The Chicago Algebra Project: A historical organizational case study

This qualitative research is a historical organizational case study of the Chicago Algebra Project (CAP). The Algebra Project (AP) is a middle school experientially-based mathematics program that was developed by Robert P. Moses, a civil rights activist and mathematician. This study was based on interviews of 30 program participants, the examination of organizational documents and participant-observation. The purpose of this study was to trace and describe the process by which the Algebra Project has been translated into an operating reality in the Chicago Public Schools. Specifically, three stages of development were investigated: mobilization, implementation, and institutionalization of the project in Chicago. An analysis of the literature on school change provided the framework for examining the history of the Algebra Project in Chicago. The process of qualitative data analysis consisted of data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification.;Teacher and trainer training, teacher support, teacher stability, teacher expectations, additional teacher training, local school scheduling, basic skills and standardized tests, and program financial support were identified by interviewees as factors that influence the implementation of the Algebra Project in Chicago. Factors affecting institutionalization were the school mathematics program, local school Algebra Project staffing stability, public events by Chicago Algebra Project Community Math Literacy Specialists and trainers, and the initiation of the Chicago Systemic Initiative.;The Algebra Project borrowing from the strategies used in the civil rights movement of the 1960s has successfully mobilized in Chicago. However, careful attention must be paid to problems related to the project's implementation and continuation.;The mobilization of the Algebra Project in Chicago was influenced by seven factors: (a) the civil rights connection, (b) mathematics education connection, (c) mathematics anxiety, (d) school reform, (e) local school Algebra Project advocacy, (f) the Algebra Project presentation, and (g) local school funding.