Abstract
Design-Based School Improvement offers a unique alternative to traditional school improvement literature by introducing design thinking to the school improvement process. This book is an exceptional and practical guide for educational leaders whose goals center on generating equity-informed solutions to persistent problems of practice. This innovative process frames a conversation differently about leading improvement, not only change, in today’s schools. Grounded in organizational change research, the book is a welcome roadmap for a systemic improvement process that engages a variety of constituents. It challenges leadership teams to identify “wicked” and persistent problems of practice, those with potential for resolution within a specific timeframe. Anyone who has engaged in the implementation of a paradigmatically different process would attest to that being easier said than done. Mintrop’s groundbreaking approach provides concrete support for transformative leaders who want to use such a significant and innovative approach to improve schools, addressing the core challenges of equity and resulting in improved learning outcomes for every student.
Highlights
Supported by more than ten years of experience leading design development projects as the founding director of the doctoral program in the Leadership for Educational Equity Program (LEEP) at the University of California Berkeley, Mintrop provides the reader with an innovative process that frames a conversation differently about leading change, and improvement in today’s schools
Mintrop relies on a sociocultural perspective to reframe school improvement as a complex and persistent problem of practice, as anyone who has engaged in the messy process understands
Design thinking is foundational to this approach, because it is a process in which cycles of iterative, evidence-based inquiry yield designs that are co-created, as opposed to decades of school improvement models that are imposed on people
Summary
KEYWORDS School improvement, design thinking, equity, improvement science, actionable problem of practice Rick Mintrop’s compelling book, Design-Based School Improvement: A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders (2016) offers a thoughtful alternative, as a paradigm-shifting contribution to the school improvement literature.
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