W. Norton Grubb

Norton Grubb
W. Norton Grubb
University of California, Berkeley

W. Norton Grubb, who passed away in 2015, investigated inequality, especially the institutional sources of inequality, and worked toward finding solutions to create an equitable and democratic education system. Grubb was professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. His research explored the role of education in labor markets and proposed ways to improve the effectiveness of high schools and community colleges. He also examined the relationship between education and employment, pointing out that when schools excessively follow patterns in the labor market, they tend to reinforce the inequities of society against minorities and women. He wrote 14 books; started the Principal Leadership Institute at Berkeley to train principals to lead urban schools; and received the University of California, Berkeley, Chancellor’s Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence. He received his PhD in economics from Harvard University.

updated 2012

Publications by W. Norton Grubb
Options for California
A PACE Policy Brief by W. Norton Grubb and David Stern. Career-technical education (CTE) is back in the policy spotlight, as Governor Schwarzenegger and key legislators seek strategies to strengthen California’s much-criticized high schools. Some…
Options for California
Career-technical education (CTE) is back in the policy spotlight, as Governor Schwarzenegger and key legislators seek strategies to strengthen California’s much-criticized high schools. Some forms of CTE that integrate academic with occupational…
Spinning Out the Implications of the Improved School Finance
Surely revenues are central to the quality of schooling—nearly everybody thinks so. Generations of reformers have come along, each needing more money. Advo­cates for equity have rediscovered inequalities in spending nearly every decade, from Ellwood…
California Policy, the "Improved School Finance," and the Williams Case
This article applies the logic of the ‘‘improved’’ school finance, arguing the need to understand how resources are used at the school and classroom levels. While California policies and most court cases have been seriously inadequate from this…