Strategic Leadership for Education Reform: Lessons from the Statewide Systemic Initiatives Program. CPRE Policy Briefs RB-41

In 1990, the National Science Foundation (NSF) created the Statewide Systemic Initiative Program. The solicitation issued by the Directorate for Science and Engineering Education sought proposals "for projects intended to broaden the impact, accelerate the pace, and increase the effectiveness o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inConsortium for Policy Research in Education
Main Authors Heck, Daniel J, Weiss, Iris R
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published Consortium for Policy Research in Education 01.01.2005
Subjects
Educational Change
Educational Improvement
Engineering Education
Instructional Leadership
Mathematics Education
Science Education
Statewide Planning
Strategic Planning
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Summary:In 1990, the National Science Foundation (NSF) created the Statewide Systemic Initiative Program. The solicitation issued by the Directorate for Science and Engineering Education sought proposals "for projects intended to broaden the impact, accelerate the pace, and increase the effectiveness of improvements in science, mathematics, and engineering education in both K-12 and post-secondary levels" (NSF, 1990, p. 1). Projects funded as Statewide Systemic Initiatives (SSIs) were to align various parts of the system to produce comprehensive, coordinated, and sustained change. Curriculum learning goals; content, instructional materials, and practice; assessment; teacher recruitment and preparation; and professional development of teachers, administrators, and others--all were to come under the umbrella of systemic reform, as were other parts of the system that affected "ways of doing business": organizational structure and decision making, allocation of resources, articulation within the system, and accountability. SSIs were also to involve an array of stakeholders in reform efforts--scientists and mathematicians, business and community representatives, local school system decision makers, and leaders of parent and community-based organizations. This CPRE Policy Brief looks at some of the lessons from the SSI experience gleaned from a Horizon Research, Inc. (HRI) study of NSF's Statewide Systemic Initiative Program. (Contains 2 footnotes.)