Reform Ripples: Scaling as Recontextualization

• In Event: Collaboration in Reform Implementation and Sustainability

Abstract

This paper aims to understand how reforms impact the districts they are implemented in, above and beyond their intended outcomes. We argue that such unplanned "ripple effects", in which elements of the reform (tools, ideas, approaches) are recontextualized into other settings, are an important aspect of bringing reform to scale. We analyze these phenomena in one Israeli district in which a teacher leadership and professional community reform has been implemented over the past 3 years. Our findings suggest more attention should be paid to the impact of reforms on meaningful educational change beyond their original aims and settings. Alongside possible affordances “ripples” pose, careful consideration should be given to their latent disadvantages, such as obscuring the reform’s intended agenda.

Authors

• Tali Aderet-German, Ben Gurion University of the Negev

• Adam Lefstein, Ben Gurion University of the Negev

• Dana Vedder-Weiss, Ben Gurion University of the Negev