The Educational Change SIG conceptualizes educational change broadly. The EdChange SIG is open to papers that use various frameworks from across disciplines (e.g., organizational behavior, organizational theory, institutional theory, adult learning and development, critical analysis etc.) and methods (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed). We are also open to papers that focus on theoretical discussions in the field of educational change. With that said, the SIG is particularly interested in research situated in practice and facilitates opportunities to elevate the work of educators, community members, and others and their role in improvement and change. Critical perspectives as well as work that centers diversity, equity, and inclusion in the US and internationally are also of great interest.
Consider submitting your proposals to the Educational Change SIG when you submit to AERA 2023. Click here for information on submission. We look forward to learning about your work!
We look forward to seeing you at our business meeting on Sunday, April 15th, 6:30-8:30pm at the New York Hilton Midtown Hotel, Concourse Level, Concourse A Room. We will have a reception, awards ceremony, introduction of new officers, give-aways, and a fantastic evening with Andy Hargreaves and SIG colleagues from around the globe. You don't want to miss this networking and learning opportunity!
2017 Annual Meeting
SIG Sessions at AERA2017
Round Table 1: Educational change and the work of teachers
Chair: Corrie Stone-Johnson – University at Buffalo-SUNYDeveloping capacity for urban science education reform: The role of resource chains and constellationsKathryn N. Hayes – California State University - East Bay; Christine Lee Bae – Virginia Commonwealth University; Dawn M. O’Connor – Alameda County Office of Education; Rachelle DiStefano – California State University - East Bay; Jeffrey C. Seitz California State University - HaywardReviewing and rating teacher preparation: Examining NCTQ’s reform initiativeWen-Chia Claire Chang – Boston College; Molly Cummings Carney – Boston College; Megina Baker – Boston College / Harvard Graduate School of EducationSustaining an innovation in STEM instruction through deep change: The case of PERCSarah M. Bonner – Hunter College - CUNY; Roberta Trachtman – Allenwood Company, LLC
Virtuoso at work: What schools and systems can learn from excellent teachers
James H. Nehring – University of Massachusetts - Lowell; Megin Charner-Laird – Salem State University; Stacy Agee Szczesiul – University of Massachusetts - Lowell
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Symposium: Teachers leading education reform: The power and potential of professional learning communities
Chairs: Helen Janc Malone – Institute for Educational Leadership
Discussants: Christopher W. Day – University of Nottingham
Professional learning communities: Taking a contemporary viewMichelle Suzette Jones – University of Bath; Alma Harris – University of BathTaking the lead: Teachers leading educational reform through collaborative enquiryChristopher James Chapman – University of GlasgowDecentralization, localism, and the role of PLC’s in supporting school collaborations in Wales
Mark P. Hadfield – Cardiff UniversityTransitioning from PLC implementation to PLC sustainability: The pivotal role of district supportDianne F. Olivier – University of Louisiana at LafayetteTeacher-led professional collaboration and systemic capacity building: Developing communities of professional learnersCarol Campbell – OISE, University of Toronto; Ann Lieberman – Stanford University; Anna Yashkin – OISE, University of TorontoTeachers leading educational reform through enquiry networksLinda Kaser – Networks of Inquiry and Innovation; Judy Lindsay Halbert – University of British Colombia
Symposium: The emerging age of engagement, identity and well-being: New research findings from Ontario
Chair & Discussant: Alma Harris – University of Bath
Exploring the intersection of student identity and educational well-being Mark D’Angelo – Boston CollegeFostering professional engagement and well-being to ensure the success of all studentsShanee A. Wangia – Boston CollegeAttaining well-being through student voice: New directions in OntarioChris K. Bacon – Boston CollegeEmergent student engagement in Ontario school reformDennis Lynn Shirley – Boston College;Andy Hargreaves – Boston College
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Round Table 13: Educational change in classrooms, schools, and communities
Chair: Noni Mendoza-Reis – San José State University
How school context mediates the enactment of teacher beliefs in urban schoolsMegin Charner-Laird – Salem State University; James H. Nehring – University of Massachusetts - Lowell; Stacy Agee Szczesiul – University of Massachusetts - LowellMobilizing teachers as researchers to promote innovative classroom practice of implementing mathematical modeling in elementary gradesJennifer M. Suh – George Mason University; Kathleen Ann Matson – George Mason University; Monique Apollon Williams – George Mason University; Spencer Jamieson – Fairfax County Public Schools; Padmanabhan Seshaiyer – George Mason UniversityThe power of recess: Voices from one school’s “experiment” with additional with additional unstructured time for students Brian Mascio – Harvard UniversityWe are kind of at a pivotal point: Opt out’s vision for an ethic of careStephanie Schroeder – University of Florida; Elizabeth Currin – University of Florida; Todd McCardle – University of Florida
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Paper Session: Learning across borders: International research on educational change
Chair & Discussant: Corrie Stone-Johnson – University at Buffalo-SUNY
Challenges and promises in developing a school-led system in England: The role of teaching schoolQing Gu – University of Nottingham; Simon Rea; Lindsey Smethem – University of Nottingham; Matt Varley –Nottingham Trent University; John Dunford; Pam M. Summons – University of Oxford
Innovating instruction: Systemic transformation at the school levelEllen B. Meier – Teachers College, Columbia University; Dawn M. Horton – Teachers College, Columbia University; Seth A. McCall – Teachers College, Columbia University; Jessica Yusaitis Pike – Teachers College, Columbia University; Rita Sanchez – Teachers College, Columbia University; Alexandra Thomas – Teachers College, Columbia University; Caron M. Mineo – Teachers College, Columbia UniversityInternational learning communities: What can be learned across national boundaries?Amelia Peterson – Harvard University; Jal David Mehta – Harvard UniversityTwo steps forward, one step back: The successes and challenges of break-the-mold educational reformLea A. Hubbard – University of San Diego; Amanda L. Datnow – University of California, San Diego__________________________________________
