Thomas Pedroni, associate professor of Curriculum and Instruction in the College of Education was quoted in The Progressive, "Investigations unearth systemic corruption in K-12 school leadership""and students and teachers lose out"
The Progressive, 11/5
Investigations unearth systemic corruption in K-12 school leadership-and students and teachers lose out
By Jeff Bryant
Revelations of corruption in business and government are becoming an everyday affair, with example after example of people in leadership positions using elevated status for personal gain rather than for the public good. The deluge of stories about lying and cheating politicians, industry lobbyists, and corporate executives can lead to easy cynicism about how things work in business and politics. But what about when corruption flourishes in public schools? Public school districts will continue to be vulnerable prey for careerists and exploitative businesses as long as "education is still viewed as a gold mine," Thomas Pedroni, an associate professor of curriculum studies at Wayne State University, told Our Schools. Pedroni laid much of the blame for the growing corruption in the school leadership arena on an education reform movement that has exhorted schools to operate more like businesses and mimic corporate leadership hiring processes. Even when opportunistic school leaders and exploitative businesses have horrible academic results, as they often do, they still make a lot of money in a short amount of time, Pedroni warned. And taxpayers-and school children-are worse off for it.