Sorting Machines: Digital Technology and Categorical Inequality in Education

Existing scholarship suggests that schools do the work of social stratification by functioning as “sorting machines,” or institutions that determine which populations of students are provided educational resources needed to help them get ahead. We build on this theory of social reproduction by extending it to better understand how digital technology use is implicated in this process of unequal resource allocation in schools. We contend that educational resources, like digital technologies, are also sorted by schools. Drawing on scholarship from both education research and science and technology studies, we show how educational institutions have long played a role in constructing the value of technologies to different ends, by constructing hierarchies of technological activity, like “vocational” and “academic” computer use, even when strikingly similar. We then apply this lens to three areas of inquiry in education research: the use of digital technologies for instruction, school use of student data, and college admissions. Each illustrates how education scholars can view technologies as part of school sorting processes and with implications for inequality within and beyond the classroom.

The Impact of a Messaging Intervention on Parents’ School Hesitancy During COVID-19

Throughout the 2020–2021 school year, families’ access to—and desire to participate in—in-person educational experiences was highly unequal. Concerns about “school hesitancy” in light of COVID-19 have continued into the 2021–2022 school year, driven both by concerns about well-being and concerns about safety. Using a nationally representative sample of families, we tested a messaging intervention aimed at reducing school hesitancy. We found that targeted messaging to address well-being and safety concerns substantially improved parent reports of their likelihood of sending their child back for in-person learning for parents who were previously unsure. The findings suggest the importance of careful COVID-related communication from schools.

Learning at the Boundaries of Research and Practice: A Framework for Understanding Research–Practice Partnerships

Given the rapid growth of research–practice partnerships (RPPs), we need a framework that helps the field understand how RPPs can facilitate organizational learning in service of local educational improvement and transformation. Drawing on sociocultural and organizational learning theories, we argue that learning can happen for the organizations engaged in RPPs at the boundaries of research and practice. Such learning is evident when there are changes in collective knowledge, policies, and routines of participating organizations, with implications for longer-term outcomes of educational improvement and transformation locally and more broadly. The degree to which organizations can make use of the ideas from the RPP is dependent, in part, on the presence and design of boundary infrastructure and the preexisting organizational capacities and conditions. We conclude with implications for those engaging in RPPs and future research.

Publicwashing in Education: Definition, Motives, and Manifestations

This essay coins and conceptualizes the term “publicwashing.” In educational systems and organizations, publicwashing is a symbolic communication that emphasizes organizational publicness for the purpose of a superficial repair of reputation. The essay defines publicwashing and describes its motives and manifestations. Additionally, it illustrates publicwashing by discussing the concept in the context of the U.S. charter school reform. Adopting the lens of symbolic communication in the charter school case illustrates how the discrepancy between the “public” label and private characteristics of charter schools is managed through public relations. Future studies of publicwashing in education can further apply the symbolic communication approach to various cases, contexts, and deceptive strategies.

Specifying Hybrid Models of Teachers’ Work During COVID-19

The term “hybrid” emerged as a common descriptor of pandemic-modified schooling configurations. Yet this umbrella term insufficiently captures the variations among hybrid models, particularly as it pertains to the structure of teacher workdays and related workload demands. Drawing on qualitative research documenting K–12 U.S. teachers’ experience teaching during COVID-19, this brief introduces and explicates three terms specifying structural hybrid models—parallel, alternating, and blended—and their implications for teachers’ work. Differentiating among the models facilitates future analysis of the implications of hybrid schooling for teacher and student experience. Initial analysis indicates teachers experienced one model, blended hybrid, as more challenging than others. This teacher perception highlights the need to discern among the three hybrid models more closely when analyzing schools’ responses to the pandemic. Differentiating among hybrid models may prompt future analysis of hybrid schooling for teacher workload and student learning.

Sometimes Less, Sometimes More: Trends in Career and Technical Education Participation for Students With Disabilities

We leverage nationally representative data and statewide data from Washington to investigate trends in occupational career and technical education (CTE) participation for students with and without disabilities. Consistent with prior work, we document declines in occupational CTE participation since the early 2000s, but we provide the first evidence that this decline can be explained by movement out of courses that are no longer considered CTE. Under the definitions operating at the time, though, we show that participation by students with disabilities in applied science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical/health (STEMM) CTE courses has increased over time, both nationally and in Washington. These trends are encouraging given prior evidence linking applied STEMM-CTE participation to better long-term outcomes for students with disabilities.

Economic Imperialism in Education Research: A Conceptual Review

In this review, we explore economic imperialism, a concept that captures the phenomenon of a single discipline’s power over so many facets of social life and policy—including education. Through a systematic search, we examine how economic imperialism has been conceptualized and applied across fields. We uncovered three key, interconnected elements of economic imperialism that hold relevance for education research. First, economics has colonized other disciplines, narrowing the lens through which policymakers have designed education reforms. Second, an overreliance on economic rationales for human behavior neglects other explanations. Third, a focus on economic outcomes of education has subjugated other important aims of education. We share implications for researchers to use economic theory in ways that are interdisciplinary but not imperialist.

Challenging Scripted Curricula With Adaptive Teaching

Although adaptive teaching is considered a cornerstone of effective instruction, there remains a lack of focus on teacher adaptability in policy, professional practice, and teacher education in the United States. High-profile educational reform efforts have pressured districts and states across the nation to rely on prescriptive curricula that fail to meet the linguistic, cultural, and instructional needs of the nation’s diverse student population. In this article, we describe the development of the Adaptive Teaching Inventory and present validity evidence from our administration in the United States. These findings provide insight into the potential for widespread implementation of adaptability and its focus to support teacher professionalism and decision-making. The discussion centers on moving adaptability to the forefront of policy and practice efforts to counter the prevailing emphasis on restrictive curricula that has stymied teachers in their efforts to support students for far too long. Implications for administrators, policymakers, and researchers are discussed.

Addressing Our Nation’s Toxic School Infrastructure in the Wake of COVID-19

The commentary argues that we need to address the wide variance in school building quality under and after COVID-19. Evidence suggests that historical underinvestment in school facility capital and maintenance has created unhealthy school buildings across the nation. Federal funding and research is necessary to ensure that schools are healthy places for educators, families, and youth even after the pandemic ends.