An Institutional Theory Analysis of Charter Schools: Addressing Institutional Challenges to Scale
Peabody Journal of Education: Issues of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Vol. 84, No. 3
Luis A. Huerta, Teachers College, Columbia University
Andrew Zuckerman, Teachers College, Columbia University
ABSTRACT
This article presents a conceptual framework derived from institutional theory in sociology that offers two competing policy contexts in which charter schools operate-a bureaucratic frame versus a decentralized frame. An analysis of evolving charter school types based on three underlying theories of action is considered. As charter school leaders pursue new and different forms of schooling, they are challenged by well-established bureaucratic rules and norms that define what it means to be a legitimate school. Microlevel institution-building efforts, however, may represent viable alternatives to the institutional order of public education as charter school leaders attempt to achieve scale.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Luis A. Huerta is an Associate Professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University in the Department of Organization and Leadership, where he teaches courses in education policy, school finance and sociology. His research on school choice analyzes how the reforms are interpreted, their effect on equity and the democratic goals of schooling, the role of the government in promoting reforms that devolve public authority to local actors, and their effectiveness and efficiency.
Andrew Zuckerman is a school district administrator for the Prince George's County (MD) Public School System, and a current doctoral student in the Department of Organization and Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University.
