Diffusion in a Vacuum: The Case of edTPA

• In Event: Teachers, Politics, and Policy

Abstract

Since its introduction in 2012, edTPA—a “bar exam” for pre-service teachers—has been adopted by 626 teacher preparation programs in 35 states and DC. This remarkable adoption rate is more impressive given it occurred largely without state or federal mandates or financial incentives from the Department of Education or private foundations. How, then, can we explain the rapid diffusion of edTPA in teacher education programs across the country? In this paper we explore this question and identify three primary diffusion mechanisms—policy entrepreneurship, professional networks, organizational isomorphism—that explain its rapid spread in the absence of explicit policy. The result is a more nuanced picture of the political economy of school reform, especially as it concerns teacher preparation policy.

Authors

• Jessica Gottlieb, University of Notre Dame

• Ethan L Hutt, University of Maryland - College Park

• Julie Jackson Cohen, University of Virginia