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Joseph Blase - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • The Micropolitics of Educational Change and Reform: Cracking Open the Black Box
    Second International Handbook of Educational Change, 2010
    Co-Authors: Joseph Blase, Lars G. Björk
    Abstract:

    The first studies of Micropolitics of education were published during the mid-1980s (Ball, 1987; Blase, 1987). Two decades later, a small but significant number of studies have been completed, some of which have centered on the Micropolitics of educational change and reform. In 1998, Blase conducted a comprehensive review of the Micropolitics of educational change; this chapter highlights primary studies from that review but emphasizes more recent relevant work.

  • The Micropolitics of school district decentralization
    Educational Assessment Evaluation and Accountability, 2009
    Co-Authors: Lars G. Björk, Joseph Blase
    Abstract:

    This case study of school district educational reform in the United States adds to the knowledge base of macropolitics of federal, state and local governing bodies and private sector agencies in formulating educational policies: It also contributes to our understanding the microplitics of policy implementation. Middle managers’ political acquiescence and resistance to district-wide decentralization and distributive leadership initiatives were studied using a longitudinal, ten-year (1998–2008) case study method. Middle managers were faced with a dilemma when the school district implemented a state sponsored decentralization policy that included adoption of distributed leadership and Total Quality Management (TQM). On the one hand, middle managers risked termination if they failed to implement legislated reform policies and the superintendent’s directives. On the other hand, if they succesfully implemented such policies their positions would become redundant. Initially responses of middle managers ranged along a continuum from acquiescence to resistance however as implementation of the decentralization initiative accelerated, middle managers’ political resistance increased in scope and intensity. Findings from the case study discussed in this article that superintendent’s success at implementation of district-wide decentralization policies is related to the nature and structure of microplolitics at the middle management level of the organization. In addition, findings suggest that internal evaluation processes used to assess the success of the district change process were compromised by miropolitics. Understanding that those who implement policy have the capacity to reshape and even prevent implementation as intended by officials at higher levels may contribute to reframing program evaluation methods as well as enhancing understanding of the politics of the superintendency.

  • The Micropolitics of Instructional Supervision: A Call for Research:
    Educational Administration Quarterly, 2002
    Co-Authors: Jo Blase, Joseph Blase
    Abstract:

    This article examines the applicability of the micropolitical perspective to understanding various dimensions of instructional supervision. A brief discussion of the centrality of Micropolitics to supervisory structures, processes, and practices is followed by reviews of two emergent streams of research: the Micropolitics of teaching and the Micropolitics of instructional supervision. Suggestions for further research are discussed in detail. The authors also discuss implications of a micropolitical perspective for preparation programs and administrator practice.

  • The Micropolitics of Educational Change
    International Handbook of Educational Change, 1998
    Co-Authors: Joseph Blase
    Abstract:

    This chapter by Joe Blase, focuses on the Micropolitics of educational change, an emerging area of educational inquiry. After a brief review of the relevant theoretical literature, the Micropolitics of stability and change is discussed. Selected general studies are described to illustrate the pervasiveness of Micropolitics to life in schools. Micropolitical studies of 1980s and 1990s reform and general studies of 1990s school reform/restructuring are then reviewed. This review is used to demonstrate the central thesis of the chapter: Micropolitics is a fundamental dimension of school change in general and, as such, a chief target of most approaches to school restructuring. A framework of ideas for further research on the Micropolitics of change in schools is described. Such research is needed because few direct studies of this important phenomenon actually exist.

  • The Micropolitics of Teaching
    International Handbook of Teachers and Teaching, 1997
    Co-Authors: Joseph Blase
    Abstract:

    During the last two decades, research on teachers and teaching has produced significant findings on the social and cultural aspects of work. What is loosely referred to as teacher work-life literature provides valuable insights into the structural and experiential dimensions of teachers’ work. Studies of cultural norms, satisfaction, commitment, gender, professionalism, career, socialization, induction, purposes, and sentiments have appeared in this literature. For example, substantial work on teachers’ lives has been completed using life history and narrative methods (Goodson, 1992; Schubert & Ayers, 1992). In fact, research on teachers’ worklives has produced substantial data relevant to understanding the Micropolitics of teaching; that is, how teachers use formal and informal power to achieve their ends in school organizations. However, because these data have not been interpreted from a micropolitical perspective, their significance along these lines has not been apparent. And although some theoretical attention has been given to the political aspects of teachers’ work by feminists (Grumet, 1988; Lather, 1991) and critical theorists (e.g., Apple, 1986), little empirical work on the everyday Micropolitics of teaching has been completed until recently.

