IMPACT IN CONTEXT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We have benefited from the assistance of many others as we wrot... more IMPACT IN CONTEXT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We have benefited from the assistance of many others as we wrote successive drafts of this working paper. We are especially grateful to The Wallace Foundation for providing both the impetus and financial support for this work. Even more, however, many individuals at the Foundation have been enthusiastic and insightful thought partners with us, sometimes offering encouragement and sometimes pushing us to reach for greater clarity or depth, and always in the right doses. We also want to acknowledge two research assistants, both Ph.D. students in the Politics and Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. David Houston has worked with us from almost the beginning of the project and has been especially instrumental in overseeing our broad scan of cross-sector collaborations across the country. Constance Clark has played a lead role in gathering qualitative information about specific programs. Both are full members of the team who contri...
Founded in 1887, Teachers College, Columbia University, is the first and largest graduate school ... more Founded in 1887, Teachers College, Columbia University, is the first and largest graduate school of education in the United States and is perennially ranked among the nation's best. Through its three main areas of expertise-education, health and psychology-the College is committed to disciplinary and interdisciplinary research, the preparation of dedicated public service professionals, engagement with local, national and global communities, and informing public policy to create a smarter, healthier, and more equitable and peaceful world. TC today has more than 5,000 students, more than 20 percent of whom come from outside the U.S., representing 77 different countries. Among students who are U.S. citizens, 43 percent are people of color. There are 171 full-time faculty members at the College and 58 full-time instructors and lecturers. TC's funded research expenditures in 2014-2015 totaled nearly $58 million. www.tc.edu. The Department of Education Policy and Social Analysis (...
This paper provides a review of three related literatures on urban education: the demographic cha... more This paper provides a review of three related literatures on urban education: the demographic characteristics of the students and communities served by urbas schools; sone notable urban educational policies and practices; and issues and trends in equity research. The following trends and issues in school programs and practices specifically related to urban and minority education are examined: urban responses to the reform cammission reports; urban and minority students and private schooling; effective schooling programs; curricular issues related to urban, minority, and poor students; compensatory education programs; school violence; dropout programs and practices; school-corporate alliances; parent participation in schooling; and programs related to new immigrants. The four equity concerns which are highlighted include: desegregation effects, magnet schooling, bilingual education, and sex equity. There are small encouraging signs that the schools am educating urban students better ...
Developing school leaders who are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to... more Developing school leaders who are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to effectively lead low-performing schools has become a critical goal for local school districts intent on dramatically improving student outcomes. Given the current criticism surrounding leadership preparation programs and the changing nature of school leadership itself, school districts are becoming more actively involved in influencing the quality of their school leaders and the preparation programs that develop them. Recent research on exemplary school leader preparation programs suggests that school districts, as the direct "consumers" of program graduates, are strategically positioned to exercise meaningful influence over the content and design of program practices. It also suggests that programs preparing candidates are more effective when they work from an understanding of the challenges the districts face, a collaboration with the districts on redesigning programs, and a...
Purpose: The authors review a volume that emerged from a 2-year participatory effort to look at n... more Purpose: The authors review a volume that emerged from a 2-year participatory effort to look at new research directions in educational administration. The review is presented as a conversation between two researchers—an old-timer (Karen Seashore Louis) and a relative newcomer (Meredith Honig)—to probe for differences and convergence in perspectives on what this collection offers to the field.
The relationships among teachers’ task environments, more general characteristics of school organ... more The relationships among teachers’ task environments, more general characteristics of school organizational climates, and teachers’ professional and organizational commitments were examined. Data were derived from the 1987–1988 National Center for Education Statistics Schools and Staffing Survey; the study was based on a sample of 14,844 secondary school teachers. Task environment was operationalized in terms of structural features of teachers’ class schedules, and school climate was measured in terms of administrative support, teacher influence and autonomy, and collegiality. Results suggest that, while teachers’ professional commitment and organizational commitment were unrelated to teachers’ class schedules, commitment was associated with school climate.
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Many localities across the United States are pursuing efforts to improve outcomes for children an... more Many localities across the United States are pursuing efforts to improve outcomes for children and youth through place-based, cross-sector collaborations among education, business, government, philanthropy, and social services agencies. In this article, we examine these place-based initiatives, investigating how they attempt to ameliorate educational inequity and how they might reflect the broader sociological vision of James S. Coleman. We draw from publicly available information on a set of 182 cross-sector collaborations across the United States and from in-depth case studies of collaborations in Buffalo, New York; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Portland/Multnomah County, Oregon. We find evidence that in some ways, cross-sector collaborations contribute to improving schools, offer interventions and resources to support families and communities, and attempt to revitalize localities with strong norms and social ties to support education and equity. However, these outcomes are not yet fu...
