Educational Researcher

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Click here for more information

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Coburn, C. E.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
 Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Educational Researcher, Vol. 32, No. 6, 3-12 (2003)
DOI: 10.3102/0013189X032006003
© 2003 American Educational Research Association

Rethinking Scale: Moving Beyond Numbers to Deep and Lasting Change

Cynthia E. Coburn, Assistant Professor

Administrative and Policy Studies, School of Education, and Research Scientist, Learning Research and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, 808 LRDC, 3939 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15260; cecoburn{at}pitt.edu. Her research interests include the relationships between policy and practice, school and teacher change, and qualitative research methods

The issue of "scale" is a key challenge for school reform, yet it remains undertheorized in the literature. Definitions of scale have traditionally restricted its scope, focusing on the expanding number of schools reached by a reform. Such definitions mask the complex challenges of reaching out broadly while simultaneously cultivating the depth of change necessary to support and sustain consequential change. This article draws on a review of theoretical and empirical literature on scale, relevant research on reform implementation, and original research to synthesize and articulate a more multidimensional conceptualization. I develop a conception of scale that has four interrelated dimensions: depth, sustainability, spread, and shift in reform ownership. I then suggest implications of this conceptualization for reform strategy and research design.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
Am Educ Res JHome page
D. H. Clements and J. Sarama
Experimental Evaluation of the Effects of a Research-Based Preschool Mathematics Curriculum
American Educational Research Journal, June 1, 2008; 45(2): 443 - 494.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
REVIEW OF RESEARCH IN EDUCATIONHome page
H. Timperley and A. Alton-Lee
Reframing Teacher Professional Learning: An Alternative Policy Approach to Strengthening Valued Outcomes for Diverse Learners
Review of Research in Education, February 1, 2008; 32(1): 328 - 369.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Home page
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHERHome page
S.-K. McDonald, V. A. Keesler, N. J. Kauffman, and B. Schneider
Scaling-Up Exemplary Interventions
Educational Researcher, April 1, 2006; 35(3): 15 - 24.
[Abstract] [PDF]


Home page
Am Educ Res JHome page
O. Lee and A. Luykx
Dilemmas in Scaling Up Innovations in Elementary Science Instruction With Nonmainstream Students
American Educational Research Journal, January 1, 2005; 42(3): 411 - 438.
[Abstract] [PDF]



AER home page RER home page EPA home page JEB home page RRE home page