Institutional Complexity and Policy Implementation: How Underlying Logics Drive Teacher Interpretations of Reform
Item
Title
Institutional Complexity and Policy Implementation: How Underlying Logics Drive Teacher Interpretations of Reform
Abstract/Description
One critical factor in policy implementation is how teachers interpret policy. Previous research largely overlooks how the broader culture shapes teachers’ interpretations. In the current research, we explore how teachers’ interpretations of instructional reforms are associated with the logics of broad societal institutions. Our longitudinal mixed-methods study of 117 teachers at three urban public schools demonstrates that teachers’ interpretations are rooted in market accountability logics, professional bureaucracy logics, and communal sentiment logics. Teachers’ logics partially depend on their school and community contexts. The most substantive differences in teachers’ logics result from individual attributes, namely, race/ethnicity. One implication is that effective policy implementation depends on formulation and framing that address the multiple and potentially competing logics that motivate teachers’ responses to reform.
Author/creator
Date
In publication
Volume
39
Issue
2
Pages
223-247
Resource type
Research/Scholarly Media
Resource status/form
Published Text
Scholarship genre
Empirical
Featured case/project
Open access/full-text available
No
Peer reviewed
Yes
ISSN
0162-3737
Citation
Bridwell-Mitchell, E. N., & Sherer, D. G. (2017). Institutional Complexity and Policy Implementation: How Underlying Logics Drive Teacher Interpretations of Reform. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 39(2), 223–247. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373716677567
Item sets
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
 Introducing Improvement Research in Education |
Book Chapter |
Comments
No comment yet! Be the first to add one!