The Ebb and Flow of Social Network Ties Between District Leaders Under High-Stakes Accountability

Abstract

Recent scholarship suggests the importance of school district offices in supporting reform. These studies provide strategies for building relations between central offices and sites in order to improve change efforts. However, what is frequently overlooked is that organizational reform efforts are socially constructed. Therefore, examining the underlying reform-related social networks may provide insight into how relational structures support or constrain efforts at reform. This longitudinal case study draws upon social network analysis and interviews to examine the reform-related knowledge, advice, and innovation network structures of central office and site leaders in a district facing sanction for underperformance and engaging a districtwide reform. Findings indicate that over time, the networks increased the number of superficial interactions, and more frequent exchanges remained unchanged, resulting in a centralized network structure.