Actors and Resources in the Deinstitutionalization and Reproduction of Educational Inequalities: A Comparative Historical Analysis

Rachida Aïssaoui

Journal of Management Studies, 2022, vol. 59, issue 6, 1386-1421

Abstract: This study reports on the findings of a comparative historical analysis uncovering three inequality projects aimed at either deinstitutionalizing or reproducing inequalities in school organizations in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee. My investigation covers a long period, from the mid‐1800s when the first public schools were created in Memphis, to 2014 when the suburban schools opted to permanently separate from the urban school district. The insights from this study make three key contributions. First, I develop a model of inequality work that uncovers the interactional mechanisms linking unequal impact to unequal treatment. Second, I explain why efforts at distributing resources equally can only temporarily resolve inequalities. Lastly, I identify valuation work as a central link between the material forms of institutional work to access resources and the symbolic form of institutional work to deinstitutionalize or reproduce the unequal treatment of actors.

Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:59:y:2022:i:6:p:1386-1421

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