Compliance or Coherence? Qualitative Case Studies of Michigan Districts Engaged in School Turnaround

• In Event: Complexity Within Approaches to School Turnaround

Abstract

This study analyzes interviews with 21 superintendents or charter leaders and three comparative case studies engaged in school turnaround in the context of a reform that places the district (or charter support organization) as a key actor and driver of school turnaround efforts. We use the theoretical lens of "crafting coherence" to analyze and compare the responses to this reform, and find that responses varied in terms of perceived success, but most organizations "symbolically adopted" the external demands of the reform.

Authors

• Chris Torres, Michigan State University

• Sandy Frost Waldron, Michigan State University

• Jason Burns, Seton Hall University