The Problems of Practice: Bricolage as a Metaphor for Teachers’ Work and Learning

In this article the author uses Levi-Strauss’ (1966) metaphor of Bricolage to examine how teachers, not policymakers, make sense of their “problems of practice” in three United States high schools. The article also examines how teachers address these problems of practice. It concludes by underscoring the disconnect between teachers’ and policymakers’ perspectives on the challenges to teacher practice in the US. Finally, implications for practice and research are drawn.L’auteur de cet article s’appuie sur la métaphore du bricolage de Lévi-Strauss pour étudier la façon dont les enseignants, et non les décideurs, trouvent un sens aux problèmes liés à l’exercice de leur profession, et comment ils y font face. L’étude porte sur des enseignants dans trois écoles secondaires aux États-Unis. La conclusion de l’auteur révèle la discordance entre la perspective des enseignants et celle des directeurs sur les défis du milieu de l’enseignement aux États-Unis. L’auteur présente également des incidences de sa recherche sur la pratique et la recherche

To honor and glorify God\u27: The role of religion in one intercollegiate athletic culture

Numerous events have provided evidence that the cultural values and assumptions of intercollegiate athletic departments are often incongruent with those of their host institutions. This discrepancy has even been evident in Christian institutions which seek to integrate faith into the learning experience. Using the organizational culture perspective, this study sought to determine how religion influenced the culture of one intercollegiate athletics department. The study took place at a highly selective evangelical Christian college with a nationally competitive athletic department. Data were collected through interviews with 19 campus leaders, observation of cultural events and document analysis. Analysis occurred qualitatively through a process of theorizing. The results indicate that evangelical Christianity played a significant role in the athletic department\u27s culture by constraining its membership, influencing its pedagogy and guiding department decisions. As a result, its values and assumptions were consistent with those of the overall campus culture. The reasons underlying this cultural integration offer coaches and administrators of all institutional affiliations the possibility that the organizational culture perspective can be used to create athletic programs that are more consistent with institutional values

The Unite the Right Rally and Charlottesville City Schools: The Transformation of a Crisis

Educational leaders at all levels must be prepared to address crises and their aftermaths. The conventional wisdom on crises and their management suggests that while crisis can originate from myriad sources, they largely proceed according to predictable stages. Our study draws from traditional and more critical literature on crisis and crisis management to understand the case the 2017 Unite the Right rally and its impact on Charlottesville City Schools. Specifically, we unpack the unfolding nature of the crisis and the district superintendent’s leadership through each phase of the crisis. We use the notion of paracrisis and crisis of challenge to understand how an acute and traumatic experience for the school community evolved into a crisis that challenged the legitimacy of the school district for its history of policy and practices that sustained institutionally racist practices for decades. Our findings illustrate how the process of crisis transformation occurred, and more importantly, how the superintendent’s approach to leadership also changed to meet the new demands of the evolving crisis. These findings raise important questions and implications for how educational leaders might think about the crises they face, and the crisis management plans that guide that work

District Workforce Development and Instructional Capacity: A Strategic Perspective

Paper presented at the annual American Educational Research Association Conference, New York City, New York, March 24-28, 2008.Some depictions of human resource (HR) functions tend to see connections to core missions, e.g., teaching and learning, as a “hub and spoke” arrangement with HR functions such as recruitment, selection, induction, professional development, and so on. Clearly, the gap between strategic intentions and practice is a challenge across public and private sectors and across 3 industries. We also suspect that the lack of evidence of strategic practice in school districts may have something to do with limited conceptualizations of strategic human resource management (SHRM) that could otherwise lead to observations from which theorizing and evaluation can take place

Cultivating a \u27Community of Practice\u27 in an Educational Leadership Preparation Program: Experiences and Roles of Adjunct Faculty

