2022 Wallace Foundation Distinguished Lecture Education Reform, Past and Present: Asking Equity Questions and Looking for Hope

Abstract

Drawing on a set of studies conducted over 3 decades, this article provides a reflection on what has been learned by centering equity questions in research on educational reform. These studies reveal the need to explore educators’ belief systems, emotions, and agency in relation to reform. They also underscore the co-constructed nature of reform and the importance of attending to context and scale. Although prior research reveals the complex challenges educators, policymakers, and communities face in promoting educational change with social justice aims, it also provides lessons for a hopeful path forward. Pursuing an equity agenda in this pivotal moment requires deep thinking about how we conduct research on educational reform, prepare the next generation of scholars, and work across disciplinary and national boundaries.