"What Works, for Whom, and Under What Conditions" in Implementing Improvement Science at Scale

• In Event: Virtual Poster Session
  In Virtual iPresentation Only: Division L - Section 7: Policy Implementation, Analysis, and Impact Virtual Poster Session

Abstract

Networked improvement communities (NICs) organize schools around improvement science in efforts to scale innovative reforms. A mechanism for policy implementation, NICs can also be thought of as a policy intervention. This embedded qualitative case study of five urban public schools in the same district examines the extent to which school-based improvement teams adhere to the core principles of an equity-focused NIC that they participated in, and the conditions that facilitated or hindered implementation. Findings reveal variation in implementation and school-specific conditions related to people and organizational contexts that shaped implementation of different NIC principles, and point to school readiness factors and external supports needed when using NICs as a vehicle for developing, implementing, and scaling equity-oriented district reforms.

Authors

• Ariel Tichnor-Wagner, Boston University

• Elizabeth Barcay, Boston University

• Rohan Arcot, Boston University

• Leslie Camilo Sears, Boston University