What Sticks and Why? Investigating—and Designing for—Both Change and Persistence
September 13, 2019
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM
Dr. Eleanor Anderson
Northwestern University
School of Education and Social Policy
Abstract:
Research-practice partnerships often confront a dual challenge: making new tools and practices “stick” so as to last beyond a limited grant period, and negotiating existing structures so “sticky” that they persist even in the face of efforts to undo them. In this talk, I present a conceptual framework to structure investigations and strategizing around the paradox of sustainability. I illustrate the value of this MoRe Institutional approach in the context of the ongoing implementation and (partial) institutionalization of Restorative Justice Practices in the Chicago Public Schools. Drawing on data from more than 130 hours of fieldwork, I demonstrate how attention to mechanisms of institutionalization (or lack thereof) allows for an analysis of sustainability in real time. Moreover, using examples from an ongoing design-based implementation research project, I demonstrate how these insights can translate to design principles for sustainable implementation including attention to organizational routines, metrics, and shared professional identities.
Date posted
Sep 13, 2019
Date updated
Sep 19, 2019