Educational leadership preparation programs increasingly rely on adjunct faculty to teach aspiring leaders. Although the percentage of adjunct faculty serving as instructors continues to grow relative to full-time, tenured faculty, the role of part-time instructors/K-12 practitioners remains confined to instruction. This study explored how one educational leadership preparation program attempted to include adjunct faculty in roles beyond teaching to include course and curriculum development, program redesign, and recruitment and marketing. Informed by the communities of practice literature, this study illustrates ways that programs can foster meaningful professional community among full- and part-time faculty in ways that contribute to program quality. In this study we found that fostering a professional community not only contributes to positive program outcomes, but also creates formal and informal learning opportunities and a powerful professional network for adjunct faculty. The implications for program practice are discussed in light of these findings

Teacher learning in context: The special case of rural high school teachers

Falling under the umbrella of teacher quality, professional development is an important policy issue in US public education. Understanding teacher learning and its relationship to teacher work is critical if efforts to improve teacher quality are to be successful. This article examines one overlooked context in the discourse about teacher learning and work—rural high schools. The study focuses on 20 teachers across 3 case study schools and conceptualizes the relationship between teacher learning and work according to three contexts: the core, intermediate and peripheral contexts. These contexts are explored and important features discussed

Bureaucratic discretion and alternative teacher certification: understanding program variation in Missouri.

Alternative teacher certification literature has contributed significantly to our understanding of this approach to teacher preparation. However, this literature has more often than not treated alternative teacher certification programs (ATCPs) as a black box, thus ignoring program heterogeneity. The present study examines how and why five ATCPs in Missouri have evolved in different ways. To understand this variation and its potential significance for researchers and practitioners, we use political science literature on bureaucratic discretion to understand programs' varied responses within the same state policy context. Using a multiple case study design, we present two key findings. First, external factors such as the state's regulatory approach, programs' relationships with school districts, and programs' relationship with external partners shape program coordinators' perceptions of their discretionary authority. Second, within an environment of limited regulation, programs responded to these external factors in ways that shaped programs in dramatically different ways. These approaches ranged from formal partnerships with large urban school districts and philanthropic funders to alternative certification programs that were at least partially blended with existing undergraduate and post baccalaureate teacher preparation programs. In our discussion, we explore how state attempts to widen the discretionary space between the rules may have allowed external interests (e.g., school districts, and external funders) to backfill that space in ways that limit the potential for programs to provide high quality preparation experiences. This study explores these consequences and trade offs in order to inform policy makers and practitioners who are concerned with fostering innovative and creative ways to prepare high quality teachers

To honor and glorify God\u27: The role of religion in one intercollegiate athletic culture

Numerous events have provided evidence that the cultural values and assumptions of intercollegiate athletic departments are often incongruent with those of their host institutions. This discrepancy has even been evident in Christian institutions which seek to integrate faith into the learning experience. Using the organizational culture perspective, this study sought to determine how religion influenced the culture of one intercollegiate athletics department. The study took place at a highly selective evangelical Christian college with a nationally competitive athletic department. Data were collected through interviews with 19 campus leaders, observation of cultural events and document analysis. Analysis occurred qualitatively through a process of theorizing. The results indicate that evangelical Christianity played a significant role in the athletic department\u27s culture by constraining its membership, influencing its pedagogy and guiding department decisions. As a result, its values and assumptions were consistent with those of the overall campus culture. The reasons underlying this cultural integration offer coaches and administrators of all institutional affiliations the possibility that the organizational culture perspective can be used to create athletic programs that are more consistent with institutional values

Bureaucratic Discretion and Alternative Teacher Certification: Understanding Program Variation in Missouri 1

Alternative teacher certification literature has contributed significantly to our understanding of this approach to teacher preparation. However, this literature has more often than not treated alternative teacher certification programs (ATCPs) as a black box, thus ignoring program heterogeneity. The present study examines how and why five ATCPs in Missouri have evolved in different ways. To understand this variation and its potential significance for researchers and practitioners, we use political science literature on bureaucratic discretion to understand programs’ varied responses within the same state policy context. Using a multiple case study design, we present two key findings. First, external factors such as the state’s regulatory approach, programs ’ relationships with school districts, and programs’ relationship with external partners shape program coordinators ’ perceptions of their discretionary authority. Second, within an environment of limited regulation, programs responded to these external factors in ways that shaped programs i