Improving Schools through Networks: A New Approach to Urban School Reform

Research suggests that decentralized management reforms have produced changes in classroom practice and higher student achievement in some schools. However, many schools simply do not have the capacity to improve on their own. A few school districts are experimenting with a new approach to school re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Educational policy (Los Altos, Calif.) Calif.), 2003-09, Vol.17 (4), p.399-430
Main Authors: Wohlstetter, Priscilla, Malloy, Courtney L., Chau, Derrick, Polhemus, Jennifer L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Achievement
Comprehensive School Reform
Cooperation
Cooperative Programs
Decentralization
Education reform
Educational Change
Educational policy
Educational sciences
Elementary Secondary Education
Networks
North America
Organizational Development
Policy, reform, legislation
School Based Management
Schools
United States
Urban areas
Urban Schools
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Summary:Research suggests that decentralized management reforms have produced changes in classroom practice and higher student achievement in some schools. However, many schools simply do not have the capacity to improve on their own. A few school districts are experimenting with a new approach to school reform—school networks—that relies on collaboration between schools. This article draws on data from an evaluation of the Annenberg Challenge in Los Angeles, a reform effort that experimented with school networks as a vehicle for improving schools. As a theoretical framework, the authors applied Lawler's (1991) high-involvement model, which suggests that in order for an organization's improvement efforts to be successful, resources must be decentralized, and stakeholders must be actively collaborating on the reform process. The authors found that when school networks created structures that decentralized power and distributed organizational resources throughout the network, they also enhanced school capacity for reform.
ISSN:0895-9048
1552-3896
DOI:10.1177/0895904803254961