From Interpretation to Instructional Practice: A Network Study of Early-Career Teachers’ Sensemaking in the Era of Accountability Pressures and Common Core State Standards

Abstract

Accountability pressures and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics have created complex demands for educators, especially early-career teachers (ECTs). Analyzing longitudinal data, including the social networks of 119 ECTs, we find that ECTs increase their ambitious mathematics instruction when their network members positively interpret accountability pressures and curricular standards as manifest in standardized tests and evaluation. This estimated effect is net of an ECT’s rich covariates, including the levels of ambitious mathematics instruction at the beginning of the academic year. It is implied that not all ECTs experience accountability pressures and curricular standards in the same way—their experiences are affected by the immediate networks in which they are embedded. Corresponding guidance for teacher educators and administrators is given.

Understanding Public Sentiment About Educational Reforms: The Next Generation Science Standards on Twitter

“…On a micro level, teachers are more likely to act in ways that support reform efforts if they align with their individual beliefs and practices (Coburn, 2001), which includes personal positive sentiment. Also, social network analysis-based research illustrates that teachers' interactions with colleagues influence their behaviors (Coburn, 2001;Frank et al, 2015Frank et al, , 2020Penuel et al, 2013). Micro-level interactions with colleagues could also affect sentiment at a larger scale, in that momentary, positive interactions between colleagues about an ongoing reform could lead to more robust implementation.…”

Making Sense of Sensemaking: Understanding How K–12 Teachers and Coaches React to Visual Analytics

“…For example, in a K-12 setting, curricular standards and external accountability pressures create significant demands for educators, often shaping the culture of data use in schools (Frank, Kim, Salloum, Bieda, & Youngs, 2020;Farrell & Marsh, 2016). Teachers and coaches are expected to make sense of instructional data to set classroom goals, track student progress, re-design a course, or identify new pedagogical strategies, among other tasks (Farrell & Marsh, 2016).…”

An Integrated Framework for Studying How Schools Respond to External Pressures

“…For example, in studying the institutional influence of reading policy on teaching practices, Penuel et al (2013) found that teacher practices did not conform to the new normative regime but were shaped by the local norms of practices in collegial subgroups. Other work has described similar relationships with informal social networks and communities of practice shaping how teachers experience institutional forces related to accountability and standards (e.g., Daly & Finnigan, 2010;Diamond & Spillane, 2004;Frank et al, 2020;Wilhelm et al, 2016). Furthermore, intraorganizational teacher social networks serve as a primary context for internalizing the identities, goals, habits, and schemas associated with different logics and shaping how teachers understand which of those available aspects are applicable in a given situation (Bridwell-Mitchell & Sherer, 2017).…”