The Influence of Formal Structure on Informal Patterns of Interaction Within a Research-Sharing Learning Community

• In Event: 46.086 - Roundtable Session 16
  In Roundtable Session: 46.086-17 - Research Use and Stakeholder Engagement: Issues and Opportunities for Teacher and Administrator Use of Research

Abstract

This paper reports on a mixed methods study that investigates how social interactions within a professional learning community mitigate the ways in which central office administrators access and use research knowledge in their professional practice. Informed by social network theory and analysis, it highlights the ways in which formal program structures appear to influence the informal interaction patterns of administrators who are engaged in developing evidence-based school mental health policy. Findings from this study suggest that formal program structures may be essential to cultivating a culture of research use among central office personnel, particularly during the early days of an initiative. The ways in which network structure facilitates/constrains knowledge mobilization activities given these circumstances will be discussed.

Author

• Joelle Rodway Macri, University of Toronto