Organizational Change in Ed

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course will examine the nature of educational organizations – public and private – in the US and how change occurs within educational institutions, particularly schools and school districts. We will examine the theories of change associated with charter schools and privatization, strategies of interest group mobilization, community mobilization, and agenda-setting within the political arena, as well as strategies of litigation and public messaging and media campaigns. We will also examine the school level factors that are necessary for reforms to take root and improve educational outcomes for children – particularly trust, teacher capacity, and resource inputs into the system – paying close attention to how issues of race and class inequities in political representation translate into disparities of educational opportunity.