Equity and Quality in Digital Learning: Realizing the Promise in K-12 Education - Softcover

Heinrich, Carolyn J.; Darling-Aduana, Jennifer; Good, Annalee G.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 168253510X ISBN 13: 9781682535103

Publisher: Harvard Education Press, 2020

Synopsis

Equity and Quality in Digital Learning identifies and presents specific strategies and practices for using digital tools to reduce inequities in educational opportunities and improve student outcomes.

Based on the authors’ ten-year research-practice partnership with both the Dallas and Milwaukee public school districts, the book highlights the factors that can support or impede the effective implementation of digital learning in K–12 schools at all levels: district, school, classroom, and student. Digital initiatives can boost higher levels of learning, the authors advocate, but require planning, monitoring and assessment, and revamping and refinement.

As public schools in the United States continue to make major investments in digital learning, the variability in how it’s rolled out, accessed, and supported, both during and outside of the regular school day, threatens to exacerbate rather than reduce inequities in learning opportunities, the authors argue. It is critical to ensure that the chosen digital tools are effectively leveraged to enhance learning and reduce achievement gaps, especially for those students historically underserved in K–12 schools. The authors offer concrete ways to use evidence from the book to increase the effectiveness of digital learning.

Equity and Quality in Digital Learning contributes critical insights and tools needed for educators and policy makers to deliver on the promise of digital learning in American schools.

About this title

About the Author

Carolyn J. Heinrich is the Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Public Policy and Education and Chair of the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, and an affiliated Professor of Economics at Vanderbilt University. Her research focuses on education, workforce development, social welfare policy and poverty reduction, program evaluation, and public management and performance management issues. She conducts research in both US and international contexts and often works closely with federal, state, and local governments and nongovernmental organizations to improve policy and program design and effectiveness. In 2004, she received the David N. Kershaw Award for distinguished contributions to the field of public policy analysis and management. She is a past president of the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) and the Public Management Research Association and was elected to the National Academy of Public Administration in 2010.

Jennifer Darling-Aduana is an Assistant Professor of Learning Technologies in the Department of Learning Sciences, College of Education and Human Development, at Georgia State University. She holds a PhD in Education Leadership and Policy Studies from Vanderbilt University. Her research focuses on the equity implications of K–12 educational policies and practices, such as the widespread expansion of digital learning, as well as the more micro student-teacher and student-curriculum Interactions that inadvertently contribute to social reproduction in the classroom. She received the AERA Dissertation Grant for her dissertation, “High School Student Experiences and Outcomes in Online Courses.”

Annalee G. Good is co-director of the Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative and Director of the Clinical Program at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She holds a PhD in Educational Policy Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition to ongoing research on the integration of digital tools in K–12 classrooms, she supports youth-serving organizations through facilitating culturally responsive evaluation, policy engagement, and youth voice in research and evaluation.

From the Back Cover

Equity and Quality in Digital Learning identifies and presents specific strategies and practices for using digital tools to reduce inequities in educational opportunities and improve student outcomes. Based on a ten-year research-practice partnership with the Dallas and Milwaukee public school districts, the book highlights the factors that can support or impede the implementation of digital learning in K–12 schools.

As public schools make major investments in digital learning, it is critical to ensure that digital tools are effectively leveraged to enhance learning and reduce achievement gaps, especially for those students historically underserved in schools. The authors offer concrete ways to use evidence from the book to increase the effectiveness of digital learning.

“With rich accounts of two districts’ efforts to integrate digital tools, the authors offer a well-reasoned caution that digital tools can easily replicate, even amplify, inequality in our education system. Yet, they offer a clear outline for how districts can adopt and implement digital tools to improve learning for all students. This book is an essential read for any school system leader.”
—Betheny Gross, associate director, Center on Reinventing Public Education, University of Washington Bothell
 
“At this moment, we are grappling with not only how to ensure equity of access to devices and internet but also how to provide equity in quality and delivery of digital content. This book serves as a resource to help educational organizations understand how we got here and offers solutions on where to go.”
—Lakisha Brinson, Director of Learning Technology, Metro Nashville Public Schools

Carolyn J. Heinrich is the Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Public Policy and Education, chair of the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, and an affiliated professor of Economics at Vanderbilt University. Jennifer Darling-Aduana is an assistant professor of learning technologies in the Department of Learning Sciences, College of Education and Human Development, at Georgia State University. Annalee G. Good is a researcher at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), codirector of the Wisconsin Evaluation Collaborative, and director of the WCER Clinical Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard Education Press
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 168253510X
• ISBN 13: 9781682535103
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208