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Supporting Sustainability: Teachers’ Advice Networks and Ambitious Instructional Reform

Item

Title

Supporting Sustainability: Teachers’ Advice Networks and Ambitious Instructional Reform

Abstract/Description

Scaling up instructional improvement remains a central challenge for school systems. While existing research suggests that teachers’ social networks play a crucial role, we know little about what dimensions of teachers’ social networks matter for sustainability. Drawing from a longitudinal study of the scale-up of mathematics reform, we use qualitative social network analysis and qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to investigate the relationship between teachers’ social networks and sustainability. Teachers’ social networks in the first 2 years of the initiative influenced their ability to sustain reform-related instructional approaches after supports for reform were withdrawn. Social networks with combinations of strong ties, high-depth interaction, and high expertise enabled teachers to adjust instruction to new conditions while maintaining the core pedagogical approach. This research contributes to our understanding of the dynamics of sustainability and to social network theory and research.

Date

Volume

119

Issue

1

Pages

137-182

Resource type

Research/Scholarly Media

Resource status/form

Published Text

Scholarship genre

Empirical

ISSN

0195-6744

Citation

Coburn, C. E., Russell, J. L., Kaufman, J. H., & Stein, M. K. (2012). Supporting Sustainability: Teachers’ Advice Networks and Ambitious Instructional Reform. American Journal of Education, 119(1), 137–182. https://doi.org/10.1086/667699

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