Charles Taylor Kerchner

Research Professor

Biography

Charles Kerchner is a research professor currently studying institutional change in public education. He and his colleagues have spent much of the last five years examining efforts to reform the Los Angeles Unified School District, and in their minds what is happening in Los Angeles is an apt case example for changes taking place in the entire institution of public education.

This work on institutional change in contained in two recently published books: Learning from L.A.: Institutional Change in American Public Education, and The Transformation of Great American School Districts: How Big Cities are Reshaping Public Education, both by Harvard Education Press. For more about professor Kerchner and his current work, and for conversation with him about it see: www.mindworkers.com.

In addition, he has continued a line of research into teacher unions and their implication for public education. In "Negotiating what Matters" (American Journal of Education) he and Julia Koppich argue that student achievement should be a required subject of negotiation. In "Charter Schools and Collective Bargaining" (Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy), Martin Malin and Kerchner advocate using charter law as a means of creating high performance work places for teachers.

For earlier work on teacher unions see: United Mind Workers: Teachers, Unions, and the Knowledge Society (1997) and its companion Taking Charge of Quality (1998), A Union of Professionals (1993), and The Changing Idea of A Teachers Union (1988).

Before coming to Claremont Graduate University in 1976, Kerchner was on the faculty at Northwestern University, were he received his Ph.D, was a member of the Illinois Board of Higher Education staff, and was on the staff of the St. Petersburg (Florida) Times in a number of editorial and managerial positions. In addition to his doctorate, he holds a BS and MBA degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana.

He is married to Leanne Bauman Kerchner. They have two children: Paige Kerchner Kaplan, and Charles Arthur Kerchner.

For more information on Professor Kerchner's research, visit his website at www.mindworkers.com and his blog at www.huffingtonpost.com/charles-kerchner/

• Email: charles.kerchner@cgu.edu