Rethinking Scale: Moving Beyond Numbers to Deep and Lasting Change

Item

Title: Rethinking Scale: Moving Beyond Numbers to Deep and Lasting Change
Abstract/Description: The issue of “scale” is a key challenge for school reform, yet it remains undertheorized in the literature. Definitions of scale have traditionally restricted its scope, focusing on the expanding number of schools reached by a reform. Such definitions mask the complex challenges of reaching out broadly while simultaneously cultivating the depth of change necessary to support and sustain consequential change. This article draws on a review of theoretical and empirical literature on scale, relevant research on reform implementation, and original research to synthesize and articulate a more multidimensional conceptualization. I develop a conception of scale that has four interrelated dimensions: depth, sustainability, spread, and shift in reform ownership. I then suggest implications of this conceptualization for reform strategy and research design.
Author/creator: Coburn, Cynthia E.
Date: 2003
In publication: Educational Researcher
Volume: 32
Issue: 6
Pages: 3-12
Resource type: en Research/Scholarly Media
Resource status/form: en Published Text
Scholarship genre: en Theoretical
Language: en
Open access/full-text available: en Yes
Peer reviewed: en Yes
ISSN: 0013-189X
DOI: 10.3102/0013189X032006003
URL: Official Publisher's Webpage (SAGE Journals); Full-text PDF Shared by Author (ResearchGate)
Citation: Coburn, C. E. (2003). Rethinking Scale: Moving Beyond Numbers to Deep and Lasting Change. Educational Researcher, 32(6), 3–12. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X032006003
Cited in: Scale and Sustainability of Education Innovation and Improvement

Item sets: Handbook Chapter 14 Citations; OB Citations - Scale and Sustainability of Education Innovation and Improvement

Annotations

There are no annotations for this resource.