Blessing or Curse?: School and system leaders' emotional responses to implementing Michigan's Partnership Model

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Leadership Perspectives: Learning from Leaders' Beliefs and Sensemaking During Reform

Abstract

Turnaround aims to rapidly improve student achievement by mandating changes to school and district structures and practices. Educational leaders’ emotional responses to such reforms can shape their support for or resistance to educational change. This paper examines how system and school leaders responded to Michigan’s statewide turnaround policy, the Partnership Model. Drawing on 14 interviews with nine system and school leaders across two districts, we analyze how leaders aligned or diverged in their emotional responses to the resources, routines, and roles linked to Partnership. Our findings highlight the emotional dimensions of institutional work and emphasize the importance of attending to leaders’ affective responses when designing and implementing school and district improvement initiatives.

Authors

• Sarah L. Woulfin, University of Texas at Austin

• Daniel Dawer, University of Texas at Austin

• Lizeth I. Lizarraga, University of Texas at Austin

• Jeremy L. Singer, University of Michigan-Flint