Extending Educational Reform

Book Cover......Page 1
Half-Title......Page 2
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Contents......Page 6
Foreword......Page 7
Acknowledgments......Page 8
Frequently Used Abbreviations......Page 9
1 Introduction......Page 10
The New Language of the Scaling Up Movement......Page 11
Description of the Reform Designs......Page 13
The Scaling Up Studies: Methodology......Page 18
Educational Reform as a Co-constructed Process......Page 20
Reform Implementation as a Set of Interrelated Conditions and Consequences......Page 21
A Relational Sense of Context......Page 22
Perspective and Power......Page 23
The Interplay of Structure, Culture and Agency......Page 24
Organization of This Book......Page 26
Why Are Schools Adopting Reforms Now?......Page 28
The Role of the State......Page 32
The Role of the District......Page 33
Practical Circumstances And Power Constrain Reform “Choice”......Page 36
The Politics of Representation Influence Decisions About Reform......Page 38
The Meaning of Events Around Reform Adoption Varies with Perspective......Page 39
The Reactions of Educators Vary in Response to the Advent of Reform......Page 40
The Vector of Reform Is Multidirectional......Page 43
Conclusions and Implications......Page 44
3 Is All Change Local? How Context Shapes Implementation......Page 49
Technical-Rational and Co-Construction Models of Reform......Page 50
The Technical-Rational Perspective: Reform as a Rational and Technical Process......Page 51
Mutual Adaptation and Co-Construction Perspectives: Reform as Multidirectional......Page 52
Structural Considerations Enable and Constrain Reform......Page 54
Molding Reform Designs to Accommodate Organizational Constraints......Page 55
Laminating a New Reform Over Existing Reforms......Page 57
Adapting Reforms to Address Linguistic Diversity......Page 58
Reform Adaptations in Response to State and District Policies......Page 60
Cultural Considerations Enable and Constrain Reform Efforts......Page 62
Educators’ Social Constructions of Student Ability Shape Reform......Page 63
Reforms Cohere or Conflict With Educators’ Ideologies About Teaching and Learning......Page 66
Conclusions and Implications......Page 68
4 Change Agents in the School Reform Process......Page 72
Principals in the School Reform Process......Page 74
Principals’ Agency in School Reform......Page 75
Reforms in Relation to Principals’ Leadership Styles......Page 77
Principal Engagement in Teaching and Learning......Page 78
Principals Expand Professional Networks......Page 79
Teachers and School Reform......Page 80
Teacher Agency in School Reform......Page 81
Changes in Teachers’ Relationships......Page 83
Teacher Empowerment and Learning......Page 85
Teacher Stress in Reform......Page 87
The Teacher Leader in School Reform......Page 89
The Agency of the Teacher Leader......Page 90
Facilitators’ Relationships with Teachers......Page 93
Facilitators’ Relationships with Principals......Page 94
Who are Facilitators and Why?......Page 95
Conclusions and Implications......Page 96
The Paucity of Information on Design Team Change......Page 99
Organizational Changes in Design Teams......Page 101
Success for All......Page 102
AVID......Page 103
Coalition of Essential Schools......Page 105
Modern Red Schoolhouse......Page 106
Establishing Regional Offices to Handle Growth......Page 107
Establishing Regional Training Sites for Quality Control......Page 108
Using Regional Trainers to Advance Systemic Change......Page 109
Decentralizing to Achieve Local Control......Page 110
The Challenge of Developing a Cadre of Qualified Staff......Page 112
Changes in Response to State and Local Politics......Page 114
CSRD......Page 118
Standards and Accountability......Page 119
Changes in Response to School Demands......Page 121
Conclusion and Implications......Page 124
6 The Life of External Reform Models: Sustainability and Expiration......Page 127
Agency-Based Explanations of the Failure to Sustain Reforms......Page 128
Reforms Fail Because “Street Level Bureaucrats” Subvert Reform......Page 129
The Insensitivity Critique: Reforms Fail Because Reformers Do Not Understand Local Circumstances......Page 131
Cultural Explanations For the Failure to Sustain Reforms......Page 133
Practical Circumstances Constrain Reform—Adapting to “How We Do Things Here”......Page 134
Cultural and Political Changes that Accompany Leadership Shifts......Page 136
Reforms that Neglect the Culture of the School are Difficult to Sustain......Page 138
The Role of the District in Sustaining Reform......Page 141
The Power of the State in Sustaining Reform......Page 142
Conclusion and Implications......Page 145
Overview of Theoretical and Empirical Contributions......Page 148
Prospects for School Improvement......Page 151
Prospects for Reshaping the Educational System......Page 152
The Politics of Research and Practice Concerning Externally Developed Reforms......Page 153
Final Remarks......Page 155
AVID......Page 156
Audrey Cohen College System of Education......Page 157
The Coalition of Essential Schools......Page 159
Comer School Development Program......Page 161
Core Knowledge Sequence......Page 163
Modern Red Schoolhouse......Page 164
Success for All......Page 166
Notes......Page 168
References......Page 169
Index......Page 184