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The Embeddedness of Teachers’ Social Networks: Evidence from a Study of Mathematics Reform

Item

Title
The Embeddedness of Teachers’ Social Networks: Evidence from a Study of Mathematics Reform
Abstract/Description
Teachers’ social networks can play an important role in teacher learning and organizational change. But what influences teachers’ networks? Why do some teachers have networks that are likely to support individual and organizational change, while others do not? This study is a first step in answering this question. We focus on how district policy influences the quality and configuration of teachers’ social networks. We draw on a longitudinal, qualitative study of implementation of a mathematics curriculum in four schools. We show that district policy (1) shaped the tie formation process, influencing the structure of networks; (2) mobilized resources that teachers subsequently accessed via their networks, influencing the benefits accrued through network exchanges; and (3) introduced interaction routines that interrupted conventional ways that teachers talked together. We thus uncover heretofore unexplored facets of network formation and change. We also provide insight into dimensions of social networks that are amenable to outside intervention.
Date
2013
In publication
Sociology of Education
Volume
86
Issue
4
Pages
311-342
Resource type
en
Resource status/form
en
Scholarship genre
en
IRE Approach/Concept
Organizational Change
Language
en
Open access/full-text available
en Yes
Peer reviewed
en Yes
ISSN
0038-0407
Citation
Cobb, P., & Jackson, K. (2021). An Empirically Grounded System of Supports for Improving the Quality of Mathematics Teaching on a Large Scale. Implementation and Replication Studies in Mathematics Education, 1(1), 77–110. https://doi.org/10.1163/26670127-01010004
Abbreviation
Sociol Educ

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