"I Don't Want to Just Stand Up Here Spouting Frustrations": Teachers' Accounts of Policy Reform

• In Event: 14.045 - Roundtable Session 2
  In Roundtable Session: 14.045-14 - The Power in Their Actions: The Role of Teachers' Theorizing and Action in Mediating Successful Practices

Abstract

In the United States, large-scale political initiatives like Race to the Top, and small-scale policies like evaluation models have become a part of the national conversation. Following implementation of a new teacher evaluation system, educators in one school district became increasingly vocal about these changes. To explore teacher reactions, we discursively analyzed a series of widely-attended public school board meetings in which teachers spoke out about new policies. Findings show how teachers constructed and resisted evaluation practices through positioning themselves as knowledgeable experts unopposed to reforms, yet concerned for students’ well-being, and policies as privileging data over student-centered education. Recognizing how policies are constructed at local levels is critical for understanding how educational reforms are perceived and ultimately enacted.

Authors

• Amber N. Warren, University of Nevada - Reno

• Natalia Ward