Organizational Perspectives on Educational Improvement

LSAP 3095-1010 (CRN# 29060)

Instructors

Jennifer Russell

808 LRDC / 5812 Posvar

(412) 624-7489

Office Hours: By appointment

Schedule

Tuesdays, 12:00 – 2:40

LRDC 814

Course Description

One way to see the act of education is that it is essentially about what occurs between teachers and learners. In other words the key unit of analysis is the classroom or activity structure. The classroom is important, but teaching and learning are also shaped by their context. Individuals are situated in organizations, which are situated in broader social, cultural, and political environments. Consequently, reform and improvement efforts must not only take seriously individual factors, they must understand the ways in which individual action is enabled and constrained by organizational and environmental contexts.

This seminar will focus on schools as organizations drawing on theoretical and empirical work grounded in organizational theory. We will interrogate the institutional, organizational, and day-to-day contexts of work in schools. We also explore how reform efforts targeting organizational features can intervene and perhaps, improve teaching and learning. In order to grapple with the concepts from the literature, students will analyze several cases of organizational improvement efforts and conduct a small study examining an improvement effort in a local educational organization.

Goals / Objectives

  1. Students will demonstrate understanding of central organizational elements (e.g. core technology, human capital, social capital, leadership, goals, control) through application to analysis of fictional and real world organizational cases.
  2. Students will demonstrate an understanding of how organizations are shaped by their cultural, political and institutional context through analysis of fictional and real world organizational cases.
  3. Students will evaluate different models for educational improvement (e.g. charter schools, organizational learning, collaboration and networks) through an organizational perspective

Course Requirements

Students are responsible for completing the weekly reading assignments and preparing to actively participate in class discussions. The first two segments of the course will culminate in a case-based written analysis. Students are encouraged to form study groups to discuss readings and the preparation of the cases, but should write analyses individually. In addition, students will work in teams to analyze the organizational contexts relevant to the design work they are doing in the LSAP Design course.

Assignment 1: Individual case analysis. Students will write a 4 to 5single-spaced page analysis of the assigned case drawing on the concepts from the first segment of the course. Due October11

Assignment 2: Individual case analysis. Students will write a 5 to 7 double-spaced page analysis of the assigned case drawing on the concepts from the second segment of the course. Due November 15TH

Assignment 3:Organizational analysis and presentations. Students will complete original research in an organization undergoing a design-based improvement effort. Students will collect primary and secondary data, analyze data, and present findings in oral and written formats. Presentations on December 13th/ Papers due on December 16th

Grades will be determined by class attendance, active participation in class discussion (25%), by the quality and timely completion of the individual case analyses (25% each), and by the organizational analysis and presentation (25%).

Students should notify the instructor in advance of absences whenever possible. In order to avoid a deduction in participation points when absent, students should prepare a 2- to 3-page memo that summarizes and reacts to the assigned course readings. The memo and other assignments (if applicable) should be emailed to the instructor before the next course session. Absences greater than two will result in a reduction in participation points regardless of memo completion. A rubric will be provided in advance that outlines the grading for the individual cases and organization analysis and presentation.

The statements contained in this syllabus, other than the grading policies, may be subject to change with reasonable advance notice as deemed acceptable by the instructors.

Required texts:

Please purchase/obtain a copy of the following books:

  • Scott, W. R., & Davis, G. F. (2007). Organizations and organizing: Rational, natural, and open system perspectives: Pearson Prentice Hall.
  • Bryk, A., Easton, J. Q., Sebring, P. D., Allensworth, A. & Luppescu, S. (2011). Organizing for school improvement: Lessons from Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

All other assigned readings will be made available on-line through CourseWeb.

Departmental Grievance Procedures

Students are encouraged to first discuss the grievance with the instructor. If the grievance cannot be resolved, the aggrieved may file an appeal informally to the LSAP chair. The LSAP chair will immediately confer with the student and the faculty member involved. The aggrieved may request the assistance and presence of one of the graduate student representatives at this and at all following steps in the procedure. If a satisfactory resolution is not achieved, the individual may file a written statement of grievance with the LSAP chair. Upon receiving the grievance, the chair will establish a Grievance Committee composed of one faculty member selected by the aggrieved student, one faculty member selected by the chair, and a third faculty member appointed by the other two members. This committee will consider the grievance and make a written recommendation.

