Institutional Reform Efforts as Catalysts to Constrain and Enable Scaling Innovation in Postsecondary Institutions

• In Event: Cultivating a Culture of Change: Creating Environments for Successful Transformation in Higher Education

Abstract

Community colleges are undergoing radical transformations to better meet the needs of students. Additionally, curricular and instructional innovations are emerging to center learners in community college classrooms. This study aims to understand how efforts to scale a particular curricular and instructional initiative—the Carnegie Math Pathways—come to be shaped by major reform efforts. We use process organization studies to help us see how leaders used major reform efforts at the institution to constrain and enable efforts to scale CMP. In particular, we highlight how leaders engaged in the tracking and leveraging of ongoing reform efforts to advance scaling or undermine it. Our study highlights the value of attending to process and practice to understand innovation in community colleges.

Authors

• Carlos Sandoval, Clemson University

• Bethany Sansing-Helton, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Angela Knotts, WestEd

• Ann R. Edwards, WestEd