The education research community sometimes invokes medical research as a model to which education... more The education research community sometimes invokes medical research as a model to which education ought to aspire. This article reviews some recent themes and developments in the medical field to provide a more informed basis for comparison. The use of randomized clinical trials in medical research, the role of evidence in medical practice, and the rhetorical strategies for conveying research information in medical journals are discussed. A notable observation is that physicians often participate in clinical research and—in that work, as well as in their routine professional practice—function as knowledge workers. Educators also engage in knowledge work, but their practice is not always regarded in that way. The comparisons between medical research and education research suggest that the two fields face many similar challenges.
In this article, we draw on critical philosophies and theories related to diversity, leadership, ... more In this article, we draw on critical philosophies and theories related to diversity, leadership, and learning to suggest that successful school–family partnerships not only encompass collaborative structures but involve educators who reject deficit-based views of diverse families. We marshal data from our studies of school–family relations in two states to explain the benefits of educational leaders developing a critical epistemological stance that compels them to learn and lead with diverse families. We assert that educators must revisit, rethink, and extend what they know about families’ strengths and limitations and reconsider the nature of leadership and learning to build partnerships amid communities of practice.
This article examines the literature on medical rounds to inform the recent move toward instructi... more This article examines the literature on medical rounds to inform the recent move toward instructional rounds as a practice of districtwide improvement and professional learning for superintendents and administrators. Based on the practice of medical rounds as a method for creating shared norms and understandings about medicine and patient care, instructional rounds is a process in which networks of superintendents (and, increasingly, principals and teachers) observe and analyze classroom teaching to develop shared norms and understandings about instruction. Research on the practice of medical rounds highlights potential challenges for the medical community that also might apply to education: challenges of purpose, worldview, pedagogy, content, expertise, voice, and power/status. Understanding and addressing these challenges can inform the development of instructional rounds.
IMPACT IN CONTEXT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We have benefited from the assistance of many others as we wrot... more IMPACT IN CONTEXT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We have benefited from the assistance of many others as we wrote successive drafts of this working paper. We are especially grateful to The Wallace Foundation for providing both the impetus and financial support for this work. Even more, however, many individuals at the Foundation have been enthusiastic and insightful thought partners with us, sometimes offering encouragement and sometimes pushing us to reach for greater clarity or depth, and always in the right doses. We also want to acknowledge two research assistants, both Ph.D. students in the Politics and Education program at Teachers College, Columbia University. David Houston has worked with us from almost the beginning of the project and has been especially instrumental in overseeing our broad scan of cross-sector collaborations across the country. Constance Clark has played a lead role in gathering qualitative information about specific programs. Both are full members of the team who contri...
Founded in 1887, Teachers College, Columbia University, is the first and largest graduate school ... more Founded in 1887, Teachers College, Columbia University, is the first and largest graduate school of education in the United States and is perennially ranked among the nation's best. Through its three main areas of expertise-education, health and psychology-the College is committed to disciplinary and interdisciplinary research, the preparation of dedicated public service professionals, engagement with local, national and global communities, and informing public policy to create a smarter, healthier, and more equitable and peaceful world. TC today has more than 5,000 students, more than 20 percent of whom come from outside the U.S., representing 77 different countries. Among students who are U.S. citizens, 43 percent are people of color. There are 171 full-time faculty members at the College and 58 full-time instructors and lecturers. TC's funded research expenditures in 2014-2015 totaled nearly $58 million. www.tc.edu. The Department of Education Policy and Social Analysis (...
This paper provides a review of three related literatures on urban education: the demographic cha... more This paper provides a review of three related literatures on urban education: the demographic characteristics of the students and communities served by urbas schools; sone notable urban educational policies and practices; and issues and trends in equity research. The following trends and issues in school programs and practices specifically related to urban and minority education are examined: urban responses to the reform cammission reports; urban and minority students and private schooling; effective schooling programs; curricular issues related to urban, minority, and poor students; compensatory education programs; school violence; dropout programs and practices; school-corporate alliances; parent participation in schooling; and programs related to new immigrants. The four equity concerns which are highlighted include: desegregation effects, magnet schooling, bilingual education, and sex equity. There are small encouraging signs that the schools am educating urban students better ...
