Supovitz, J. A. & Weinbaum, E.H. (Eds.). (2008). The Implementation Gap: Understanding Reform in High Schools. New York : Teachers College Press.

Cole, R. P. and Weinbaum, E. H. (2007). Chain Reaction: How Teacher Communication Influences Attitude. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL. April 10, 2007

http://www.cpre.org/images/stories/cpre_pdfs/aera_2007_social_networks.pdf

Abstract: This study sought to examine how teacher interactions with one another affected their attitudes towards the reforms being implemented in their schools.  The researchers' analysis suggests that the quality and quantity of social connections impact teacher attitudes towards the reforms, while individual teacher attributes (such as gender, race, etc.) did not affect their attitudes.  Additional findings provided "significant evidence for the influence of social ties on attitude development."  The more teachers became connected to their colleagues, the more they were affected by the attitudes of their colleagues.  This final finding was given particular significance by the researchers in the terms of its implications for practice.  They suggest, "In the realm of practice, our research would argue that a small (but well connected) clique of individuals can easily influence the attitudes toward, and implementation of, a reform through communication."

Goertz, M., Goldwasser, M., Hovde, K., Mueller, J., and Riggan, M. (2006). Getting Past Go: The Use and Perceived Effects of External Provider Packages in High Schools. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA, April 10, 2006

http://www.cpre.org/images/stories/cpre_pdfs/aera_2006_use_and_effects_of_external_providers.pdf

Abstract: This study examined 4 particular domains about how external reform models were being "used" by schools: spread, depth, sustainability, and perceived effects.  Findings from an analysis of data collected from the three participating FTF sites, indicate the following findings. The spread of the basic structural components of the reform was easier to achieve than the depth of staff engagement with the components (such as instructional improvements) that these structural changes were supposed to facilitate. The sustainability of FTF was found to be seriously jeopardized particularly by external factors such as changes in leadership at two of the sites. Teachers at FTF sites reported positive perceived effects of the reform such as improved student engagement and motivation, and stronger relationships; however teachers also reported a belief that effects on achievement scores were more important for the future of the reform than these other improvements. There were marked differences in the "use" of FTF across the sites studied.  From their analysis of FTF and the other external reforms included in the study, the researchers identified the following variables as those most important to the successful "use" of external reforms: design emphasis, training, leadership, zones of enactment, school resources, and sense of urgency.     

Weiss, M.J. (2007). Communication Through Community? The Effects of Structural Changes on High School Communication. Paper presented at the Annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL, April 13, 2007. http://www.cpre.org/images/stories/cpre_pdfs/aera_2007_effects_of_structural_change.pdf

Abstract: This study looked at how restructuring schools into small learning communities (SLC) in First Things First (FTF) impacted the communication between teachers. Essentially, the study was looking for evidence of whether or not SLCs were an effective approach to fostering strong professional communities in schools.  Specific findings reflect evidence that belonging to an SLC makes it more likely that at teacher will ask a staff member for help. Additionally, this willingness to go to a colleague for help or advice becomes even stronger as teachers spend more years in an SLC. Data collected about what topics are most commonly discussed during SLCs "common planning time" show that student discipline and classroom management, and instructional strategies to help individual students were the most common topics discussed. The researchers conclude that their study provides promising evidence that restructuring into SLCs can positively influence the patterns of communication within a schools' professional community.       

Weinbaum, E.H., Supovitz, J., Gross, B., Cole, R., Weiss, M., and Brooke Ricalde.(2006).Going With the Flow: Communication and Reform in High Schools. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA, April 10, 2006

http://www.cpre.org/images/stories/cpre_pdfs/aera_2006_communication_and_reform_in_high_schools.pdf

