Social Side of Education Reform Blog Series (Image Map)
System
The Importance Of Relationships In Educational Reform
By Kara S. Finnigan and Alan J. Daly | July 7, 2014
Most education policies are characterized by over reliance on technical fixes, prescriptive approaches and scant attention to the context in which reforms are implemented. We intuitively know that strong relationships are the basis of successful organizations; yet, we pay little attention to them as we design and implement complex change. We must refocus our attention to policies that strengthen collaboration and trust at all levels of the system and not just those focusing on technical knowledge.
Regular Public And Charter Schools: Is A Different Conversation Possible?
By Esther Quintero | September 18, 2014
In this series we have been highlighting research that emphasizes the value of collaboration and considers extreme competition to be counterproductive. But, are there times when collaboration and competition can complement each other and, in combination, promote systemic improvement? At the system level, could different types of schools serving the same pool of students work in cooperative ways for the greater good of their communities?
Constitution For Effective School Governance
By Kenneth Frank | December 10, 2014
Economics is the current metaphor of choice in educational reform but this metaphor tends to overlook how teachers and administrators might act collectively to be more effective. What conditions could facilitate this collective work? A new approach to school governance might help to the extent that system-level checks and balances could increase overall trust, coordination, and a sense of purpose and shared vision, all necessary for deep lasting reform but currently missing in many educational contexts.
Resources On The Social Side Of Education Reform
by Esther Quintero | January 12, 2015
A list of resources exploring the idea that social relationships and networks are critical for understanding and improving school performance.
Broadening The Educational Capability Conversation: Leveraging the Social Dimension
by James Spillane | April 15, 2015
To reap the benefits of social capital, we need a better understanding of how to invest in it. A first step is to design organizations and systems that facilitate social interactions among school and school-system staff. And, to do this, it is essential that we understand the factors associated with the presence (or absence) of social ties. This post reviews those factors and offers recommendations for schools and school system leaders.
Developing Workplaces Where Teachers Stay, Improve, And Succeed
by John P. Papay & Matthew Kraft | May 28, 2015
A large body of research confirms that teachers have large effects on students’ learning and that some teachers are more effective than others. What is largely absent is a recognition of how teachers are supported or constrained by the organizational contexts in which they teach. This post shows how and why context matters.
District Leaders
All The World’s A Stage: How Churn Undermines Change
By Kara S. Finnigan and Alan J. Daly | October 28, 2014
Complex change requires trusting partnerships, strong leadership, and collaborative relationships. Personnel churn has the opposite effect: It undermines change imposing fiscal, human, and social capital costs in school systems. Accountability has increased stress and personnel movement in challenging districts. This has created a vicious cycle in which districts develop a coherent reform approach, while at the same time operating under policies that create the conditions for leaders to leave, thereby inhibiting improvement, thus motivating more policies that increase departures etc. Strengthening relationships is one way to break this cycle.
Teachers
Do Students Learn More When Their Teachers Work Together?
By Esther Quintero | July 17, 2014
Debates about how to improve education often involve two ‘camps’: Those who focus on the impact of “in-school factors” and those who focus on “out-of-school factors.” Social capital — the idea that relationships have value, that social ties provide access to important resources, and that a group’s performance can often exceed that of the sum of its members — is something that rarely makes it into the conversation. This is a problem because research suggests that students learn the most when their teachers are embedded in supportive professional networks.
Social Capital Matters As Much As Human Capital – A Message To Skeptics
By Esther Quintero | August 4, 2014
While most people would agree that relationships are important, critics might also point out that these aspects cannot really be leveraged cost-effectively with policy intervention toward any significant impact. Is the social side of reform a 'soft' idea? Yes and no. While skeptics are partially right that strong relationships can't be created overnight, there are effective ways to encourage the development of social capital.
No Teacher Is An Island: The Role Of Social Relations In Teacher Evaluation
By Alan J. Daly and Kara S. Finnigan | August 19, 2014
Is there a ‘social side’ to a teacher’s ability to add value to their students’ growth and, if so, what are the implications for current teacher evaluation models? Attending to schools' relational infrastructure suggests supplementing how we think about teacher evaluation and what we mean by adding value (individually and collectively) to student learning. Only by paying explicit attention to how social capital shapes individual teacher knowledge and practice will we be able to bring about large-scale change.
