Participation at the District and School Levels for Improved Community School Implementation

• In Event: Moscone Center West Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: Multistakeholder Collaborations for Culturally Sustaining Community Schools

Abstract

This presentation explores stakeholder participation in equity-oriented reform efforts, how such participation is shaped by political and normative forces, and the ways in which their participation challenges these forces. Examining the community schools initiative in one of the largest school districts in the country, I discuss how participation by parents, community-based organizations, and teachers at both the district and school levels can improve conditions in which young people learn.
Using Welner’s (2001) theory of the “Zone of Mediation,” this research examines how individuals and organizations participate in education reform efforts in different ways that are enabled and constrained by political and normative forces. As Welner (2001) points out, equity-oriented reforms, when they interact in the implementation stage with dominant forces, will almost always be modified in the direction of less equity.
I use a Comparative Case Study (CCS) approach to compare two different forms of participation at the district and the school levels (Bartlett & Vavrus, 2016). Both cases examine ways in which historically marginalized stakeholders attempt to participate in education reform efforts. Data were collected over three years and included participant observations of meetings and events, interviews of participants, and analysis of artifacts such as school plans and district policies (Yin, 2003).
Comparing cases of participation at the school and district levels illuminates patterns and differences in participation. These initial findings suggest the importance for districts and schools to address normative and political forces to authentically be able to collaborate in ways that incorporate the important perspectives and knowledge of non-dominant stakeholders.
The first case focuses on a district-level collaboration between nonprofit organizations organized into an advocacy coalition and a district office. Initial findings suggest that in the context of political pressure to demonstrate success of the initiative, the district has been reluctant to engage deeply with community organizations. The second case examines collaborations between different stakeholders at the community school level. Initial findings suggest that inter-teacher collaboration is strong as teachers have time and support to plan and improve their curriculum and instruction. However, some of the teaching force appears to lack the cultural literacy to build trusting relationships with families and community members.
The importance of family and community participation for the success of education reform efforts is well-established (Henderson & Mapp, 2002; Kraft & Dougherty, 2013), as are the multiple challenges to creating authentic opportunities for meaningful participation (Ishimaru et al., 2016). How equity-oriented reform strategies are interpreted and enacted within existing political and normative contexts are less understood (Darling-Hammond, 1994; Welner, 2001). Community school reforms can aim for deep community engagement (Daniel, Quartz, & Oakes, forthcoming; Sanders, 2015; Warren, 2005) when well implemented, but research is needed to understand this process. This presentation helps to fill in research gaps about how prevailing political and normative forces influence reforms efforts and how participation can strengthen student and community learning and well-being

Author

• Julia A Daniel, University of Colorado - Boulder