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Transforming Schools from the Ground-Up with Local Stakeholders: Implementing Learning Lab for Inclusion and Systemic Transformation at a Middle School

Interchange volume 50, pages 359–387 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Historically, students from racially minoritized communities receive exclusionary disciplinary actions more frequently and severely in the United States. Researchers have recommended that schoolwide behavioral interventions implemented to address racial disproportionality need to be culturally responsive to local school contexts. Using the theory of expansive learning, we conducted a one and a half year-long formative intervention, Learning Lab, to examine and address racial disproportionality with local stakeholders at an urban middle school. We analyzed how parents, teachers, administrators, community members, and researchers collaborated to design a culturally responsive school discipline system at Rogoff Middle School. The analysis of expansive learning actions showed that the systemic transformation process facilitated at the school included a cycle of seven expansive learning actions. We discussed implications of the current study for education research and practice.

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Acknowledgements

The first author acknowledges the support of Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction under Disproportionality Demonstration Grant #84.027.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1000 Bascom Mall Education Building #403, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Aydin Bal

  2. Department of Special Education, Artvin Coruh University, Education Building #112, Artvin, 08000, Turkey

    Kemal Afacan

  3. Department of Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1000 Bascom Mall Education Building #457, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Halil Ibrahim Cakir

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  1. Aydin Bal
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  2. Kemal Afacan
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  3. Halil Ibrahim Cakir
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Correspondence to Aydin Bal.

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Bal, A., Afacan, K. & Cakir, H.I. Transforming Schools from the Ground-Up with Local Stakeholders: Implementing Learning Lab for Inclusion and Systemic Transformation at a Middle School. Interchange 50, 359–387 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-019-09353-5

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