TY - JOUR
T1 - Mantener el cambio hacia la equidad racial a través de ciclos de investigación
AU - Dowd, Alicia C.
AU - Liera, Román
N1 - Funding Information:
1 This work was funded through the Study of Data Use and Organizational Learning under Conditions of Accountability by the Spencer Foundation.
Funding Information:
In the context of the current study, organizational learning refers to the process by which practitioners engage collectively to learn about the root causes of institutional dysfunctions that produce racial inequities, develop knowledge to address them, and experiment with new policies and practices to improve organizational performance as measured by equity in college student participation and outcomes among racial and ethnic groups (Bauman, 2005; Bensimon, 2005; Bensimon & Harris III, 2012; Lorenz, 2012; Witham & Bensimon, 2012). Inquiry-based approaches to organizational learning rely on practitioners—faculty, administrators, and staff—to use data in a systematic and reflective manner to acquire the knowledge and expertise they need to carry out organizational change (Kezar, 2014; Panero & Talbert, 2013; Reason, 1994). In a review published of the research literature in the US, the United Kingdom, and other countries, Romm (2010, p. 323) concluded that there are a “dearth of examples of ‘race conscious’ action research” studies. In the context of U.S. higher education, the number of examples has grown over the past decade, as several states, including California (Bensimon, 2004; Dowd, 2008), Colorado (Witham, Chase, Bensimon, Hanson, & Longanecker, 2015), Nevada (Bensimon, Dowd, Longanecker, & Witham, 2012), Pennsylvania (Cavanaugh & Garland, 2012) and Wisconsin (Dowd & Bensimon, 2015), have utilized the Equity Scorecard action research process to structure practitioner inquiry as a central component of their accountability agenda, thereby centering race-conscious inquiry as a strategy for organizational improvement. In Colorado, the inquiry-based data use process, which led to curriculum restructuring and the development of culturally responsive pedagogies (Ladson-Billings, 1995) was paired closely with accountability policy formulation through the state’s Equity in Excellence initiative (Witham et al., 2015). The Illinois community college system has, similarly, utilized the data-driven continuous improvement process called Pathways to Results to support inquiry into racial inequities in the community colleges and to “scale equity-driven innovations” (Bragg, McCambly, & Durham, 2016, p. 43). All of these projects involved hosting meetings and institutes where participants could interact with each other as they engaged in sensemaking from an equity perspective about racial and ethnic disparities in student progress and success in academic milestones, such as retention to the second year of study or accumulating 30 credits. Another example of data use for purposes of institutional performance improvement is Achieving the Dream, a major national initiative initially funded by the Lumina Foundation for Education. Achieving the Dream was designed to help community colleges build the capacity to institutionalize a “culture of evidence” through the use of data in decision-making (Mayer et al., 2014; Rutschow et al., 2011). Studies conducted over the course of five years provided evidence that participating campuses enhanced their leadership commitment to student success and increased their research capacity, which are important intermediate steps to organizational cultural change. Although many campuses experienced challenges to increasing faculty and staff engagement with data-driven decision making (Jenkins, Wachen, Moore, & Shulock, 2012; Mayer et al., 2014; Morest & Jenkins, 2007), some participating colleges reported increases in student achievement (Mayer et al., 2014; Rutschow et al., 2011).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, Arizona State University. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/5/21
Y1 - 2018/5/21
N2 - Many national, state, and institutional policies and initiatives advocate for change in higher education through structured forms of data use. The case study of “Old Main University” presented in this article shows how local reformers (n=9) drew on data and data use tools provided by a long-term action research project implemented at the university to advance racial equity goals at their university. The case narrative utilizes practice theory, cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), and narrative inquiry to illustrate how administrative leaders and faculty at Old Main University coordinated their efforts in a sustained manner through two cycles of practitioner inquiry that was responsive to policy goals. The findings show that data use is productive to promote racial equity when data and data use protocols are used iteratively and in interaction among practitioners who use them to identify inequities rooted in their own practices. The findings support the conclusion that, to sustain change efforts as long-term (mesogenetic) projects, policy makers and local reformers should plan to iteratively redesign data tools, practices, and policies to institute changes in everyday (microgenetic) work practices. Such purposeful redesign holds potential to re-structure professional interactions, sustain motivation and organizational learning, and acculturate practitioners to equity as a standard of practice.
AB - Many national, state, and institutional policies and initiatives advocate for change in higher education through structured forms of data use. The case study of “Old Main University” presented in this article shows how local reformers (n=9) drew on data and data use tools provided by a long-term action research project implemented at the university to advance racial equity goals at their university. The case narrative utilizes practice theory, cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), and narrative inquiry to illustrate how administrative leaders and faculty at Old Main University coordinated their efforts in a sustained manner through two cycles of practitioner inquiry that was responsive to policy goals. The findings show that data use is productive to promote racial equity when data and data use protocols are used iteratively and in interaction among practitioners who use them to identify inequities rooted in their own practices. The findings support the conclusion that, to sustain change efforts as long-term (mesogenetic) projects, policy makers and local reformers should plan to iteratively redesign data tools, practices, and policies to institute changes in everyday (microgenetic) work practices. Such purposeful redesign holds potential to re-structure professional interactions, sustain motivation and organizational learning, and acculturate practitioners to equity as a standard of practice.
KW - Data
KW - Educational policy
KW - Equity
KW - Inquiry
KW - Organizational change
KW - Postsecondary education
KW - Race
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85048190255&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.14507/epaa.26.3274
DO - 10.14507/epaa.26.3274
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85048190255
SN - 1068-2341
VL - 26
JO - Education Policy Analysis Archives
JF - Education Policy Analysis Archives
ER -