Causal Stories and Problem Definitions: How Policymakers and Superintendents Frame School Turnaround

Abstract

This study uses framing theory and the concept of causal stories to examine beliefs about causes and solutions to improving chronically low-performing schools in response to Michigan’s school turnaround policy. Across cases, policymakers and district leaders assigned most responsibility to poor leadership, poverty, and chronic educator turnover as primary causes of problems leading to turnaround identification. These causal stories were most often framed as side effects of policy or practice rather than as intentional actions. However, a notable subset assigned blame more directly to intentional policy action (or inaction) that would help districts counteract the effects of concentrated poverty, such as weighted funding. In terms of solutions, most leaders believed that improved funding was necessary to strengthen and stabilize the workforce and meet the nonacademic needs of children—for instance, attending to the deleterious effects of poverty through wraparound services or efforts to address trauma.