Policy on Academic Integrity

Students in this course will be expected to comply with the University of Pittsburgh’s Policy on Academic Integrity. Plagerizers will receive a failing grade for the course.

Disability Policy

If you have a disability for which you are or may be requesting an accommodation, you are encouraged to contact both your instructor and Disability Resources and Services (DRS), 216 William Pitt Union, 412-648-7890 (412- 282-7355 for TTY) as early as possible in the term. DRS will verify your disability and determine reasonable accommodations for this course.

Organizational Perspectives on School Improvement –DRAFT Schedule

Week / Session
1
Aug.
30 / Course overview
  • Introductions
  • Review syllabus and major assignments
  • Introductory lecture

Segment 1: Organizational Elements
2
Sept.
6 / Work / Technology
Scott Chapter 6: Technology and Structure
Kraft, M. A., Papay, J. P., Johnson, S. M., Charner-Laird, M., Ng, M., & Reinhorn, S. (2015). Educating Amid Uncertainty The Organizational Supports Teachers Need to Serve Students in High-Poverty, Urban Schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 51(5), 753-790.
Sherer, J. Z. & Spillane, J. P. (2011). Constancy and change in school work practice: Exploring the role of organizational routines. Teachers College Record.
3
Sept. 13 / Human Resources
Scott Chapter 7: Labor and Structure
Johnson, S. M. (2004). Finders and Keepers: Helping New Teachers Survive and Thrive in Our Schools. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. [Chapter 7]
OR
Kardos, S. M., & Johnson, S. M. (2007). On their own and presumed expert: New teachers' experience with their colleagues. Teachers College Record, 109(9), 2083-2106.
OR
Johnson & Birkeland
Johnson, S. M. (2015). Will VAMS reinforce the walls of the egg-crate school? Educational Researcher, 44(2), 117-126.
4
Sept.
20 / Social Resources
Scott Chapter 11: Networks In and Around Organizations, pages 278-285.
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.
Moolenaar, N. M., Daly, A. J., & Sleegers, P. J. (2010). Occupying the principal position: Examining relationships between transformational leadership, social network position, and schools’ innovative climate. Educational administration quarterly, 46(5), 623-670.
Hatch, T., Hill, K., & Roegman, R. (2016). Investigating the Role of Instructional Rounds in the Development of Social Networks and District-Wide Improvement. American Educational Research Journal, 53(4), 1022-1053.
Bryk, A. S., & Schneider, B. (2002). Trust in schools: A core resource for improvement. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. [Chapter 2]
Memo on design for
5
Sept. 27 / Goals, Power & Control
Scott Chapter 8: Goals, Power & Control
Ingersoll, R. (2003). Who Controls Teachers’ Work: Power and Accountability in America’s Schools. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [Chapter2]
Miller, R. J., & Rowan, B. (2006). Effects of organic management on student achievement. American Educational Research Journal, 43(2), 219-253.
Spillane, J. P., & Healey, K. (2010). Conceptualizing school leadership and management from a distributed perspective. The Elementary School Journal, 111(2).
Inquiry Design Memo Due
6
Oct. 4 / Synthesis / Taking Stock
Spillane, J., Gomez, L. & Messler. (2009). Notes on reframing the role of organizations in policy implementation: Resources for Practice, in Practice (pp. 409-425). In Sykes, G., Schneider, B. & Plank, D. N. Handbook of Education Policy Research. New York: Routledge.
REVIEW ACTIVITY
Segment 2: Organizations in their cultural, political and institutional context
7
Oct. 11 / Organizations & Environments
Scott & Davis, Ch. 4 (pages 87-98) & 9 (pages 233-244)
Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. (1978). The structure of educational organizations.
Kraft, M. A., Papay, J. P., Johnson, S. M., Charner-Laird, M., Ng, M., & Reinhorn, S. (2015). Educating Amid Uncertainty The Organizational Supports Teachers Need to Serve Students in High-Poverty, Urban Schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 51(5), 753-790.
CASE ANALYSIS DUE
8
Oct. 25 / Practice in organizations as shaped by their institutional environment
Coburn, C. E. (2004). Beyond decoupling: Rethinking the relationship between the institutional environment and the classroom. Sociology of Education, 77(3), 211-244. EVERYONE
