This American Educator Panels (AEP) Data Note highlights discrepancies in principals' and teachers' perceptions of the continuity of school reforms in their schools. Data from the AEP reveal that teachers are much more likely to report school reform churn than principals.

School Reform Efforts: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?

Educator Perspectives on the Rapid Life Cycle of School Reforms

Christopher Joseph Doss, Goke Akinniranye

ResearchPublished Apr 7, 2020

School reform has become an umbrella term for initiatives and programs that aim to improve school functioning and student outcomes. Many researchers and educators have noted the emergence of a "school reform churn." New initiatives and programs are adopted, only to be dropped when the next popular reform emerges. Although experimenting with new approaches is important, continuity and stability are needed for the healthy functioning of a school. This American Educator Panels Data Note highlights discrepancies in principals' and teachers' perceptions of the continuity of school reforms in their schools. Data from AEP reveal that teachers are much more likely to perceive school reform churn than principals. These differences in perceptions exist across schools of different demographic composition and across educators of different experience levels. Though the underlying reasons for the disparity can be varied, this disconnect in perceptions can have implications for the success of reforms.

Key Findings

Principals perceive stability, teachers perceive discontinuity

  • A large majority of principals (89 percent) reported a sense of continuity in the programs at their school, while only 56 percent of teachers surveyed reported the same.
  • Ninety percent of principals reported following up on school reforms to judge their effectiveness, but only 53 percent of teachers stated that follow-up occurred.
  • Sixty-one percent of teachers said that programs "come and go" at their schools — compared with only 33 percent of principals who said the same.
  • These disparities in perceptions exist across schools of different demographic composition and across educators of different experience levels.

Recommendation

  • Principals might want to investigate whether perception disparities about reform churn exist in their school and, if they do exist, examine their underlying causes. Closing perception gaps might lead to greater teacher buy-in and higher rates of program success.

Topics

Document Details

Citation

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Doss, Christopher Joseph and Goke Akinniranye, School Reform Efforts: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? Educator Perspectives on the Rapid Life Cycle of School Reforms, RAND Corporation, RR-2575/3-1-BMGF, 2020. As of September 11, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2575z3-1.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Doss, Christopher Joseph and Goke Akinniranye, School Reform Efforts: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? Educator Perspectives on the Rapid Life Cycle of School Reforms. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2020. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2575z3-1.html.
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