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From Tinkering to Going “Rogue”: How Principals Use Agency When Enacting New Teacher Evaluation Systems

Item

Title

From Tinkering to Going “Rogue”: How Principals Use Agency When Enacting New Teacher Evaluation Systems

Abstract/Description

Despite major changes to teacher evaluation since 2009, scant research examines how principals enact these policies. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 44 principals in 13 Connecticut districts, we use structure-agency theory to characterize how principals improvised when implementing the state evaluation model. We find that principals’ use of discretion varied across the system’s components, took different forms, and appeared aimed at varied outcomes. Particular forms of discretion supported the system’s goals, while others likely undermined them. Principals tended to use their discretion to further the system’s development aims as opposed to its accountability goals. Our findings have implications for the enactment of teacher evaluation policy, the roles of district administrators, and principals’ work as instructional leaders in an accountability context.

Date

Volume

40

Issue

4

Pages

531-556

Resource type

Research/Scholarly Media

Resource status/form

Published Text

Scholarship genre

Empirical

Open access/full-text available

No

Peer reviewed

Yes

ISSN

0162-3737

Citation

Donaldson, M. L., & Woulfin, S. (2018). From Tinkering to Going “Rogue”: How Principals Use Agency When Enacting New Teacher Evaluation Systems. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 40(4), 531–556. https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373718784205

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