Beyond Funding: How Organizational Resources Support Science Professional Learning

Abstract

Instructional reform in the United States is often accompanied by financial investment. Recent evidence suggests that such funding can improve educational outcomes; however, unexplained heterogeneity in the relationship between resources and outcomes has led to calls for research on the processes by which resources translate into instructional improvement. In responding to this call, this case study unmasks the complex processes by which funding and other resources are translated into opportunities for science-specific professional learning and the intervening resources that mediate that translation. Results reveal that organizational structures and policies, including aligned schedules, cored math and science teachers, substitute teacher availability, and initiative alignment, played a central role in facilitating or impeding professional learning opportunities. However, each of these organizational structures was in turn facilitated by other elements of capacity, including external funding and resources in the cultural (e.g., shared vision) and social (e.g., relationships) dimensions.