Institutional Barriers to Innovation: Lessons From a Digital Intervention for Underrepresented Students Applying to College

• In Event: Who Done It? Interrogating Effective Leadership, Structures, and Systems

Abstract

Researchers developed an online, role-playing game to improve college access for underrepresented students. Qualitative data from teachers, administrators, and advisors in 52 California high schools indicated emergent themes pertaining to the game’s institutional adoption and implementation. This paper, therefore, interrogates two research questions: 1) What are the institutional barriers that can inhibit widespread adoption of a promising innovation? 2) How do these barriers impact adoption and implementation? These research questions are contextualized under a conceptual framework grounded in institutional culture and innovation studies. Findings include the following: 1) the importance of tapping into the intrinsic motivation of various participants; 2) the challenge of communication among different institutional actors; and 3) the significance of institutional time and resources.

Authors

• Michael Lanford, University of North Georgia

• Zoe Corwin, University of Southern California

• Tattiya Maruco, University of Southern California

• Amanda Kay Ochsner, The University of Findlay