ERIC Number: EJ830004
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-Mar
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1034-912X
EISSN: N/A
Peeling Back the Layers of Policy and School Reform: Revealing the Structural and Social Complexities within
Woodside-Jiron, Haley; Gehsmann, Kristin M.
International Journal of Disability, Development and Education, v56 n1 p49-72 Mar 2009
This article explores the complex process of school change over a six-year period in one high-poverty, urban elementary school in a northeastern city of the United States. The school included in this instrumental case study was identified by its State Department of Education as "being in need of improvement" in March 2000. Findings suggest that creating opportunities for context-based solutions, curricular coherence, and responsive and consistent coaching were the necessary means for leveraging change at this school. Further, responding to the layers and iterations of educational policy, and addressing the deeper social issues intimately associated with serving high-poverty communities, was essential. We identify policy issues that contributed to the complexity of this school's improvement efforts. Our analysis extends beyond surface-level documentation of the school's inputs and outputs, and illustrates what it means to meet individual students' needs in complex social and institutional spaces. We also discuss social justice issues that are linked with current policies targeting improved outcomes for all children. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)
Descriptors: Social Justice, School Restructuring, Poverty, Educational Change, Politics of Education, Educational Policy, Urban Schools, Elementary Education, Case Studies
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A