Harmonizing Interests: The Role of Institutional Logics in Charter School Growth

• In Event: Navigating the Educational Marketplace: Identity, Advocacy, and Competition

Abstract

Following a long period of growth, charter schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District now face barriers to continued expansion, such as declining student enrollment and political opposition. We examine the case of one Los Angeles charter management organization as it sought to expand and replicate amidst these challenges. We draw on interviews with network leaders, principals, teachers, parents, and students to explore how institutional logics shaped the network's expansion efforts as it balanced replication of its educational model with adaptation to local needs. We find that the network shifted from exemplifying a market logic to the incorporation of a community logic in response to tensions arising from the national racial reckoning and heightened needs of its student population.

Authors

• Susan Bush-Mecenas, RAND Corporation

• Ashley Woo, RAND Corporation

• Jonathan Schweig, RAND Corporation