Searching for Equity in the System Reforms Literature

• In Event: Understanding How Organizational Systems Shape Student Equity and Teacher Agency

Abstract

While system reforms have captured the minds of policymakers, researchers, and education leaders alike for their promise of ameliorating systemic inequities, we still know little about how equity is instantiated in system reforms. The purpose of this systematic literature review is to investigate when researchers, including ourselves, examined equity or equality in our studies, and what forms of equity or equality we studied. These choices matter because they guide how researchers study the impacts of system reforms and how these reforms can be redesigned to better foster equity. We take stock of the current body of literature and establish a foundation from which to launch the next generation of research to ensure these reforms serve our nation’s marginalized children.

Authors

• Lok-Sze Wong, University of North Texas

• Angel Bohannon, Northwestern University