Jane Clark Lindle - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Micropolitics in School Leadership
    Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education, 2020
    Co-Authors: Jane Clark Lindle
    Abstract:

    The concept of Micropolitics in schooling originated in the latter part of the 20th century and contrasted macropolitical analyses of central ministries’ directives, primarily in English-speaking education systems, with more localized forms of governance, as in the United States. Either form of educational governance envelops daily interactions among governmental agencies, school personnel, and stakeholders. As political scientists long have studied macropolitics, sociologists and educationists focused on Micropolitics found in schools’ short- and long-term decisions. Typical decisions, which generate Micropolitics, include how schools carry on teaching and learning and range from formalized policy implementation to negotiations over scarce resources as big as allocation of teacher–pupil ratios and as momentary and small as distribution of paper and pencils. Given its local focus, scholars of Micropolitics assume that the conditions of schooling generate and sustain persistent conflict, and thus they study how such conflict surfaces, who participates, who wins or loses, and what roles school leaders play. Conflicts surround schools’ internal and external communities’ power structures. The power players, groups and individuals, contest the purposes of schooling and work to influence their agenda. These influential moves may reshape macro-policies and directives, making policy implementation a localized project. Internal and external constituencies struggle over resource allocation, frequently under conditions of scarcity, which provides an arena for investigating decision participation. As with studies in macropolitics, the methods vary with the research questions. Because of the high-engagement dynamics in the study of Micropolitics in schools, discursive methods that focus on communications, relationships, and media dominate these studies.

  • What can the Study of Micropolitics Contribute to the Practice of Leadership in Reforming Schools
    School Leadership & Management, 1999
    Co-Authors: Jane Clark Lindle
    Abstract:

    The author of this paper draws on illustrations of educational reform in the US to argue that the study of Micropolitics is inevitable, advisable, and unavoidable. The inevitable political nature of schools stems from the context and socialization of schools and schooling. The study of Micropolitics is necessary because of the claims against the credibility of administrator and teacher preparation programs. Though public schools have always had an ambitious mission, the increased expectations for reform make schools and their communities unavoidably more political. These conditions mean that the study of Micropolitics is absolutely a question of survival for school leaders.

  • Are School Boards an Effective Means of School Governance? A Micropolitical Perspective
    1998
    Co-Authors: Jane Clark Lindle
    Abstract:

