The structure of US public education is changing. Rather than exclusive district management of schools with standardized programs, new types of systems have emerged. In the case of “portfolio” systems, advocates argue that choice, performance-based accountability, and autonomy challenge traditional schooling and foster a diversity of options for parents. Yet there is limited empirical evidence on these claims. Our mixed-methods study examines the values and reported practices of schools in Los Angeles. We find limited evidence of variation across schools. Rather, institutional forces appear to be shaping common commitments to academics, whole child support, community, and professionalism, with some fine-grained differences connected to organizational characteristics. Ultimately, this lack of diversity and the complexity of multiple logics do not appear to challenge the idea of a shared “grammar of schooling” across schools. This research advances our understanding of institutional logics in schools and provides implications for policy and future research.

中文翻译：

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洛杉矶学校的制度逻辑：多种模式是否会破坏学校教育的语法？

美国公共教育的结构正在发生变化。新类型的系统已经出现，而不是具有标准化课程的学校的专属地区管理。在“组合”系统的情况下，倡导者认为选择、基于绩效的问责制和自主性挑战了传统的学校教育，并为家长提供了多样化的选择。然而，关于这些说法的经验证据有限。我们的混合方法研究检查了洛杉矶学校的价值观和报告的做法。我们发现学校间差异的证据有限。相反，制度力量似乎正在塑造对学术、全面儿童支持、社区和专业精神的共同承诺，并存在一些与组织特征相关的细粒度差异。最终，这种缺乏多样性和多种逻辑的复杂性似乎并没有挑战跨学校共享“学校教育语法”的想法。这项研究增进了我们对学校制度逻辑的理解，并为政策和未来研究提供了启示。