Private Actors and Trust in School District Implementation of English Learner Policy

• In Event: 29.090 - Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: 29.090-17 - Contextual Influences on Reform Efforts in School Districts

Abstract

Private organizations play an increasingly important role in school district improvement efforts. This study investigates district administrators’ relationships with private actors in the implementation of standards and assessments for English learners (ELs) in ten school districts within one state. Our qualitative, comparative case study found that given the isolation they typically face, district EL coordinators’ relations with private organizations were crucial for policy implementation. Some organizational practices and implementation dynamics contributed to EL coordinators’ mistrust of the private purveyor of the standards and assessments while the organizational practices of professional organizations mediated the development of trust or mistrust. This paper extends our understanding of the dynamics of public-private relationships in education and the trust necessary for school improvement.

Authors

• Erica Owyang Turner, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Rebecca Jane Lowenhaupt, Boston College