Districtwide Policy Implementation for Equitable Schooling

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 9:50 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Policies, Practices, and Processes: Navigating Influences on School Effectiveness and School Improvement (Table 8)

Abstract

This is a study on policy implementation. The utility of two theories of implementation, sensemaking theory and institutional theory, framed discussion on how individuals and groups of people interpret policy, that are shaped by the contextual cultural understandings, politics, and society. Addressing students’ needs through a district-wide policy for equitable outcomes relies on creating structures and processes for collaborative cultures to increase student achievement. Articulated is a critical analysis of the power dynamics, critical elements of policy implementation, and high stakes accountability demands. Implications for district policy, research, and practice are shared.

Author

• Karen Ramlackhan, University of South Florida