Why Reform Sometimes Succeeds: Understanding the Conditions That Produce Reforms That Last

2017/04/11 by David K. Cohen, Jal D. Mehta, Jal Mehta · 228 citations
Social Sciences · #Education Methods and Practices #Education reform #Higher education #Law #Narrative #Pedagogy #Political economy #Political science #Public administration #Public education #Public relations #School Choice and Performance #School system #Sociology #Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

paper · open access · doi:10.3102/0002831217700078

published in American Educational Research Journal 54(4), 644-690 (SAGE Publishing)

openalex publication_date 2017/04/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23

Abstract

Counter to narratives of persistently failed school reform, we argue that reforms sometimes succeed and seek to understand why. Drawing on examples from the founding of public schools to the present, we find that successful system-wide reforms addressed problems that teachers thought they had by being consistent with prevailing norms and values, mobilizing a significant public constituency, and building the needed educational infrastructure. We distinguish between system-wide and niche reforms, suggesting that some—particularly those seeking ambitious instruction—failed system-wide but succeeded by creating protected educational niches. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for the Common Core.

Citations

• The “Grammar” of Schooling: Why Has it Been so Hard to Change?

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