A New Focus On Social Capital In School Reform Efforts
By Carrie R. Leana and Frits K. Pil | October 14, 2014
Organizational success rarely stems from the latest technology or a few exemplary individuals. Rather, it is derived from: 1) intentional, systematic practices aimed at enhancing trust among employees; 2) information sharing and openness about problems and opportunities for improvement; and 3) a collective sense of purpose. Schools are no exception. The benefits of social capital are unequivocal, and unlike other policies, initiatives that foster it offer far more promise in terms of measurable gains for students.
Is Teaching More Like Baseball or Basketball?
By Esther Quintero | December 8, 2014
The research that we've been discussing in the social side series suggests that it might be smarter to focus on developing excellent teams of educators for all rather than fighting the increasingly competitive war for talent. One reason is that while most of us are neither exceptional nor awful, social capital can move us from good to great. Recent research adds a second reason: Too many superstars might result in a lower performing team when the task requires coordination and cooperation.
Teacher Quality - Still Plenty Of Room For Debate
by Esther Quintero | March 17, 2015
The New York Times' asked five education experts "How To Ensure and Improve Teacher Quality?" While the answers given are important, there is a relative inattention to policies and suggestions that would harness the power of the interpersonal level, which we know matters a great deal in the teacher quality equation.
Is The Social Side Of Education ‘Touchy Feely’?
by Esther Quintero | April 16, 2015
This post reviews the ways in which researchers are quantifying and modeling aspects of the social-organizational context of schools and how these measures are associated with teacher effectiveness, student achievement and school improvement. Capturing the social context of teaching and learning is complex but not impossible. It’s being done in increasingly diverse and complementary ways.
Trust: The Foundation Of Student Achievement
by Esther Quintero | May 21, 2015
Those who advocate for an overly strong focus on testing results in accountability systems often ignore the potential of social-relational and other contextual measures to help schools improve.
Students
Feeling Socially Connected Fuels Intrinsic Motivation and Engagement
By Esther Quintero | November 20, 2014
Our "social side" series have emphasized that teaching is a cooperative endeavor, and as such deeply influenced by the quality of a school's social environment. But to what extent are dispositions such as motivation, persistence and engagement, mediated by relationships and the social-relational context? I discuss three studies indicating that efforts to improve learning should include and leverage social-relational processes, such as how learners perceive (and relate to) their social contexts.
Teaching = Thinking + Relationship
by Bryan Mascio | May 5, 2015
Many of today's educational reforms reinforce a behaviorist view of teaching by fast-tracking the training for teachers, aiming to standardize their actions, using checklists for evaluation, and moving the cognitive work out of the classroom. However, true improvement will only come once we begin to see teaching and learning as highly complex cognitive processes that have vital relationships at their core.
by John Lane | June 11, 2015
Teachers and education reform efforts more generally, would benefit from opportunities to learn about and leverage the large body of scholarly knowledge on the social dynamics of classrooms.
Labor-Management
Turning Conflict Into Trust Improves Schools & Student Learning
By Greg Anrig | March 3, 2015
Effective public schools are built on strong collaborative relationships, including those between teachers and administrators. Despite challenges and setbacks, there are remarkable transformations taking place in a number of places across the United States where labor and management are jointly tackling whole district reform. It is time to attach booster rockets to an approach that can take the nation’s students to a much higher level.
Labor-Management Collaboration. American Federation of Teachers. (External)
Research-Practice
Why Teachers And Researchers Should Work Together For Improvement
By Bill Penuel | September 4, 2014
Policymakers are asking a lot of public school teachers these days, such as the shifts in teaching and assessment required to implement new, ambitious standards for student learning. Teachers need more time and supports to make these shifts. What kinds of guidance can educational research provide? Not as much as one would expect. The worlds of research and practice are separated by a large gap; to close it, practitioners and researchers need to work together for educational improvement.
Research-Practice Partnerships. William T Grant Foundation. (External)
School-Community
The Power of Community: Organizing for the Schools St. Paul’s Children Deserve (External)