Democratizing School Reform: Race, Participation, and Redistribution in Education. EdWorkingPaper No. 26-1450
Saved in:
| Title: | Democratizing School Reform: Race, Participation, and Redistribution in Education. EdWorkingPaper No. 26-1450 |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Jonathan E. Collins, Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University |
| Source: | Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. 2026. |
| Availability: | Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 33 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Reports - Evaluative |
| Education Level: | Junior High Schools Middle Schools Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Democracy, Educational Change, Budgeting, Race, Middle Schools, Governance, Innovation, Inclusion, Empowerment, Educational Policy, Feedback (Response), Participative Decision Making |
| Abstract: | This paper examines a school-based participatory budgeting initiative as a form of race-conscious democratic design. Drawing on a multi-year study of Participatory Redistribution (PR) in middle schools, I analyze whether embedding deliberative structures into schools can empower racially marginalized youth. Survey evidence from two years shows mixed results: treatment students demonstrated knowledge gains and short-term increases in efficacy, though these gains weakened in less responsive contexts. Meanwhile, open-ended responses reveal short-term improvements in deliberative reasoning, with treatment students more likely than controls to justify their views with instrumental and normative arguments. These findings extend theories of democratic innovation by showing that true inclusion requires not only removing barriers but designing institutions to empower racially subaltern groups in the spaces they already inhabit. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED681884 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | This paper examines a school-based participatory budgeting initiative as a form of race-conscious democratic design. Drawing on a multi-year study of Participatory Redistribution (PR) in middle schools, I analyze whether embedding deliberative structures into schools can empower racially marginalized youth. Survey evidence from two years shows mixed results: treatment students demonstrated knowledge gains and short-term increases in efficacy, though these gains weakened in less responsive contexts. Meanwhile, open-ended responses reveal short-term improvements in deliberative reasoning, with treatment students more likely than controls to justify their views with instrumental and normative arguments. These findings extend theories of democratic innovation by showing that true inclusion requires not only removing barriers but designing institutions to empower racially subaltern groups in the spaces they already inhabit. |
|---|
