ABSTRACT
Rustbelt schools are enmeshed in the totality of the globalised nation–state policy relations. Wholescale economic, cultural and social changes and economic, cultural, social and even foreign policy can be seen in the day-to-day life of schools. The histories of changing social, political, cultural, technological, economic and educational arrangements can come into view. A reasonable and achievable set of expectations of rustbelt schools should be adopted, not as a ‘second best’, but in recognition of their particular social place and conflicting tasks. The notion of a contingent curriculum and school might replace the ‘distributive curriculum’ and the ‘effective school’ with their fixed and unquestionable outcomes. The notion of contingency allows for change and for the production of new understandings about schooling. A holistic policy framework must get below the level of the region to smaller and more sensitive geographies. Community development processes that link together the local and the region are necessary.
