A bridge between worlds: understanding network structure to understand change strategy

Daly, Alan J.; Finnigan, Kara S.

doi:10.1007/s10833-009-9102-5

Cited by 209 publications

(284 citation statements)

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“…Recently, researchers have suggested that the theory of social capital would provide a valuable lens to describe collaborative structures such as professional communities (Coburn, Choi, & Mata, 2010;Penuel, Riel, Krause, & Frank, 2009). Scholars seem to have overlooked what lies at the foundation of professional communities, such as teachers' social networks in schools Daly & Finnigan, 2009). Social capital theory can be used to elaborate both the structural and relational dimensions of teachers' social interactions by examining teachers' social networks and trust, two important dimensions of PLCs (Coburn & Russell, 2008;Daly, Moolenaar, Bolivar, & Burke, 2010;.…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward Conceptual Clarity

Sleegers¹,

Brok²,

Verbiest³

et al. 2013

The Elementary School Journal

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Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward Conceptual Clarity

Sleegers¹,

Brok²,

Verbiest³

et al. 2013

The Elementary School Journal

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“…This study, however, only involved one urban school district, and additional research is necessary to determine if the use of the frameworks is successful in other contexts. This study also demonstrated how social network analysis can be used to "understand how the underlying network of interactions within and organization may affect efforts at change" (Daly & Finnigan, 2009). Other frameworks that could also that could provide additional perspective on how the interactions within a school district affect systemwide change are organizational learning theory, which explores the decision making and problem solving processes in organizations to determine and organization's ability to achieve double-loop learning for fundamental change (Argyris, 1993), and transformational leadership which promotes individual and collective growth while relying on strong, positive relationships between leaders and other member of the system so as to motivate and empower all to attain systemwide change (Leithwood, 1994).…”

Section: Implications For Theorymentioning

confidence: 86%

“…Traditionally viewed as the "popular scapegoat for perceived poor performance" (Smith & Larimar, 2004, p. 735) and often overlooked as an agent of change, the district central office has historically served as a flow-through for large-scale reform funding and services (Honig, 2008). However, contemporary research on school improvement and reform increasingly supports including the district central office in reform efforts (Burch & Spillane, 2004;Chrispeels, et al, 2008;Daly & Finnigan, 2009;Honig, 2003;Honig, 2008;Johnson & Chrispeels, 2010). For example, Honig (2010) found when district central offices move beyond structural changes and transform the day-to-day work to focus on teaching and learning, the capacity for schools to improve is increased.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each survey elicited participant responses to relationships in the areas of best practices, data, decision-making, communication, professional grown, personal issues, and time spent outside of work. These focus areas were guided by the study research questions and contemporary SNA research in education (Daly & Finnigan, 2009;. In addition to the SNA survey, 11 interviews with members of the district central office and site principals and one interview with a teacher were conducted.…”

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confidence: 99%

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A Systems Theory Approach to the District Central Office's Role in School-Level Improvement

Mania-Singer¹

2017

AIJ

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This qualitative case study used General Systems Theory and social network analysis to explore the relationships between the members of a district central office and principals of elementary schools within an urban school district in the Midwest. Findings revealed sparse relationships between members of the district central office and principals, more opportunities for higher performing schools to participate in decision making, and few opportunities for all schools to provide feedback to the district, resulting in a centralized network structure that may inhibit the transfer of knowledge and communication, and ultimately, hinder school-level improvement efforts.Keywords: systems theory, social network analysis, district central office, reform he past two decades have been marked by large-scale federal education reforms aimed at eliminating the achievement gap between subgroups and improving academic outcomes in the nation's lowest performing schools. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), the Race to the Top Fund, and the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA) Flexibility waiver increased accountability of districts and schools by instituting rigorous achievement targets, implementing high stakes testing in multiple subject areas, establishing sanctions as incentives for improvement, and in some states, ushering in sweeping legislative changes tying teacher evaluations to student performance and establishing steeper consequences for persistently failing schools (Elementary and Secondary Education Act, 2011; NCLB, 2001; Race to the Top Fund, 2009). In most cases, these reforms relied heavily on prescribed efforts related to curriculum, leadership, and personnel focused at the school level, placing increased pressure and urgency on principals and teachers working in already challenging conditions (Finnigan, 2010;Finnigan, 2012).Ultimately, these efforts did not result in the intended outcomes. Arne Duncan highlighted these failures in a 2011 testimony before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, admitting that "four out of five schools in American may not meet their goals under NCLB." Results of the NAEP Trends in Academic Progress (2012) show that although progress has been made in both reading and math for nine and 13 year olds since the first assessments were given in the 1970s, there has been no significant change T A SYSTEMS THEORY APPROACH TO THE DISTRICT CENTRAL OFFICE'S ROLE 70 MANIA-SINGER / DOI: 10.5929/2017.7.1.6 in scores for 17 year olds, and scores for all grades in reading and math decreased or showed no significant change between 2013 and 2015 (The Nation's Report Card, 2015). Additionally, research on the effects of large-scale reform has found that schools that do exit the failing list are often doomed to return within a few years, and sanctions and other high-stakes incentives can have far reaching negative effects on students' academic experiences (Darling-Hammond, 2006;Mintrop & Sunderman, 2009; Scott, 2008;Selwyn, 2007;Sunderman, 2006). School improvement is a...

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“…It is now common to colloquially speak of one"s social network because of the ubiquitous use of networking platforms like Linked-In or Facebook as well as the new array of social media affixed to cell phones. This consciousness about networks has spread to educational phenomena,as well, such that it is now common for educational practitioners and stakeholders to discuss networks when managing teacher professional communities (Penuel et al 2009;Wiley 2001), school redesign networks (Daly and Finnigan 2010), cyber-bullying (Kowalski and Limber 2007), and the integration of technology into schools (Frank et al 2004). We believe that the growth of network thinking in educational research will only continue, but before elaborating on how we imagine this will look, it is worth beginning with a brief discussion of why it is that networks have become so popular in recent years in order to help clarify exactly what the potential research value is.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methodological Transactionalism and the Sociology of Education

McFarland

Diehl

Rawlings

2011

Frontiers in Sociology of Education

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The development and spread of research methods in sociology can be understood as a story about the increasing sophistication of tools in order to better answer fundamental disciplinary questions. In this chapter we argue that recent developments, related to both increased computing power and data collection ability along with broader cultural shifts emphasizing interdependencies, have positioned Social Network Analysis (SNA) as a powerful tool for empirically studying the dynamic and processual view of schooling that is at the heart of educational theory. More specifically, we explore how SNA can help us both better understand as well as reconceptualize two central topics in the sociology of education: classroom interaction and status attainment. We conclude with a brief discussion about possible future directions network analysis may take in educational research, positing that it will become an increasingly valuable research approach because our ability to collect streaming behavioral and transactional data is growing rapidly.

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A bridge between worlds: understanding network structure to understand change strategy

Cited by 209 publications

References 94 publications

Toward Conceptual Clarity

Toward Conceptual Clarity

A Systems Theory Approach to the District Central Office's Role in School-Level Improvement

Methodological Transactionalism and the Sociology of Education

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