Publications
Dr. Brock has spent extensive time over the past two decades researching and implementing school improvement efforts. Through this work she has develop the Leading School Improvement model. Dr. Brock has taught at the university level in Educational Leadership and Foundations; her work focused on the preparation of principals generally and educational research and methodology specifically. While Dr. Brock works at all levels within the K-12 school systems, her primary focus over the passed ten years has been school improvement in light of NCLB. She has more than twenty years experience in working with public schools and is a successful and gifted educator. Dr. Brock has a strategic focus on student achievement data and on quality implementation of a school improvement plan.
The novice researcher: Expectation meets reality
Author: Karen Johannesen Brock
Book/Volume: 7 Editor(s): Geoffrey Walford ISBN: 978-0-76230-906-1 eISBN: 978-1-84950-166-8
Citation: Karen Johannesen Brock, (2002), The novice researcher: Expectation meets reality, in Geoffrey Walford (ed.) Doing a Doctorate in Educational Ethnography (Studies in Educational Ethnography, Volume 7) Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.135 - 158
"Becoming" Effective: Lessons From One State's Reform Initiative in Schools Serving Low-Income Students
Author(s): Karen Johannesen Brock & Cori Groth
Abstract: Inadequate attention has been paid to the process by which schools serving low-income students change to become more effective. This article presents findings from a longitudinal case study of 50 low-income and racial, ethnic, or language minority schools that participated in a state-funded school improvement program. Using a framework for analyzing organizational change, the authors found that schools in which the adults in the building perceived a real opportunity to improve the academic circumstances of their students were able to transform their schools in more substantial ways than those schools in which the adults perceived little hope for increasing student learning. This perception is fostered by 6 key factors: (a) ongoing professional development, (b) a high degree of staff involvement, (c) a strong focus or vision of the school based on improving student learning, (d) continuous monitoring and evaluation of both program and student achievement, (e) reallocation of resources to support the school-wide plan, and (f) strong principal leadership. Initial findings indicate that a comprehensive approach to school reform that addresses the organizational structure is most effective at improving student achievement. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Coping with Change: The Experience of Three American Elementary Schools
Author: Karen Johannesen Brock
Publisher: University of Oxford, 2001