Semester of Gradation
Fall 2025
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Secondary and Middle Grades Education
Department
Bagwell College of Education, Department of Secondary and Middle Grades Education
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Dr. Brian R. Lawler
Second Advisor
Dr. Johari Harris
Third Advisor
Dr. Kadian M. Callahan
Abstract
This single qualitative case study examined how detracking Algebra 1 at Mountainview High School (pseudonym) restructured the course’s rules and resources and how teachers exercised agency in response. Guided by Giddens’ structuration theory and Weis and Fine’s critical bifocality, the study explored how institutional structures both shape and are reshaped by teacher action within broader systems of inequality. Participants were seven Algebra 1 teachers involved in the first two years of detracking. Data was gathered using semi-structured interviews and analysis focused on two research questions: (1) In what ways did detracking alter the structures of Algebra 1 courses, and (2) in what ways did teacher agency initiate and respond to those changes. Findings indicated that detracking produced shifts in social norms among students and increased the need for teacher support structures as they refined classroom management strategies. Teachers also wrestled with equity issues related to intervention and extension decisions. They responded by exercising agency through instructional adaptation, data-driven collaboration, and the redefinition of expectations for student engagement and behavior.