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The Institution of Schooling

Item

Title
The Institution of Schooling
Alternate name
Chapter 4
Abstract/Description
Since educators and researchers are situated in a complex environment and face pressures and obstacles to change structures and activities (Coburn, 2016; Penuel et al., 2015; Peurach et al., 2019), organizational theory can be used to (1) understand phenomena occurring in the context of schooling and (2) shape IRE. In this chapter, we present foundational concepts from organizational theory portraying their relevance for IRE. We describe how organizational theory can enable researchers and practitioners to understand phenomena in educational organizations and design for improvement.

We make concrete six theoretical tools so scholars and practitioners can conceptualize the interplay among institutional and organizational factors in schooling and how this interplay influences IRE. Treating these theories as tools for robust scholarship and deep improvement, we discuss how each theory relates to efforts in IRE to bring about more equitable learning environments and outcomes. Specifically, we highlight how researchers and practitioners can apply theoretical tools to learn more about existing practices, identify needs, and design IRE to further social justice aims in education. This chapter also depicts interconnections among various “planes”—from macro-level structural forces associated with the education system and meso-level organizational conditions guiding collaboration to micro-level conceptions of student ability often intertwined with perceptions of race, gender, and socioeconomic status (Coburn, 2016; Ray, 2019). To expose and explain concepts from organizational theory, we include two cases on IRE. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how these theoretical tools could be applied by researchers and practitioners engaging in IRE.
[Quoted from pp. 67-68]
Author/creator
Woulfin, Sarah L.
Allen, Carrie D.
Date
2022
In publication
The Foundational Handbook on Improvement Research in Education
Editor
Peurach, Donald J.
Russell, Jennifer Lin
Cohen-Vogel, Lora
Penuel, William R.
Pages
67-88
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Resource type
en Research/Scholarly Media
Resource status/form
en Published Text
Scholarship genre
en Theoretical
IRE Approach/Concept
Organizational Theory
Institutional Theory
Systems Theory
Structure-Agency Theory
Social Capital
Sensemaking/Interpretation
Framing
Research Practice Partnership (RPP)
Justice
Equity
Infrastructure
Featured case/project
Reopening Gristmill Schools Partnership (RGSP)
Wells District/Green University Research Practice Partnership
Open access/full-text available
en No
ISBN
978-1-5381-5234-8
URL
Publisher Webpage
Citation
Woulfin, S. L., & Allen, C. D. (2022). The Institution of Schooling. In D. J. Peurach, J. L. Russell, L. Cohen-Vogel, & W. R. Penuel (Eds.), The Foundational Handbook on Improvement Research in Education. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538152348/The-Foundational-Handbook-on-Improvement-Research-in-Education
Item sets
Handbook Chapter 19 Citations
The Foundational Handbook on Improvement Research in Education

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