ABSTRACT
The case of Lakeview provides an example of change from within which saw the school move from a traditional language arts program to an approach which some call whole language'. The experience at Lakeview illustrates that most of the anxiety about changes in the school occurred around subject matter areas and how best to improve them. The special set of circumstances at Lakeview, point to the importance of the context in which changes in schools occurs. The research base does not appear to be sufficiently secure to make the many applications it does to the complicated social system of the school. The school improvement literature has focused on the general conditions that comprise a healthy school. The implications for teachers and principals who are struggling to improve their schools is to assume a sceptical stance on the literature on school improvement, school effectiveness, school restructuring, and the host of other fields that spring up each year.
