School Board Sensemaking of Federal and State Accountability Policies

Sutherland, Daniella Hall

doi:10.1177/0895904820925816

Cited by 12 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Studies that examine school districts as actors argue that their institutional role provides a mediating and “sense-giving” structure for educators and families to understand how educational policies affect their schools (Foldy et al, 2008; Sutherland, 2020). Central office leaders and school board trustees, for example, make sense of policy information (e.g., federal mandates, demographic changes, etc.)…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making Waves: Districts as Policy Mediators in the Flow of School Gentrification

Green

Latham-Sikes²,

Horne

et al. 2022

Educational Policy

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Gentrification is happening in cities all across the United States. Consequently, some Black communities that were intentionally segregated and under-resourced are experiencing capital investments and demographic changes. These gentrification-induced racial and socioeconomic shifts impact many local institutions, namely school districts. Given this, there is an emerging body of research on schools and gentrification. However, less research has examined the actions of school districts as institutional actors in gentrification. This study examines how two school districts’ actions mediate school gentrification. Using a theorization of gentrification as a process of racial capitalism, we draw on interviews with 26 principals across both districts. Our findings suggest that districts’ actions influence school gentrification by mediating the movement of Black and other youth of color to various schools through cycles of differential investments across the districts. We conclude with implications for future research.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making Waves: Districts as Policy Mediators in the Flow of School Gentrification

Green

Latham-Sikes²,

Horne

et al. 2022

Educational Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Key actors in shaping both tangible and intangible conditions for sensemaking are formal and informal leaders, such as school leaders, but also district leaders (Coburn et al, 2009), or school board members (Sutherland, 2020). They not only participate in collective sensemaking and data use routines, but also shape how these processes unfold within their organisation (Coburn & Turner, 2011; Cosner, 2011; Schildkamp, 2019).…”

Section: Teachers’ and School Leaders’ Sensemaking Of Formal Achievem...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in practice data ‘do not objectively guide decisions on their own—people do’ (Spillane, 2012, p. 114). Sutherland's (2020) study of school board members’ enactment of mandated assessment policies illustrates well how sensemaking, sensegiving and the construction of narratives are scaffolded within systems. She finds that individual board members might take on different positions towards what can and what cannot be achieved with standardised assessments, yet collectively decide to use such instruments in a way that fits into the local narrative of their organisations.…”

Section: Teachers’ and School Leaders’ Sensemaking Of Formal Achievem...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…She finds that individual board members might take on different positions towards what can and what cannot be achieved with standardised assessments, yet collectively decide to use such instruments in a way that fits into the local narrative of their organisations. In turn, those local interpretations do not necessarily align with system‐level messaging regarding the evaluative purposes and value of standardised assessments (Sutherland, 2020). Similarly, Snodgrass Rangel et al (2019) find that teachers balance messages about policy requirements and expectations with their own understandings of education and their personal beliefs about assessment and data use, and as a result, favour some types of data over others.…”

Section: Teachers’ and School Leaders’ Sensemaking Of Formal Achievem...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Teachers' and school leaders' sensemaking of formal achievement data: A conceptual review

Goffin

Janssen

Vanhoof

2022

Review of Education

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Formal achievement data such as test scores and school performance feedback from standardised assessments can be a powerful tool for data‐based decision making and school improvement. However, teachers’ and school leaders’ usage of these data is not necessarily straightforward or predictable. In order to illuminate how educational professionals engage with data in their daily practice, from their own subjective backgrounds and within their own contexts, data use researchers increasingly adopt a sensemaking perspective. Sensemaking, a theoretical construct grounded in psychological and organisational scholarship, offers a framework and a vocabulary to explain how cues such as educational output data are processed in real‐life educational settings. As such, sensemaking research sheds light on reasons why educational professionals’ use of these formal achievement data may deviate from normative expectations. The present study is a conceptual review of how sensemaking is conceived and applied in literature on educational professionals’ use of formal achievement data. In total, 25 empirical and theoretical studies were selected and subjected to thematic analysis. Findings include that sensemaking is used as a lens to study data use, as well as a label for interpretive micro‐processes of data analysis and interpretation, and that formal achievement data can be regarded as sensemaking resources. An integrated conceptual framework on educational professionals’ sensemaking of formal achievement data is presented, including a discussion of critical insights that may inspire future research on data‐based decision making in education.

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“…O artigo conclui com recomendações de práticas que conselhos escolares não rurais e comunidades podem empregar para expandir a participação democrática em suas escolas, bem como direções futuras para pesquisas. communities, which account for over half of all districts nationwide (NCES, 2016), local control of education is a geopolitical necessity, enacted either formally through legal statutes like school boards, or via unofficial, informal community engagement (Bauch, 2001;Sutherland, 2020).…”

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“Tell them local control is important”: A case study of democratic, community-centered school boards

Sutherland

2022

EPAA

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Democratically elected school boards in the United States play a crucial role in school governance because they enable community voice in educational practices and programs. Research on locally controlled boards finds they can be undemocratic and unproductive. However, little research has been conducted in rural or small towns, where local control persists through formal and informal means. This qualitative case study examines two rural, locally controlled school boards to understand how they engage in community-centered democratic governance, and the extent that they influence the technical core of schooling. The process of developing and approving school district budgets is used as illustrative examples of the enactment of local control. The findings from this study explain how small, locally controlled school boards employ elements of democratic governance, and that their community governance influences the technical core of schooling. The study provides a rural counter-narrative to previous research on local control, demonstrating that local control enacted by school boards can be an effective democratic practice that shapes teaching and learning in public schools. The article concludes with recommended practices non-rural school boards and communities can employ to expand democratic participation in their schools, as well as future directions for research.

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School Board Sensemaking of Federal and State Accountability Policies

Cited by 12 publications

References 54 publications

Making Waves: Districts as Policy Mediators in the Flow of School Gentrification

Making Waves: Districts as Policy Mediators in the Flow of School Gentrification

Teachers' and school leaders' sensemaking of formal achievement data: A conceptual review

“Tell them local control is important”: A case study of democratic, community-centered school boards

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