1. LIFESCAPING
PRACTICES IN SCHOOL
COMMUNITIES
IMPLEMENTING ACTION RESEARCH
AND APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY
ROLLA E. LEWIS & PEG WINKELMAN
FOREWORD BY KENNETH GERGEN
LIFESCAPINGPRACTICESINSCHOOLCOMMUNITIESROLLAE.LEWIS&
PEGWINKELMAN
9 781138 209480
ISBN 978-1-138-20948-0
Cover image: © Thinkstock
“Our goal as educators is to promote ALL children’s core gifts. Lifescaping Practices in School
Communities inspires practitioners to transcend mired systems that reify the status quo in our
schools and provides a road map through language and action that harnesses the strengths
and voices of our wonderfully diverse communities. As we move from polarization to inclusion,
this publication encourages us to move toward a common vision through inclusive practices.”
—Rose Borunda, EdD professor, California State University, Sacramento
“Lewis and Winkelman escape the narrow vision of education that has held schools in its
grip recently. Instead, they invite educators and help professionals to soar. Their concept
of lifescaping is a big enough vision to inspire education, rather than mere schooling, and
becoming somebody distinctive, rather than just fitting in. Their contributors have, moreover,
practical suggestions about how to get there, including the use of appreciative inquiry and
participatory action research.”— John Winslade, PhD, professor, California State University,
San Bernardino
“This book addresses a missing piece in calls for closing achievement gaps. The authors
examine student support through a lens of student wellness and an ecological approach to
program development, bringing fresh air to discussions of what works. Highlighting action
research and appreciative inquiry points the way towards continuous improvement in serving
the academic, personal/social, and career development needs of youth. Packed with useful
resources and good sense, this volume should become a staple in counselor education and
student support programs.”—Lonnie L. Rowell, PhD, associate professor, School of Leadership
and Education Sciences, University of San Diego; lead editor, International Handbook of Action
Research
Lifescaping Practices in School Communities is a guide for school administrators and helping
professionals (school counselors, school psychologists, school social workers, and other
stakeholders) looking to promote relational wellness and student success in their school. This
informative new resource will introduce readers to an ecological approach by using action
research and appreciative inquiry to guide and engage school-wide change. Also offered are
first-hand models of conceptual lifescaping projects using action research and appreciative
inquiry by first-time practitioners from different school communities.
Rolla E. Lewis, EdD, NCC, is professor emeritus in Educational Psychology at California State
University, East Bay (CSUEB). His current research and scholarly interests include public
education advocacy, school counseling program development, mentoring participatory leaders,
and sharing action research practices using the participatory inquiry process as lifescaping
in schools. Dr. Lewis has published numerous chapters, articles, and poems in books, peer-
reviewed journals, and other professional publications. He is the recipient of the Oregon
Counseling Association’s Leona Tyler Award for outstanding contributions to professional
counseling.
Peg Winkelman, PhD, is professor and chair in the Department of Educational Leadership at
California State University, East Bay (CSUEB). She has also taught in schools of education at
the University of California, Berkeley, Mills College, and Saint Mary’s College of California. She
is past president of the California Association of Professors of Educational Administration.
Her publications focus on her commitment to collaborative inquiry and scholar-practitioner
leadership for social justice.
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SCHOOL COUNSELING