Innovation in a Context of Accountability: A Study of Educators’ Experiences in a Massachusetts Innovation School

Abstract

The Massachusetts Innovation Schools initiative authorized educators to operate with increased autonomy and flexibility. This descriptive case study examines the early experiences of teachers in one innovation school. We explore the innovations teachers leveraged to build capacity, with particular attention to how they enacted teacher leadership and deployed new structures for professional collaboration. Findings suggest that the broader neoliberal policy context undermined their potential for the radical innovation needed to disrupt the status quo.

Keywords:

• Innovation
• education policy
• school capacity
• teacher leadership

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).