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Research consistently has found teachers’ use of assessment data for instructional purposes challenging and inconsistent. To support teachers’ use of data, we need to develop shared knowledge about how data are and can be used to advance... more
Research consistently has found teachers’ use of assessment data for instructional purposes challenging and inconsistent. To support teachers’ use of data, we need to develop shared knowledge about how data are and can be used to advance teaching and learning. However, the literature on the specific actions teachers take is inconsistent, creating challenges for both research and practice. As part of a larger project examining data use in instructional decision making, we developed a framework to classify teachers’ instructional responses to data. Then, we used quantitative and qualitative data from educators across 5 districts and 20 schools to evaluate the utility of the framework. This article documents the process and outcomes of our multistage, mixed-methods approach to these tasks. We conclude with the potential uses of this framework for research and practice.
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The role of district research leaders (DRLs) in central offices has emerged as a strategy for improving the creation, flow, and use of research knowledge in decision-making. However, there is limited information about the... more
The role of district research leaders (DRLs) in central offices has emerged as a strategy for improving the creation, flow, and use of research knowledge in decision-making. However, there is limited information about the responsibilities, opportunities, and challenges inherent in these roles. This exploratory qualitative study features document analysis to examine the individual backgrounds, job demands, and organizational contexts of DRLs. The result of this study suggest that multiple pathways to the DRL role exist, but few include formal training in knowledge brokering. Further findings suggest that DRL jobs are complex and entail diverse tasks, but share a focus on research leadership and coordination, identifying and obtaining relevant research information, and facilitating evidence-informed change. Moreover, organizational contexts varied in supportiveness for knowledge brokering work. Overall, there was limited evidence of alignment across individual, job, and organizational...
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Reports a survey of U. S.thought leaders on several questions: 1) is research impact different from research use? 2) does impact matter in different ways for different parts of education? 3) is impact observable? 4) how do you make impact... more
Reports a survey of U. S.thought leaders on several questions: 1) is research impact different from research use? 2) does impact matter in different ways for different parts of education? 3) is impact observable? 4) how do you make impact happen? Also notes common contextual issues
ABSTRACT Education policy continues to press for increased use of research evidence in decision-making, yet decades of research point to weak links between research and practice. We see evidence-informed improvement not as a problem with... more
ABSTRACT Education policy continues to press for increased use of research evidence in decision-making, yet decades of research point to weak links between research and practice. We see evidence-informed improvement not as a problem with schools, but with a larger evidence-use ecosystem. As a step toward building and strengthening multidirectional paths between research, practice, and policy, we explore three overlapping research contexts: production, practice, and mediation. Despite the importance of each of these contexts in evidence-infor5med policy and practice, they are rarely considered together. In this paper, we seek to understand the social-ecological systems in which these contexts are situated and to identify problematic disconnects and promising similarities. This study draws on case studies of research production in institutions of higher education, knowledge mobilization by an intermediary organization, and school-based decision-making. We use Elinor Ostrom’s Social-ecological Systems Framework as a lens on each case, attending to resource systems, resource units, governance systems, actors, and the interactions that coordinate and align those systems to achieve positive outcomes. We then look across cases to identify barriers and opportunities to restructure and reorganize the evidence-use ecosystem in order to redesign and strengthen research-practice infrastructure and more effectively promote evidence-informed policy and practice.
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Reflecting on professional learning networks (PLN) in rural and equity-seeking spaces, the authors foreground the importance of “relational space” in studying PLNs in this commentary. The authors argue that while the complexity of taking... more
Reflecting on professional learning networks (PLN) in rural and equity-seeking spaces, the authors foreground the importance of “relational space” in studying PLNs in this commentary. The authors argue that while the complexity of taking a relational approach is challenging, it offers an important and necessary perspective, one which is often implicit in the studies featured in this book but not explicitly considered. The chapter is organized around three broad concepts from social network theory – boundedness, connectedness, and mutuality – which serve as starting points for shifting our gaze from formal system structures to more deeply interrogating the informal relational spaces within PLNs. The authors conclude with a call to make use of network theory and methods on their own, and in complement to other literatures, to do so.
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This report presents an initial evaluation of the retention and turnover of Principals and assistant Principals who supervise and manage educational instruction in the primary and secondary public schools of the state of Delaware.
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In this chapter, the authors argue that stronger connections between research and practice in education are inherently a public good. The authors discuss recent efforts by the US Government to encourage production of better education... more
In this chapter, the authors argue that stronger connections between research and practice in education are inherently a public good. The authors discuss recent efforts by the US Government to encourage production of better education research, and more effective application of this research to practice. The current educational policy climate, generated in large part by the 2001 passage of No Child Left Behind and reiterated through reauthorization in the Every Student Succeeds Act, places immense pressure on schools and districts to use evidence to inform their decisions regarding student learning. However, due to the complexity of these decisions, such mandates have often fallen short in ensuring that evidence is incorporated. The chapter establishes the context of national education policy regarding research evidence use and explores recent efforts which seek to better understand and motivate the use of research in schools to inform the public good. As this discussion reveals prob...
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Background Amid calls for increased data use, there is little research or policy guidance for how to build schools’ capacity to leverage data to improve teaching and learning. Building on previous research highlighting the social nature... more
Background Amid calls for increased data use, there is little research or policy guidance for how to build schools’ capacity to leverage data to improve teaching and learning. Building on previous research highlighting the social nature of data use, we contend that in order to understand how capacity develops, research must focus on relationships and networks that support educators’ practice, conceptualizing capacity as socially embedded. Purpose This article explores the development of data use capacity in an elementary school through a social network approach. Our analysis focuses on the structure of data advice networks, the characteristics of perceived experts in the network, and the productiveness of the network in terms of influencing beliefs and practice. Population Data come from a sample of 42 educators from an elementary school exemplified by its district as a strong user of data to improve teaching and learning. Participants completed a survey about their data use beliefs...
