A Multidimensional Approach to Pursuing Equitable Outcomes in Three Districts

• In Event: 34.025 - The Impact of Ethics, Policy, and Equity on Decision Making and Outcomes

Abstract

This paper aims to deepen understanding of how district leaders can increase access to educational opportunities and improve outcomes through a “three-dimensional” approach addressing technical, political, and normative aspects of schooling. To do so, the paper reports on a study of the evolution of initiatives to produce more equitable outcomes in three districts in one state. The results from this ongoing study illuminate how education leaders can make significant changes in the technical structures and organization of schooling in very different demographic and political contexts. In the process, it points to specific ways that education leaders can address problematic beliefs and expectations while they make changes in structures and strive to sustain political and community support.

Authors

• Thomas C. Hatch, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Rachel Roegman, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• David Allen, College of Staten Island - CUNY