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Summary
Explores how to engage citizens in the
process of educational improvement.
Drawing on three years of field research and extensive theoretical and
empirical literature, Democratic Dilemmas chronicles the
day-to-day efforts of educators and laypersons working together to
advance student learning in two California school districts. Julie A.
Marsh reveals how power, values, organizational climates, and trust
played key roles in these two districts achieving vastly different
results. In one district, parents, citizens, teachers, and
administrators effectively developed and implemented districtwide
improvement strategies; in the other, community and district leaders
unsuccessfully attempted to improve systemwide accountability through
dialogue. The book highlights the inherent tensions of deliberative
democracy, competing notions of representation, limitations of current
conceptions of educational accountability, and the foundational
importance of trust to democracy and education reform. It further
provides a framework for improving community-educator collaboration and
lessons for policy and practice.
“The author reminds us that people who work collaboratively to make
change must understand that it is a negotiated process. There are costs
involved for each stakeholder. Successful collaboration implies that
participants become aware of these costs and develop ways to reframe
them as assets.” — Educational Administration Quarterly
“The comparative case studies allow the author to probe the emergent
themes and patterns and to deal with alternative interpretations with a
degree of sophistication not often found in the literature on efforts
to engage elements of the school community in school district
policymaking.” — Betty Malen, coeditor of Balancing Local Control and
State Responsibility for K–12 Education
“Findings from this book will inform practice in the field of school
governance and leadership.” — Kenneth Wong, author of City Choices:
Education and Housing
Julie A. Marsh is Policy Researcher at the RAND Corporation. She
is the coauthor (with Kerri A. Kerr, Gina S. Ikemoto, Hilary Darilek,
Marika Suttorp, Ron W. Zimmer, and Heather Barney) of The Role of
Districts in Fostering Instructional Improvement: Lessons from Three
Urban Districts Partnered with the Institute for Learning and the
coeditor (with Amy M. Hightower, Michael S. Knapp, and Milbrey W.
McLaughlin) of School Districts and Instructional Renewal.
Table of Contents
List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgments
Introduction
Overview of Two District Cases: Unlocking a Puzzle Historical Context of School-Community Connections Grounding the Study: A Lens for Understanding the Two Cases Study Background and Methods Reflections on and Implications of the Research Chapter Outline
1. Setting the Stage
State, Regional, and Local Context for Joint Work Key Facets and Activities of Joint Work Who Was at the Table What Was on the Table: Vision and Purpose How Participants Interacted and Made Decisions What Was Achieved Summing Up the Cases and Looking Ahead
2. Participation and Power
Power and Its Many Faces Participation Patterns and Biases Explanations and Implications for Democratic Practice Summing Up and Looking Ahead
3. Institutional Discord and Harmony
Democratic Inclusion and Professional Autonomy Market Perspectives and Democratic Inclusion Conditions Affecting Institutional Relationships Summing Up and Looking Ahead
4. The Democracy-Bureaucracy Face-off
Organizational Forms and Democracy Organizational Structure: Rigid versus Flexible Organizational Culture: Controlling versus Learning Leadership: Top-down versus Distributed How Resources Affected Organizational Climate Summing Up and Looking Ahead
5. Climates of Trust and Mistrust
What Is Trust? Institutional Trust Interpersonal Trust Foundations of Trust and Issues of Representation Summing Up and Looking Ahead
6. Implications for Policy and Practice in an Era of Accountability
Key Tensions and Dilemmas Revisited Policy Implications: Accountability as Community Responsibility Democratic and Educational Outcomes Practical Lessons Unresolved Dilemmas and Unanswered Questions
Appendix A Methodology Appendix B Mid Valley CAP Participants Appendix C Highland Strategic Planning Team
