Educational Reform: Great Expectations, Incremental Change, and Slow Enactment

• In Event: 61.071 - Questions About Systemic Reform in Global Environments

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to describe how educational reform policies in two national settings, Sweden and the United States, are understood and enacted by actors at national, state, and local levels. Politicians, educational professionals, students, and parents have different responsibilities in relation to educational reform. Our preliminary findings indicate that education reform initiatives may be enthusiastically endorsed when initiated. Yet they often languish because of limited resources, poor communications, poor implementation strategies, and slow enactment amid confusion and different meanings stakeholders have about the intent, scope, and target of the proposed reform. The paper suggest multiple stakeholders to enable them to strengthen and enhance education reforms thereby creating sustainable improvements for student learning and organizational improvement.

Authors

• Helene K. Arlestig, University of Umeå

• Olof CA Johansson, Umeå universitet

• Paul V. Bredeson, University of Wisconsin - Madison