Article
Threat Rigidity, School Reform, and How Teachers View Their Work Inside Current Education Policy Contexts.pdf
American Educational Research Journal
(2009)
Abstract
This article reports on a study of teachers at one reforming high school. Though it is not their task to debate No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the authors locate their investigation inside the current policy context to which NCLB is attached. Specifically, they present their analysis through the organizational behavior lens of threat rigidity to discuss the ways that current federal and state policy contexts influence schools and how those affected schools in turn adopt corresponding reforms that influence teachers' work. The analysis demonstrates that on both levels, such influence occurs in similar ways: by centralizing and restricting the flow of information, by constricting control, by emphasizing routinized and simplified instructional/assessment practices, and by applying strong pressure for school personnel to conform.
Keywords
- educational policy,
- educational reform,
- qualitative research,
- educational context
Disciplines
Publication Date
March, 2009
DOI
10.3102/0002831208320573
Publisher Statement
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Citation Information
Brad Olsen and Dena Sexton. "Threat Rigidity, School Reform, and How Teachers View Their Work Inside Current Education Policy Contexts.pdf" American Educational Research Journal Vol. 46 Iss. 1 (2009) p. 9 - 44 ISSN: 0002-8312 Available at: http://works.bepress.com/dena-sexton/2/