@EdWorkingPaper{ai26-1525,
title = "An inequitable distribution of teacher talent: How micropolitics shape the master schedule",
author = "Shelby L. Smith, Michael Fienberg, Margaret Dawson-Amoah, Isabel Clay-Frum, Alden Ducharme",
institution = "Annenberg Institute at Brown University",
number = "1525",
year = "2026",
month = "July",
URL = "http://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai26-1525",
abstract = {Each year, school leaders must balance the competing interests of students and teachers when creating the master schedule and assigning teachers to courses. Using a micropolitical lens, this study draws on interviews with 17 secondary school leaders to examine how they navigate this process. We find that the course assignment process is largely centered on teacher satisfaction, with teacher seniority– an indicator of accumulated political capital– leading to preferential assignments through both explicit and implicit mechanisms. We conclude by identifying strategies school leaders use to exercise their own organizational capital and mitigate the resulting inequities in students’ access to teacher talent.},
}