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Research impact is increasingly a global issue, yet it is still emerging in the context of U.S. education. This article synthesizes insights on this issue from key thought leaders in various roles in the U.S. education system, including... more
Research impact is increasingly a global issue, yet it is still emerging in the context of U.S. education. This article synthesizes insights on this issue from key thought leaders in various roles in the U.S. education system, including their perspectives on defining, motivating, measuring, and supporting research impact. These insights offer the conceptual framing for this special issue of the International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership (IJEPL) and highlight several themes and tensions associated with research impact. The call for articles focused on these insights, which are addressed in the pieces that constitute this special issue.
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The International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership published its first article June 5, 2006 and has been releasing articles steadily since then. With more than 300,000 article downloads and 104 published articles across 13... more
The International Journal of Education Policy and Leadership published its first article June 5, 2006 and has been releasing articles steadily since then. With more than 300,000 article downloads and 104 published articles across 13 volumes, IJEPL has established itself as an important contributor to open access research publishing in the field of education. Initially published as a collaborative partnership among faculty at Simon Fraser University and George Mason University, and ASCD (a global professional development organization and publisher for education professionals), the journal has faced (and overcome) a number of key challenges in its 13-year history.
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Recent efforts to improve the quality and availability of scientific research in education, coupled with increased expectations for the use of research in practice, demand new ways of thinking about connections between research and... more
Recent efforts to improve the quality and availability of scientific research in education, coupled with increased expectations for the use of research in practice, demand new ways of thinking about connections between research and practice. The conceptual framework presented in this paper argues that increasing research in educational decision-making cannot be simplified to an issue of dissemination or of motivating practitioners to access evidence-based research but rather is a bidirectional problem in which characteristics of both the research and practice communities must be understood and addressed in order to strengthen ties between research and practice in education.
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Current policy goals are designed to ensure all students are college and career ready resulting in a process of curricular intensification which should have significant impact on student coursetaking in high school. However, reforms have... more
Current policy goals are designed to ensure all students are college and career ready resulting in a process of curricular intensification which should have significant impact on student coursetaking in high school. However, reforms have been pursued in the context of test-based accountability, which emphasizes assessment metrics as the primary outcome measure, though such data are not useful in guiding school improvement efforts, in this article, student transcripts-available but seldom reported data-were used to explore coursetaking as a factor in mathematics achievement as part of a university-district partnership focused on equitable student outcomes. Results reveal that prescribed curricular paths are consistent with accountability goals, but actual curricular participation deviates from these paths, resulting in negative outcomes for low-income students in particular. Findings illustrate the value of non-test data in decision-making and a need to resurrect research on education processes underlying the outcomes measures dominating accountability discourse.
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Accountability puts demands on educational agencies that often exceed their capacity. As a result, a variety of educational organizations are contracted to design and implement policy. Programs and services offered by these contractors... more
Accountability puts demands on educational agencies that often exceed their capacity. As a result, a variety of educational organizations are contracted to design and implement policy. Programs and services offered by these contractors are not only instrumental in the process of mediating and implementing policy, but may also be instrumental in translating research into practice. To explore this issue, a case study is conducted using vendor proposals for Delaware’s Data Coach initiative. Data are analyzed through content and citation analyses to examine the degree and nature of research use by educational contractors. This research offers new directions for studies of research use in policy but also lessons for policymakers and practitioners that seek the services of educational contractors.
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This chapter reports on a content analysis of portfolios used as the capstone requirement in the University of Delaware's Educational Leadership EdD program. The portfolio is focused on the demonstration of leadership to address a... more
This chapter reports on a content analysis of portfolios used as the capstone requirement in the University of Delaware's Educational Leadership EdD program. The portfolio is focused on the demonstration of leadership to address a significant problem of practice within the candidate's organization. The findings revealed that such portfolios are likely to be rooted in the accountability and policy mandates facing the districts and other education organizations in which candidates typically work; these are the challenges that define and shape their work. Similarly, these portfolios are more likely to be focused at the organizational level; this focus reflects where the majority are situated in their organizations, where they have the most control and influence, and where they will likely see the greatest return on their investment of resources and effort. This study also offers a framework to examine other non-traditional capstone projects.
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Research Interests: Sociology and Psychology
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Understanding relationships within a school can help a principal leverage support for new ideas.
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Fewer than 20 states require middle grades certification; in most states, credentials overlap so that both elementary and secondary certified teachers may teach in the middle grades. Moreover, in many urban districts, getting teachers for... more
Fewer than 20 states require middle grades certification; in most states, credentials overlap so that both elementary and secondary certified teachers may teach in the middle grades. Moreover, in many urban districts, getting teachers for the middle grades is a challenge. Despite this crazy-quilt of certifications and a growing body of work on teacher qualifications, there have been few studies that examine the teachers’ impact on learning in the middle grades. This paper uses a data set from an urban district to estimate the impact of different certifications (and lack of certification) on middle-grades students’ learning gains in mathematics and science. In mathematics, we find that students with elementary- and secondary-certified teachers outscore those with uncertified teachers and those who are certified in special education. Especially strong effects are seen in science, where students with secondary science-certified teachers substantially outscore those with any other kind ...
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