Read one of the following ---
Goodrick, Elizabeth, and Gerald R. Salancik. 1996. “Organizational Discretion in Responding to Institutional Practice: Hospitals and Cesarean Births.” Administrative Science Quarterly, 41:1–28.
Metz, Mary H. 1989. “Real School: A Universal Drama Amid Disparate Experience.” Pp. 75–91 in Education Politics for the New Century, edited by D. E. Mitchell and M. E. Goertz. New York: Falmer Press.
Lounsbury, M., & Pollack, S. (2001). Institutionalizing civic engagement: Shifting logics and the cultural repackaging of service-learning in US higher education. Organization, 8(2), 319–339.
Ogawa, R.T. (1994). The institutional sources of educational reform: The case of school-based management. American Educational Research Journal, 31, 519-548.
9
Nov. 1 / Organizational Fields and Forms
DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American sociological review, 147-160.
Read one of the following ---
Scott, W.R., Deschenes, S., Hopkins, K., Newman, A., and McLaughlin, M. (December 2006). Advocacy organizations and the field of youth services: Ongoing efforts to restructure a field. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 35(4), 697-714.
Russell, J. L. (2011). From Child’s Garden to Academic Press: The role of shifting institutional logics in redefining kindergarten education. American Educational Research Journal, 48 (2), 236-267.
Hopkins, M. (2014). Beliefs in Context Understanding Language Policy Implementation at a Systems Level. Educational Policy, 0895904814550073.
Renzulli, L. A., Barr, A. B., & Paino, M. (2014). Innovative education? A test of specialist mimicry or generalist assimilation in trends in charter school specialization over time. Sociology of Education, 0038040714561866.
10
Nov. 8 / Recap – Institutional Theory
Ogawa, R. (2009). Commentary: Improvement or reinvention: Two policy approaches to school reform (pp. 534-538). In Sykes, G., Schneider, B. & Plank, D. N. Handbook of Education Policy Research. New York: Routledge.
Segment 3: Organizational Perspectives on School Improvement
11
Nov. 15 / Organizing Schools for Improvement – Part I
Bryk, A., Easton, J. Q., Sebring, P. D., Allensworth, A. & Luppescu, S. (2011). Organizing for school improvement: Lessons from Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chapters 1-3.
CASE ANALYSIS #2 DUE
12
Nov. 22 / Breaking Free from Institutionalized Structures: Charters, Privates & New Organizational Forms
Lubienski, C. (2003). Innovation in Education Markets: Theory and Evidence on the Impact of Competition and Choice in Charter Schools. American Educational Research Journal, 40(2), 395-443.
Lubienski, S. T., & Lubienski, C. (2006). School sector and academic achievement: A multilevel analysis of NAEP mathematics data. American Educational Research Journal, 43(4), 651-698.
Renzulli, L. A., Barr, A. B., & Paino, M. (2014). Innovative education? A test of specialist mimicry or generalist assimilation in trends in charter school specialization over time. Sociology of Education, 0038040714561866.
Collins, A. & Halverson, R. (2010). The second educational revolution:
Rethinking education in the age of technology. Journal of Computer Assisted
Learning, 26(1) 18-27.
13
Nov. 29 / Learning Within and Beyond Schools
Russell, J. L., Knutson, K., & Crowley, K. (2013). Collaborations bridging the formal-informal divide in an urban educational ecology. Journal of Educational Change.
Ito, M., Gutiérrez, K., Livingstone, S., Penuel, B., Rhodes, J., Salen, K., ... & Watkins, S. C. (2013). Connected learning: An agenda for research and design. Digital Media and Learning Research Hub.
Everyone skims pages 2 – 34 and 40 - 48
Choose one of the cases: Case 4 - 9
FINAL PAPER OUTLINES DUE
14
Dec. 6 / Networks
Daly, A. J., & Finnigan, K. S. (2010). A bridge between worlds: Understanding network structure to understand change strategy. Journal of Educational Change, 11(2), 111-138.
Dolle, J., Gomez, L., Russell, J. L., & Bryk, A. S. More than a network: Building professional communities for educational improvement. In B. J. Fishman, W. R. Penuel, A. R. Allen, & B. H. Cheng (Eds.). Design based implementation research. National Society for the Study of Education Yearbook, 112, 2.
TBD
15
Dec. 13 / Final Group Presentations
Final Papers Due Dec. 16

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