Although critical theorists in educational administration have recently contended that administrative practices play an important role in the reproduction of societal inequities, little research has been done to show how this actually occurs in schools. This article addresses that lack by reporting a case study illustrating how one school district's reform efforts replicate the unequal distribution of knowledge, power, and resources by race and class that often occurs in society. The article begins with a critical discussion of the three dominant paradigms in educational organization change theory -functionalism, culturalism, and critical theory -and ends with practical suggestions about how the school district could have more equitably proceeded with its reform efforts.
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