Norms and Politics of Equity-Minded Change: Researching the “Zone of Mediation”

Abstract

This chapter applies literature on the politics of education to data from a recent study of ten racially mixed secondary schools that were attempting to alter their grouping practices to illuminate how macro social, political and economic forces shaped the struggles these schools faced. The study found that unless reforms seek to achieve parity in opportunity and achieve- ment across diverse groups of students, reformers face enormous challenges.