ABSTRACT
Sustainability focuses on whether the reform continues beyond the initial infusion of resources and support. Sustainability preserves fidelity to the original design and longevity of outcomes. A persistence of a change effort does not equate sustainability with institutionalization. Rather than explaining how change occurs, institutional theory tends to focus on how the intransigent nature of schools prevents sustaining educational change. Scale is a "nested" problem, since it exists at all levels of the system, from classroom to school to district, state and federal. Concepts of scale or diffusion look beyond whether something remains and considers whether it can spread to other contexts. Regulative change requires ongoing external pressure, since if the regulation went away, it is assumed that the behavior would cease. Normative changes include cultural changes that are explicitly articulated. Cognitive changes occur beneath the surface. Racial bias can include cognitive beliefs that are not fully considered as one enacts them.