    Kentucky has witnessed many changes in educational administration. An assessment of those changes, with a focus on school boards, was done. School boards are not efficient bodies and this is not a problem. If efficiency was the top concern, then minimizing time and costs would be dominant and schools would suffer. School boards are not particularly elite or expert forums and but this is preferable since such boards are forums for public interest. Finally, school boards are regarded as democratic, but by no means are they apolitical. Boards are the middle ground between public and private interests; the focus on contracts and personnel is probably coopted by communities or educators. Micropolitics permeate school boards; the democratic process and purpose of schooling demand micropolitical outlets such as school boards. Values for democracy perpetuate Micropolitics to the point that school-site management offers another outlet for Micropolitics. School-site management is not only effective in the micropolitical sense, it has spawned a new definition of local control: local school councils. (RJM) ******************************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. ******************************************************************************** AERA, 1998 Session 27.66 Are School Boards an effective means of school governance? A micropolitical perspective by Jane Clark Lind le, Ph.D., Associate Professor & Codirector University of Kentucky/ University of Louisville Joint Center for the Study of Educational Policy 101 Taylor Education Building Lexington, KY 40506-0001 (606)257-6734 Fax: (606)323-9799 E-mail: kera@pop.uky.edu Introduction U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement / EDUC TIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) his document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. 0 Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) 1 I want to begin my remarks with some concessions about the nature of boards. To do that I address the question: What do we mean by effective? And I answer, of course, effective is not the same thing as efficient; nor is it the forum for elite or expert advice; and finally while school boards may be a form of local democracy, by that definition they are not apolitical. I conclude by explaining how Micropolitics permeate the status of local school boards today using the example of the state with which I'm most familiar: Kentucky. My position is that democratic processes and purposes of schooling demand micropolitical outlets such as school boards. Further, I contend that our values for democracy perpetuate Micropolitics to the point that school site management offers another outlet for Micropolitics. School boards are not only effective in the micropolitical sense, they have spawned a new definition of local control local school councils. First concession: school boards are not efficient. School boards are not an efficient body nor are they engaged in management efficiencies, but that's not a problem. Education is a labor-intensive enterprise. Learning depends on the relationships surrounding the acts of teaching and learning. Otherwise we wouldn't spend so much time concerned about school climate and culture, teacher morale, and student disengagement. If we were concerned only with efficiency, we'd simply concentrate on minimizing the time and other costs involved in delivering instruction. Instead, we are engaged in national debates about increasing time in school using coincidental information that nations that performing better on international achievement measures require more time in school. I submit that boards are not particularly efficient, but I do so arguing that despite a dominant U.S. cultural value for efficiency in other enterprises, efficiency is a low priority in education. Second concession: schools boards are not particularly elite or expert forums. They aren't, and they aren't supposed to be. School boards are forums for the public

Gavin Parker - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • rights symbolic violence and the Micropolitics of the rural the case of the parish paths partnership scheme
    Environment and Planning A, 1999
    Co-Authors: Gavin Parker
    Abstract:

    In this paper microlevel politics and conflict associated with social and economic change in the countryside and linked changes in rural governance are explored with a focus upon research carried out on a recent rural policy initiative aimed at local 'empowerment'. This acts as a touchstone for a wider theoretical discussion. The paper is theorised within a conceptual framework derived and extended from the work of Pierre Bourdieu and others in order to explore case studies of the English Countryside Commission's Parish Paths Partnership scheme. The Micropolitics involved with this scheme are examined and used to highlight more general issues raised by increased 'parish empowerment' in the 'postrural'.

Charles King - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • the Micropolitics of social violence
    World Politics, 2004
    Co-Authors: Charles King
    Abstract:

    The debates of the 1990s over the causes of and responses to substate conflict were significant and wide ranging; there is now a sizable literature on ethnic conflict and civil war. But this literature makes few connections to long traditions of scholarly theorizing about collective violence in political science and in allied fields. This article examines two recent books by Mark Beissinger and Ashutosh Varshney that help turn mainstream theorizing about mass violence back toward its roots in problems of social order, state-society relations, and group mobilization. They break down the intellectual wall that has grown up between the study of something called "ethnic" or "nationalist conflict" and a long line of work on collective action in political sociology and cognate disciplines. These books are part of a new micropolitical turn in the field: a concern with uncovering the precise mechanisms by which individuals and groups go about trading in the benefits of stability for the inherently risky behavior associated with mass killing. The final section of the article assesses what such a turn might mean for research methods and theory making in comparative politics and international relations as a whole.

Thomas J Templin - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • the Micropolitics of teacher induction
    American Educational Research Journal, 1993
    Co-Authors: Paul G Schempp, Andrew C. Sparkes, Thomas J Templin
    Abstract:

    This study investigated the political events characterizing the start of a teaching career. An interpretative framework was used to access the perceptions and meanings teachers gave to experiences encountered in their first years on the job. Life history methodology permitted three teachers to tell their stories of professional induction. Data analysis revealed that the teachers’ thoughts and actions were influenced and sustained in three streams of consciousness: biography, role demands, and the school culture. Biography included experiences drawn upon by teachers in making their way in schools. Role demands pressed upon the teachers at two levels: classroom and institutional. Finally, the norms and expectations of school culture influenced the teachers’ professional perspectives and standards of practice. Of particular interest to the researchers were the teachers ‘perceptions of the power relationships in schools and the strategies used for appropriating the power and status necessary to become accepte...