Developing school leaders who are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to... more Developing school leaders who are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to effectively lead low-performing schools has become a critical goal for local school districts intent on dramatically improving student outcomes. Given the current criticism surrounding leadership preparation programs and the changing nature of school leadership itself, school districts are becoming more actively involved in influencing the quality of their school leaders and the preparation programs that develop them. Recent research on exemplary school leader preparation programs suggests that school districts, as the direct "consumers" of program graduates, are strategically positioned to exercise meaningful influence over the content and design of program practices. It also suggests that programs preparing candidates are more effective when they work from an understanding of the challenges the districts face, a collaboration with the districts on redesigning programs, and a...
Purpose: The authors review a volume that emerged from a 2-year participatory effort to look at n... more Purpose: The authors review a volume that emerged from a 2-year participatory effort to look at new research directions in educational administration. The review is presented as a conversation between two researchers—an old-timer (Karen Seashore Louis) and a relative newcomer (Meredith Honig)—to probe for differences and convergence in perspectives on what this collection offers to the field.
The relationships among teachers’ task environments, more general characteristics of school organ... more The relationships among teachers’ task environments, more general characteristics of school organizational climates, and teachers’ professional and organizational commitments were examined. Data were derived from the 1987–1988 National Center for Education Statistics Schools and Staffing Survey; the study was based on a sample of 14,844 secondary school teachers. Task environment was operationalized in terms of structural features of teachers’ class schedules, and school climate was measured in terms of administrative support, teacher influence and autonomy, and collegiality. Results suggest that, while teachers’ professional commitment and organizational commitment were unrelated to teachers’ class schedules, commitment was associated with school climate.
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Many localities across the United States are pursuing efforts to improve outcomes for children an... more Many localities across the United States are pursuing efforts to improve outcomes for children and youth through place-based, cross-sector collaborations among education, business, government, philanthropy, and social services agencies. In this article, we examine these place-based initiatives, investigating how they attempt to ameliorate educational inequity and how they might reflect the broader sociological vision of James S. Coleman. We draw from publicly available information on a set of 182 cross-sector collaborations across the United States and from in-depth case studies of collaborations in Buffalo, New York; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Portland/Multnomah County, Oregon. We find evidence that in some ways, cross-sector collaborations contribute to improving schools, offer interventions and resources to support families and communities, and attempt to revitalize localities with strong norms and social ties to support education and equity. However, these outcomes are not yet fu...
The education research community sometimes invokes medical research as a model to which education... more The education research community sometimes invokes medical research as a model to which education ought to aspire. This article reviews some recent themes and developments in the medical field to provide a more informed basis for comparison. The use of randomized clinical trials in medical research, the role of evidence in medical practice, and the rhetorical strategies for conveying research information in medical journals are discussed. A notable observation is that physicians often participate in clinical research and—in that work, as well as in their routine professional practice—function as knowledge workers. Educators also engage in knowledge work, but their practice is not always regarded in that way. The comparisons between medical research and education research suggest that the two fields face many similar challenges.
In this article, we draw on critical philosophies and theories related to diversity, leadership, ... more In this article, we draw on critical philosophies and theories related to diversity, leadership, and learning to suggest that successful school–family partnerships not only encompass collaborative structures but involve educators who reject deficit-based views of diverse families. We marshal data from our studies of school–family relations in two states to explain the benefits of educational leaders developing a critical epistemological stance that compels them to learn and lead with diverse families. We assert that educators must revisit, rethink, and extend what they know about families’ strengths and limitations and reconsider the nature of leadership and learning to build partnerships amid communities of practice.
This article examines the literature on medical rounds to inform the recent move toward instructi... more This article examines the literature on medical rounds to inform the recent move toward instructional rounds as a practice of districtwide improvement and professional learning for superintendents and administrators. Based on the practice of medical rounds as a method for creating shared norms and understandings about medicine and patient care, instructional rounds is a process in which networks of superintendents (and, increasingly, principals and teachers) observe and analyze classroom teaching to develop shared norms and understandings about instruction. Research on the practice of medical rounds highlights potential challenges for the medical community that also might apply to education: challenges of purpose, worldview, pedagogy, content, expertise, voice, and power/status. Understanding and addressing these challenges can inform the development of instructional rounds.
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