Systems Transformation for Equity in Education: Principles for Organizational Change

How do we create lasting systemic change in institutions designed to reproduce the status quo? Some might answer this question with responses related to mission, vision, resource allocation and investment, and talent. However, the path to creating sustainable changes in educational institutions is often obstructed by policy, institutional inertia, and ingrained systemic barriers. Work is sometimes reduced to a checkbox exercise aimed at compliance, rather than genuine transformation, leading to benefits only for groups traditionally supported by the established structures. For those striving for change, a sense of powerlessness can dominate, as structural constraints limit their agency and dilute their impact. Recognizing these realities, there can be no simple recipe or single formula that guarantees lasting change, particularly transformational change that shifts paradigms in ways that advance equity and inclusion.

Instead of a formula, Systems Transformation for Equity in Education: Principles for Organizational Change introduces 6 key principles of organizational change. In order to engage in complex systems transformation for equity, we must:

1. Know the contexts that surround systems change;
2. Develop cohesive project plans and find appropriate funding for these plans;
3. Understand the centrality of leadership;
4. Work collectively towards equity through relationality, respect, and mutuality;
5. Reflect upon success and challenges; and
6. Ensure the institutionalization of systems transformation.

The book is structured first to provide a broad overview of each principle, then to illustrate each using a case study of program change.

Chapter One focuses on the principle of knowing the complex contexts that surround systems change. In this chapter, the book introduces the origins, objectives, complexities, diverse stakeholders and outcomes of the case study as well as contextual factors that should be considered in launching systems transformation. Chapter Two focuses on ensuring alignment in the design, development and enactment of transformative projects, including establishing an initial vision, using data to inform decision making and finding appropriate funding sources. Chapter Three focuses on the principle that Leadership matters in systems transformation for equity. This chapter highlights the importance of identifying a leadership team, providing clear team members' roles, and dividing tasks wisely. Chapter Four focuses on cultivating consensus and moving forward collectively in diverse stakeholder groups with competing priorities. Chapter Five focuses on the importance of reflecting upon success to expand the impact of systems transformation, adapting programs to stay responsive to changing contexts, and on navigating unanticipated challenges to initiative-based work. Chapter Six focuses on expanding impact and identifying ways to ensure the institutionalization of systems transformation. It addresses some key factors such as documenting and communicating the successes and challenges of the project, disseminating evaluation findings; creating a plan for when the grant funding ends, accessing new funding; identifying continuing and new stakeholders; developing ongoing products; developing collective language; and ensuring institutional buy-in. The final chapter tells the story of lessons learned from this process and what has happened to the focal program in the 2 years following the end of the grant funding, particularly given changing socio-political contexts.

Perfect for courses such as: Principles of Organizational Change; Equity and Organizational Change; Foundations of Organization Change; Educational Leadership; Race, Equity, and Leading Educational Change; Education Policy Implementation

Dr. Betina Hsieh (she/her) is the Endowed Professor of Teacher Education and Teacher Learning for Justice at the University of Washington (Seattle). Dr. Hsieh, a proud second generation Asian American MotherScholar and former urban middle school teacher, has published widely in peer reviewed journals and presented over 75 research papers globally on issues related to teaching, teacher education, teacher professional identity, teachers of color, and Asian Americans in education. Dr. Hsieh’s work focuses on how who people are shapes what they do (and the choices they make) as educators. She believes in the importance of educational research that is accessible to higher education practitioners, K-12 educators, community members and families, in addition to impacting the field itself. Dr. Hsieh’s current research interests include identity-informed mentoring in education, the emergence and development of a teacher (and teacher educator) professional identity, teacher leadership, social media and teacher education, Asian Americans in education, and the experiences of teachers of color. Dr. Hsieh has published in K-12 practitioner-focused journals and magazines like Educational Leadership as well as being cited in the Atlantic. Recent research publications include articles in Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, the Journal of Teacher Education, and Race, Ethnicity and Education. Her book The Racialized Experiences of Asian American Teachers, co-authored with Dr. Jung Kim, is the first comprehensive research monograph focused on the experiences of Asian American teachers using the tenets of Asian Critical Race Theory. Her second book, Moments and Movements: Counterstories for Critical Asian American Studies in Education (Myers Education Press), co-edited with Dr. Roland Sintos Coloma, draws from scholar, educator and youth voices to center experiences doing the work of critical ethnic studies in schools and communities.

Dr. Alejandra Priede is an Associate Professor in the Educational Leadership Department at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). Dr. Priede’s research is dedicated to enhancing research and program evaluation methodologies, institutional effectiveness, and the academic success and well-being of students and student teachers―particularly those from diverse backgrounds. She also investigates the identity factors and career choices of student teachers and early career educators. She earned her B.A. in Economics from the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico (ITAM) and received her Ph.D. in Social Research Methodology, specializing in program evaluation, along with a master's degree in Advanced Quantitative Methods in Educational Research from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In addition to her academic roles, Dr. Priede has developed and facilitated wellness and mindfulness retreats and racial justice and healing circles for youth, undergraduate and graduate students, educators, and the broader community.

Educated at UCLA and the London School of Economics, Tim Keirn is an emeritus faculty member in the Department of History and the College of Education at CSULB. His areas of peer-reviewed publication include eighteenth-century British colonial and economic history, and history education. Publications include British Encounters with India; “History Curriculum, Standards, and Assessment Policies and Politics: U.S. Experiences” in the International Handbook of History Learning and Teaching; and the co-authored article “Subject Matter Counts: Historical Thinking and the Pre-Service History Teacher,” that won the American Historical Association’s Gilbert Prize (2014). Tim has been awarded grants relating to secondary teacher preparation from the NEH, the U.S. and California Departments of Education, and the Ahmanson, Freeman, and Hewlett Foundations. He was Chief Reader for AP World History (2014-2019) and a trustee of The College Board (2019-2023). He currently is on the board of the OER Project for World History funded by the Gates Foundation.