Social network analysis of the influences of educational reforms on teachers’ practices and interactions

In this chapter we present social network analysis in the context of recent educational reforms concerning teachers’ instructional practices. Teachers are critical to the implementation of educational reforms, and teacher networks are important because teachers draw on local knowledge and conform to local norms as they implement new practices. We describe three social network approaches. First, we graphically represent network data to characterize the network structure through which information and knowledge about reforms might diffuse. Second, we use social influence models to express how teachers’ beliefs or behaviors are affected by others with whom they interact. Third, we use social selection models to express how teachers might select with whom to engage in interactions about reforms. We discuss the implications for scientific dialogue, and for informing educational policy studies and the practice of educational policy makers and school administrators. 118 K. A. Frank et al. 1 3