Paradigm Shifts in Large-Scale Educational Change: Uncovering the Oregon Education Investment Board's Theory of Change-In-Action
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Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses 2-4-2020 Paradigm Shifts in Large-Scale Educational Change: Uncovering the Oregon Education Investment Board's Theory of Change-in-Action Johanna Kathryn Blackford Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, and the Educational Leadership Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Blackford, Johanna Kathryn, "Paradigm Shifts in Large-Scale Educational Change: Uncovering the Oregon Education Investment Board's Theory of Change-in-Action" (2020). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 5420. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.7293 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. Paradigm Shifts in Large-Scale Educational Change: Uncovering the Oregon Education Investment Board’s Theory of Change-in-Action by Johanna Kathryn Blackford A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership: Curriculum and Instruction Dissertation Committee: Samuel Henry, Chair Patrick Burk Dannelle D. Stevens Marcus Ingle Matthew Carlson Portland State University 2020 © 2020 Johanna Kathryn Blackford i Abstract Education system leaders and policymakers around the globe expend vast amounts of resources on educational reform efforts and despite positive intentions, most attempts to affect educational change fail to realize large-scale, sustainable, positive outcomes—yet some have. While it is widely acknowledged that no two systems’ educational change journeys are the same, what is becoming clear is that there is significant similarity among the thinking or paradigms underpinning theories of change- in-action guiding positive large-scale system-wide reform. This research highlights four change paradigms and suggests that a collective learning paradigm guided by systems thinking represents the paradigm shift associated with successful large-scale change. With pragmatic aims, this study employs single, holistic case study methods to uncover the theory of change-in-action of the Oregon Education Investment Board (OEIB)—a governor-appointed board operating between 2011 and 2015 tasked with coordinating a seamless system of public education within the U.S. state. Analysis and synthesis of the OEIB’s collective actions reveal that “education as workforce development” was the primary aim of the reform, with an “outcome focused nexus” as the primary driver guiding the theory of change-in-action. Comparison with change paradigms, including those guiding the best systems in the world, highlight that the OEIB maintained the U.S. paradigmatic neoliberalist status quo for standardized market driven educational change despite espoused aims and efforts to do otherwise. This research highlights the relative invisibility and persistence of change paradigms as a critical source of replication of ii errors of the past. Development and use of change paradigm ideal types may help liberate those working within an educational system by unlocking the door to new ways of conceiving common dilemmas and identifying new policies and connected strategies that arise from a collective learning systems thinking paradigm known to be more successful. iii Acknowledgements To my entire committee: Thank you for sticking with me. I truly value the diversity of knowledge and experience you collectively bring. Thank you to my chair, Dr. Henry. Your connection with the educational and political world in the state of Oregon, along with your willingness to allow me to experiment, to study beyond the coursework, and to go out on a limB, has opened many doors and has been a gift I will forever be grateful for. Dr. Burk, thank you for the many enjoyable and intellectually stimulating conversations. What a treat to have someone with so much experience to be able to discuss and debate the past, present, and future of our field within the state, nation, and globe. Dr. Stevens, thank you for always being in the back of my mind whenever I started prioritizing work in the field over the completion of this paper. I consistently hear whispers to “Be a productive writer and get the work you started- finished!” Dr. Ingle, I appreciate both your curiosity and naturally systems-oriented mindset. You are the only person I have ever met whose bookshelf is filled with as many systems thinking authors as my own. Dr. Carlson, thank you for making time to support this process as graduate office representative. Your work in the field of health care has me constantly thinking of the cross-sector application of change paradigms. I would also like to offer appreciative acknowledgements to many others who have kept me going along the way: Dr. Noordhoof and Dr. Lingley for your friendship and more over the past decade; Dr. Cooper and our amazing writing community who have made this work fun again. Lucy Baker of the Oregon Advocacy Commission and Former Dean Hitz for access to real-world system-wide change policy and practice in- iv action; numerous non-profits whose members entrusted me to lead and support change efforts; and finally to all of my family, friends, and colleagues who’ve engaged with me in this work along the way. v Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii Preface ................................................................................................................................ ix Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Background of the Problem ............................................................................................ 4 Statement of the Research Problem, Purpose, and Educational Significance .............. 12 Key Terms and Concepts .............................................................................................. 15 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 19 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................ 21 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 21 Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................. 22 Review of the Research Literature ................................................................................ 28 Review of Methodological Literature ........................................................................... 53 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 59 Chapter 3: Methods ........................................................................................................... 60 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 60 Case Study Design ........................................................................................................ 61 Data Collection, Analysis, and Synthesis ..................................................................... 72 Summary ....................................................................................................................... 76 Chapter 4: Results ............................................................................................................. 77 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 77 Analysis......................................................................................................................... 80 Synthesis ..................................................................................................................... 147 Interpretation of Findings: Question 1 ........................................................................ 184 Interpretation of Findings: Question 2 ........................................................................ 186 Limitations of the Study .............................................................................................. 191 vi Chapter 5: Discussion ..................................................................................................... 193 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 193 Summary of Findings .................................................................................................. 195 Situated in the Larger Context ...................................................................................