Districts as Institutional Actors in Educational Reform

A survey of existing literature exploring school districts’ roles in educational reform

Introduction

This study examines the role of school districts as institutional actors in systemic educational reform, with a particular focus on increasing student academic achievement and advancing educational equity. Historically, educational reform efforts have concentrated on schools, teachers, and state policies while often overlooking the district’s potential to contribute significantly to reform. In this article, Rorrer, Skrla, and Scheurich argue that districts play a vital role in systemic reform by presenting four interdependent and co-evolving roles necessary for districts to embrace in order to to enhance equity and improve student outcomes. These interdependent and co-evolving roles are (1) providing instructional leadership, (2) reorienting the organization, (3) establishing policy coherence, and (4) maintaining an equity focus.

Andrea K. Rorrer is the Director of the Utah Education Policy Center at the College of Education at the University of Utah and has expertise in school district leadership. Linda Skrla is a Professor Emerita of Educational Administration at Texas A&M University and specializes in educational equity, emphasizing accountability policy and district leadership. James Joseph Scheurich is a Professor in the Urban Education Studies program at Indiana University Indianapolis; Scheurich’s work focuses on schools in urban areas where high populations of children of color reside. 

Methods and Findings

The researchers synthesize existing literature on districts’ roles in educational reform, integrating findings across various studies. The researchers identified four primary roles that are necessary for districts  to play in order to advance equity and improve achievement.

• Role 1: Providing Instructional Leadership – This role involves going beyond administrative functions and actively supporting instructional quality. This involves generating the will and building the capacity to sustain reform efforts across schools. Some examples of this work include demonstrating effective instruction and offering professional development. 
• Role 2: Reorienting the Organization – This role involves aligning organizational structures, policies, and practices to support reform goals, which may include decentralizing decision-making or fostering a culture that promotes equity. Examples of this work are improving processes in an organization and changing the norms, values, and expectations at the district level. 
• Role 3: Establishing Policy Coherence – This role involves serving as mediators between state, federal, and local policies, ensuring that external mandates are integrated with district-specific goals and practices. Examples of this work include aligning resources and policy with intended outcomes. 
• Role 4: Maintaining an Equity Focus – This role involves acknowledging and addressing historical inequities in their systems, foregrounding equity as a central goal in all reform efforts. Examples of this work include acknowledging past inequities for which the district played a role and bringing equity to the foreground. 

The findings demonstrate that these roles are interdependent and must evolve in response to one another. Districts that successfully enact these roles create environments where educational equity can flourish, ensuring that all students have access to high-quality education, regardless of background.

Conclusions

The study concludes that school districts are not passive implementers of external reforms, but rather, they are active institutional actors capable of driving systemic change. By embracing their roles in instructional leadership, organizational realignment, policy coherence, and equity, districts can lead efforts to improve student outcomes and close achievement gaps. The researchers call for future studies to explore the complexity of district reform efforts, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive understanding of how these roles interact to produce meaningful, sustained improvements in education.