Human Actors and the Ecology of School Improvement: A Framework for Understanding Urban School Reform

• In Event: 14.044 - Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: 14.044-12 - School Reform Expectations and Impacts

Abstract

Using a conceptual framework that includes Muhammad’s (2009) theory of competing expectations and Hall and McGinty’s (1997) transformation of intentions, the following literature review constructs a framework for revising the ecology of school improvement model (Eisner, 1998; Uhrmacher & Moroye, 2009) to highlight the role of human actors in urban school reform. The revised framework recognizes that the interests and intentions of people who interact with a reform effort influence the degree to which it can succeed. The thematic review includes literature on school climate and culture, which reinforces the importance of the human element in urban schools and efforts to reform them.

Author

• Amanda Otten, Texas A&M University - College Station