Building Policy from Practice: District Central Office Administrators' Roles and Capacity for Implementing Collaborative Education Policy

Abstract

This article defines district central office administrators' roles and capacity to support the implementation of school-community partnerships. Findings come from a strategic case study of central office administrators in Oakland, California (1990-2000). Using concepts from organizational learning theory for the theoretical framework, this study demonstrates that supporting collaboration departs significantly from central office administration-as-usual and highlights conditions and capital that enable central office administrators' new roles.