Prophets From a Different Land: An Exploratory Study of Educational Consulting

• In Event: Structures, People, and Programs for Improving Schools and Systems

Abstract

Despite a massive field of stakeholders, there is scant research providing empirical insight into who educational consultants are, what services they provide, and what impact they have on educational outcomes. This dearth is surprising given that consultants are a staple of policy solutions to educational improvement. Using content analysis of extensive interviews with 50 self-identified educational consultants, this paper remediates this empirical gap. Grounded in principal-agent theory and institutional theory, findings call into question the massive marketplace for educational consulting given the divergent goals of principals and agents in these consulting relationships and offer insight into the persistence of this marketplace as schools and consultants struggle for legitimacy within the increasingly public-private blurriness of public education.

Authors

• Matthew S. McCluskey, University of Vermont

• Lindsey A. Cox, University of Vermont

• Elizabeth J. Adams, University of Vermont