District Policy and Teachers' Social Networks

Policy makers increasingly include provisions aimed at fostering professional community as part of reform initiatives. Yet little is known about the impact of policy on teachers' professional relations in schools. Drawing theoretically from social capital theory and methodologically from qualit...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Educational evaluation and policy analysis 2008-09, Vol.30 (3), p.203-235
Main Authors: Coburn, Cynthia E., Russell, Jennifer Lin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Board of Education Policy
Collegiality
Community Relations
Curricula
Curriculum Development
Curriculum Implementation
Districts
Educational Change
Educational Practices
Educational Strategies
Elementary School Teachers
Elementary Schools
Evidence
Expertise
Human Capital
Initiatives
Innovations
Instructional Innovation
Instructional Leadership
Interaction
Intervention
Learning
Mathematics
Mathematics curricula
Mathematics Curriculum
Mathematics education
Mathematics Instruction
Mathematics teachers
Network Analysis
Opportunities
Policy Formation
Policy making
Professional Development
School Districts
School Location
Social Capital
Social interaction
Social network analysis
Social networking
Social Networks
Student Records
Studies
Teacher Collaboration
Teachers
Teaching Methods
Trust (Psychology)
Urban Schools
Womens studies
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Policy makers increasingly include provisions aimed at fostering professional community as part of reform initiatives. Yet little is known about the impact of policy on teachers' professional relations in schools. Drawing theoretically from social capital theory and methodologically from qualitative social network analysis, this article explores how district policies influence teachers' social networks in eight elementary schools in two districts involved in the scale-up of mathematics curriculum. It is argued that policy affects whom teachers seek out for discussion of mathematics instruction but that differences in policy provisions lead to variations in the nature and quality of interactions. Furthermore, school leaders mediate district policy, thereby influencing these patterns of interaction. By uncovering the dynamics by which policy influences teachers' social networks, this article contributes to understandings of the factors that foster the development of social capital. It also uncovers opportunities for intervention for those designing policy initiatives to support implementation of instructional innovations.
ISSN:0162-3737
1935-1062
DOI:10.3102/0162373708321829