Scale-Up in Education: Ideas in Principle

Schneider (education and sociology, Michigan State U., and U. of Chicago) and McDonald (Data Research and Development Center, U. of Chicago) compile 14 chapters in this first volume of a two-volume series that discusses how educational research on scaling up might benefit from the knowledge of other fields that extend innovations into products and practices. Different types of organizations, such as chemical engineering, manufacturing, software engineering, management and organizational theory, public health, economics, and sociology, are discussed to understand how interventions can be applied on a large scale. The chapters come out of a conference held in November 2003 at the Data Research and Development Center at the U. of Chicago. Chapters address methodological questions such as the definition of scale, measuring the effects of innovations, technological advances in changing organizational structures, and challenges for education. The book is intended for researchers, policy makers, and graduate students. Contributors are American researchers and scholars in education, management, and other fields. Annotation c2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Barbara Schneider, Ph.D. is a John A. Hannah Distinguished University Professor at Michigan State University and principal investigator of the Data Research and Development Center at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. Sarah-Kathryn McDonald is executive director of the Data Research and Development Center and a research scientist at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.