Springer Netherlands
Dordrecht
10833
1389-2843
1573-1812
Journal of Educational Change
J Educ Change
Education
Administration, Organization and Leadership
Educational Policy and Politics
11
11
4
2
2
8
2010
4
21
2010
4
20
2010
5
2010
Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
2010
9102
10.1007/s10833-009-9102-5
2
A bridge between worlds: understanding network structure to understand change strategy
111
138
2009
1
9
2008
1
15
2008
10
26
2009
1
30
The Author(s)
2009
Alan
J.
Daly
ajdaly@ucsd.edu
Kara
S.
Finnigan
Education Studies
University of California
San Diego
USA
University of Rochester
Rochester
NY
USA
Abstract
A number of scholars are exploring district and site relations in organizational change efforts in the larger policy context of No Child Left Behind. These studies suggest the importance of the central office as a support to the work of reform and offer strategies for building relations between district offices and sites in order to implement and sustain change efforts. What is frequently overlooked in these studies is that organizational change efforts are often socially constructed. Therefore, examining the underlying social networks may provide insight into structures that support or constrain efforts at change. This exploratory case study uses social network analysis and interviews to examine the communication and knowledge network structures of central office and site leaders in an ‘in need of improvement’ district facing sanctions under No Child Left Behind. Findings indicate sparse ties among and between school site and central office administrators, as well as a centralized network structure that may constrain the exchange of complex information and ultimately inhibit efforts at change.
Keywords
District–site relations
Educational change
Leadership
Educational reform
Social capital
Social network analysis
Network structure
We are indebted to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful and instructive comments on the development of this manuscript.
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