Examining the Politics of Local Governance: A New Wave of Research on School Boards

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

The past year put a spotlight on school boards, whose members made highly publicized decisions with far-ranging impacts often under competing pressures from multiple stakeholders. Despite intense public scrutiny, there is insufficient work across disciplines that identifies how and why boards respond to public pressure, and what the impact of these dynamics are on educational systems. This panel brings together leading scholars from education, sociology, and political science to examine the dynamics and impact of school board decision-making in highly contested contexts. Authors draw on qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches with a variety of theoretical perspectives to shed light on the role of school boards in critical educational decisions, and the impact of democratic participation on issues of equity.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Districts in Research & Reform

Chair

• Jacob Alonso, University of Southern California

Papers

• Co-Opting Progress: Resistance of Affluent Parents to an Equity-Minded School Merger - Eupha Jeanne Daramola, University of California - Santa Barbara; Taylor Enoch-Stevens, University of Arizona

• School District Governance and Educational Equity in the Era of School Choice - Carrie Sampson, Arizona State University; Melanie Bertrand, University of Arizona; David R. Garcia, Arizona State University; Matthew Hom

• The Intergovernmental Politics of School Reopening During the COVID-19 Pandemic - Jonathan E. Collins, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Under Pressure: Community Involvement in School Board Deliberations and District Decision Making During COVID-19 - Jacob Alonso, University of Southern California

Discussant

• Jeffrey R. Henig, Teachers College, Columbia University