Abstract: This study examines  how "networks" of communication in a school are impacted by structural changes implemented as part of reform models. Using data from 15 schools, implementing 5 different external reform models, the study looked at three different networks of communication - friendship, professional, and provider - and tried to identify to what extent structural changes was impacting these networks. Findings suggest that teacher's SLC/departmental affiliation was a significant factor in determining who they were most likely to communicate with about personal matters. One of the "most striking" findings of this study was that "the odds of communication around issues of professional concern are most strongly and consistently enhanced by friendship connections."  This provides strong evidence for the suggestion that "fostering friendship connections among staff" is a promising avenue for increasing communication about professional issues. Additional evidence showed that SLC/departmental affiliation was nearly as strong a predictor of communication about professional matters as was friendship. The "provider network" was defined as the "communication between teachers and those individuals to whom they turn for advice about the particular school reform program." Once again, teachers were most likely to turn to their friendship networks to communicate specifically about issues concerning the reform. Teachers were also found to disproportionately seek out those individuals who had "been identified as leaders of the reform effort." Findings specific to FTF confirm that SLCs have had significant influence on the patterns of communication within the school. The significance of this impact was seen even in the school that was in the earliest stages of implementation. One of the most significant findings show that in the schools were SLCs have been established for more than two years "the SLC has supplanted the department as the primary focus of communication in this school with the exception of curriculum discussion where it is most natural that teachers would turn to the group that shares content expertise"

"First Things First: A Case Study of Implementation in Three Schools"
http://www.cpre.org/images/stories/cpre_pdfs/FTF.pdf

Case study completed as part of The Study of High School Strategies for Instructional Improvement: Phase II, funded by the Institute for Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.  Findings used for work published in the 2008 book "The Implementation Gap: Understanding Reform in High Schools."  Case studies completed by: Joy Anderson, Margaret E. Goertz, Matthew Goldwasser, Kate Hovde, Diane Massell, Jennifer A. Mueller, Matthew Riggan, Catherine Dunn Shiffman, Jonathan A. Supovitz, and Elliot H. Weinbaum

Abstract: This implementation study looked at teacher's understanding and enactment of First Things First (FTF) in three high schools, and analyzing factors that contributed to the quality of implementation.  In all three schools the study found that a high percentage of teachers acknowledged their awareness of and explicit participation in the reform.  A closer look at the school furthest along in implementation revealed that the reform had become so deeply "internalized" in their practice, they no longer talked about FTF components in terms of  "the reform," but rather in terms of the goals of the "school."

            A review of implementation quality of FTF's three major components showed notable variability across the sites. Small learning communities were the most consistently and  thoroughly implemented component across all sites, with implementation considered "high quality" by the end of each school's first year.  The Family Advocate System (FAS), conversely, was the most inconsistent component across the three sites. However, the school implementing FTF the longest had achieved thorough implementation, with one teacher offering "Advocate groups are becoming kind of organic. They're becoming like a family." The instructional improvement component was the newest to each site and so implementation was recognizably preliminary, though again, at the site implementing FTF the longest, instructional improvement activities were being done regularly.

            The "perceived value" of the reform components was also examined by this study.  Researchers found that teachers and staff thought that SLCs and FAS were "generally appropriate mechanisms" for building relationships and creating a good environment for student learning. Teachers across all three schools valued in particular the SLC component, citing their "potential to improve coordination and collaboration among teachers and improve teacher-student relationships." Again, because instructional improvement was relatively new at two of the sites, its perceived value was inconsistent.

            Of the "changes in teacher behavior" cited by the study, SLCs again seemed to have the most impact on teachers, particularly the "sense of internal accountability that the SLC fostered." Keeping the same students together with the same teachers encouraged a greater sense of responsibility for student learning, and encouraged "teachers to learn more about the strategies FTF was recommending in the hopes that they would serve students well and would give teachers a common approach to instruction." Over time, SLCs "became an increasingly strong influence on professional communication," and teachers across all three schools reported that they talked more about instructional practice and student learning than before FTF was implemented.

            Overall take-aways from the study include: structural change was easier than instructional change, leaders must be well-trained and prepared for changes in their roles, and resources (or lack there of) can greatly impact implementation.