, they are high stakes, as they create winners and losers.

Furthermore, the author says such tests are "subjective reflections of the preferences of those who set them" (p. 81). Sergiovanni suggests using layered standards and assessments in which the state and the local school district share power and accountability. For example, a state would be responsible for standards and aligned measures of skills. The local school board, parents, teachers, and students would share responsibility for establishing standards, as well as for assessing a commnity's expectations for achievement in different areas of the curriculum. "Since school districts and schools within them differ, it should be expected that many of these standards will differ as one moves from district to district and from school to school" (p. 90). The author's explorations for alternatives include an array of quality indicators, including a "whole school quality review process" (p. 173) that involves the school itself, along with external visitors.

Sergiovanni devotes a full chapter to teachers themselves, reminding us that they are the professionals who ultimately determine the effectiveness of the school. He notes that while the United States invests little in preparation of or support for teachers, it is professional teachers who understand principles of teaching and learning, and who can act deliberately within a given context.

Sergiovanni's writing style is clear and unpretentious. He documents his arguments with the integration of theory and practice. Sergiovanni shows democracy at work in a way that makes theories accessible to all. Besides being a good read, Sergiovanni's book advances his own thinking about school effectiveness and advances hope for those of us working to educate all children and youth. Reviewed by Joan M. Lakebrink, Professor, School of Education, DePaul University, Chicago