Building common instructional practice in a choice-driven district : what reform brought to Milwaukee 1999-2009
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Two competing strategies for school improvement have gained traction over the past twenty years. One approach centers on attempts to better manage instruction from the top as a way to improve school quality and student outcomes. The other strategy aims to loosen controls by giving schools more autonomy with the thought that educators will utilize increased autonomy as a mechanism for creating and redesigning schools that better meet the needs of students. At the district level, these two approaches have been loosely categorized as managed instruction or a portfolio reform strategy respectively. Although many districts have attempted variations of both of these models, few districts have attempted to actively manage instruction within a portfolio of schools. To better understand how these strategies can support and diminish one another this study examined Milwaukee Public Schools' attempt to build common instructional practice in its portfolio of schools. The study sought to answer two primary questions: How can a district attempt to build common instructional practice in a portfolio of schools and to what effect? To address these questions the study presents a case study on the implementation of the MPS instructional improvement plan and an examination of both student outcomes and instructional practice across the district. It was concluded that the outcomes are mixed: the district has made progress in creating the context necessary for building common practice, but wide variation in instructional still exists. MPS has created a common language for discussing instruction and implemented processes that support common practice, with a particularly strong effort in making instructional practice transparent. Despite success in these areas the district has not yet realized the system-wide changes in instructional practice it had sought because many of the policies and attitudes that support the portfolio approach frustrate the attempts at building common practice. It has been especially difficult for the district to build an instructional accountability system and create coherence and support for its principals and teachers.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2010 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Montgomery, Kenneth Carl |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, School of Education. |
| Primary advisor | Darling-Hammond, Linda, 1951- |
| Thesis advisor | Darling-Hammond, Linda, 1951- |
| Thesis advisor | Alvarado, Anthony |
| Thesis advisor | Labaree, David F, 1947- |
| Advisor | Alvarado, Anthony |
| Advisor | Labaree, David F, 1947- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Kenneth Carl Montgomery. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the School of Education. |
| Thesis | Ph. D. Stanford University 2010 |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2010 by Kenneth Carl Montgomery
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license (CC BY).
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