The Political Context of Research Evidence and Charter School Reform: The Case of Los Angeles

• In Event: 52.071 - Perceptions and Reactions: Political Responses to Education Policy

Abstract

The political contexts of intermediary organizations (IOs) in and across school districts, and their impact on the use of research evidence is, as yet, an under-examined component in the research utilization field’s understanding of research evidence production, promotion, and utilization. To date, however, the notion of “political context,” when engaged conceptually or empirically, remains largely under-theorized. Our mixed-methods study investigates how political contexts inform research utilization, and how IOs are working within and across urban district contexts around incentivist education policies such as charter schools and teacher merit pay. In this paper, we examine these dynamics in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

Authors

• Janelle T. Scott, University of California - Berkeley

• Elizabeth H. DeBray, University of Georgia

• Christopher A. Lubienski, Indiana University

• Elise Castillo, University of California - Berkeley

• Johanna Petersen Hanley, University of Georgia - Athens