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Politics, History, and Systems Improvement in 21st Century School Reforms
Sun, April 12, 1:45 to 3:15pm PDT (1:45 to 3:15pm PDT), JW Marriott Los Angeles L.A. LIVE, Floor: 4th Floor, Diamond 10Session Type: Symposium
Abstract
This symposium reconsiders 21st-century school reforms through a historically informed political lens. Participants examine how struggles over race, representation, and community control shape the implementation and reception of reforms. Reforms such as improvement science and continuous improvement derive strength from their ties to organizational theory yet often imply race- and history-neutrality in ways that belie history and lived experience. We highlight how legitimacy and history can constrain or enhance reform in practice. The session will bring together traditions of school improvement, grounded in capacity building and organizational change, and the politics of education, with its emphasis on community memory. The session will foster dialogue about reforms that are technically sound while also attuned to schooling’s political and historical terrain.
Sub Unit
Chair
Papers
Educational System Building in the Shadow of History: Race, Control, Politics, and School Reform - William Berry, The George Washington University
From Accountability to Algorithms: Interorganizational Struggle and the Transformation of Chicago’s Dropout Prevention System - Jose Eos Trinidad, University of California - Berkeley
Looking Across Evidence Sources for Patterns in the U.S. K-12 School System Improvement Literature - Beth Schueler, University of Virginia
Critical Perspectives on the Contexts of Improvement-Focused Educational Research - Huriya Jabbar, University of Southern California; Joshua Childs, University of Texas at Austin
Politics at the Boundary: Continuing to Explore Politics in Education Research-Practice Partnerships - Kyo Yamashiro, Loyola Marymount University; Laura P. Wentworth, California Education Partners; Moonhawk Kim, University of California - Berkeley