Developing leadership capacity through strategic action : a campaign approach to transforming high schools in Los Angeles Unified School District

Abstract

This capstone examines the impact of applying social movement theory to large-scale organizational change efforts in the context of transforming high schools through the Linked Learning District Initiative in Los Angeles Unified School District. It explores the conditions necessary for mobilizing large groups of people to engage in sustained, strategic, long-term change efforts that lead to improvements in teaching and learning across the system. It also looks at how a district can create those conditions predictably across multiple settings. The capstone includes the description, findings, and analysis of a strategic project in which the Linked Learning District Office developed the collective leadership capacity of teams across ten separate high school pathways to lead “mini-campaigns” together in a pathway development and improvement process. The mini-campaign provided a framework for pathway leadership teams to develop their leadership capacity by engaging and learning through ongoing strategic action.