Symposium: The past, present, and future of educational change
Chair & Discussant: Dennis Lynn Shirley – Boston College
Waves of education change: A review of the Journal Educational Change’s historical coreJuan Cristobal Garcia Huidobro – Boston College; Allison Nannemann – Boston College; Chris A. Bacon – Boston College; Katherine Thompson – Boston CollegeTracing the development of internationalednews.comThomas C. Hatch – Teachers College, Columbia University; Deirdre Faughey – Teaches College, Columbia UniversityLead the Change Series: An informal conversation within the field of educational changeHelen Janc Malone – Institute for Educational Leadership; Osnat Fellus – University of OttawaThe future of educational change: Deep learning and social justiceSantiago Rincón Gallardo – OISE, University of Toronto
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Round Table 23: Considering models for educational change
Chair: Helen Janc Malone – Institute for Educational LeadershipEducation as a complex system: Implications for education research and policyJames A. Levin – University of California - San Diego; Michael J. Jacobson – The University of SydneyParadoxical Distance of Equal Opportunity from Freedom of ChoiceAnNa Choi – EducatorInitial evidence for the utility of a multilevel assessment of a preschool’s readiness for changeAfton R. Kirk – University of Pittsburgh; Shannon Beth Wanless – University of Pittsburgh; Jennifer Briggs – University of PittsburghSeven models of change and their applicability to educational reform: Perspectives from complexity theoryMatthijs Koopmans – Mercy College
Partners: The business meeting was made possible by the generous support of two sponsors, Emerald and Springer publishers. We also thank our SIG's partners: Andy Hargreaves (The Journal of Professional Capital and Community); Tom Hatch (International Education News); Pak Tee Ng (Education Research for Policy and Practice journal); Michael Schratz (International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement); and Dennis Shirley (Journal of Educational Change). We also thank Michael Fullan, Ann Lieberman, and Dennis Shirley for donating their new books for our book drawing. SIG updates: We would like to thank our inaugural mentors, who mentored our SIG's emerging scholars pre, during, and post AERA: Carol Campbell, Amanda Datnow, Michael Fullan, Andy Hargreaves, Thomas Hatch, Ann Lieberman, Sharon Lynch, Pak Tee Ng, Beatriz Pont, Viviane Robinson, Kim Schildkamp, Dennis Shirley, and Allison Skerrett.
Awards: Congratulations to our two award winners: Dr. Santiago Rincón-Gallardo on his Emerging Scholar Award and Na Mi Bang on her Graduate Student Travel Award! We thank the Awards Committee: Susan Elliott-Johns (Nipissing University, Canada), Pak Tee Ng (National Institute of Education, Singapore), and Chriss Walther-Thomas (Virginia Commonwealth University, USA) for their service on the Committee.
Keynote: We also thank Beatriz Pont for her thought-provoking and timely keynote, "School Improvement and Education Policy-Making: A Difficult Relationship." We thank Jal Mehta (Harvard University) and Pak Tee Ng (National Institute of Education, Singapore) for serving as the session discussants.
2016 SIG Sessions: We had a record-breaking year for the Educational Change SIG! This year, we had 36 papers and 6 symposium proposals submitted to the SIG. Of these submissions, we accepted 3 symposia (50% acceptance rate) and 20 papers (55% acceptance rate) for presentation at the Annual Meeting in April. The papers were presented in either panel presentations or round tables.
Assessing Leadership for Adaptive Change Through the Lens of Complexity Theory With a focus on leadership for adaptive change—leadership practices that intend to transform, not reinforce, the status quo—this session examines three case studies of early career, urban school principals from Catholic, charter, and district schools who sought to enact adaptive change by distributing leadership responsibilities throughout their schools and creating a school culture shared by all community members. Drawing upon aspects of complexity theory, we explicate processes through which principals experienced and enacted adaptive leadership (Bennett & Elman, 2007). To conclude, we assess these studies through the meta-theoretical umbrella of integral theory (Wilber, 2006), an analytic lens that can serve as both an interpretive framework and operating system for school leaders (Forman & Ross, 2013). Inside the Opt Out Movement: The Role of Parent Protest in Educational Change In 2014-2015 hundreds of thousands of families across the United States decided to opt-out of high stakes standardized testing. As a result of the efforts of these opt-out families; school leaders, education stakeholders, and policymakers are reexamining both the use of assessments and broader educational change efforts in the United States. The objective of this session is to provide greater insight into this complex educational change phenomena through a combination of first-hand accounts from the front-lines of the opt out movement and emergent empirical research on the topic. Key topics will include what rationale informs the opt-out strategy, what are the demographics of opt-out families, and an analysis of the impact of opt-outs on school report cards and teacher evaluations. Successful Educational Research that Overcomes Inequalities After more than two decades working on educational research that has been recognized internationally, CREA has laid the ground of scientific knowledge that contributes to overcome inequalities. This has been achieved through rigorous scientific work that joins together scientific excellence with the demands, concerns and everyday reality of schools and the broader society, tackling issues such as school success, vulnerable groups, gender violence and the methodology of research itself. The scientific achievements presented in this session not only entailed the creation of new scientific knowledge: they have achieved unprecedented social and political impact, as hundreds of schools and thousands of children in different contexts have improved their educational achievement, and have created egalitarian educational spaces free of violence.