The Social Fabric of Networked School Improvement: Evidence From New Zealand

• In Event: 35.083 - Poster Session 7
  In Poster Session: 35.083-3 - Organizing for Improvement

Abstract

Networked improvement communities (NICs) for school improvement have proliferated worldwide, yet with inconsistent impacts on student outcomes. Despite research underscoring the importance of social factors—particularly trust and peer collaboration—for NIC effectiveness, few studies have examined the influence of social networks on the exchange of ideas and practices among NIC leadership, and no such study has been conducted in New Zealand. This study uses social network analysis and qualitative methods to explore nine cases of the Learning and Change Network strategy, a New Zealand NIC initiative. Preliminary findings suggest that denser, more trusting networks exhibit more collaborative activities and robust exchanges of both advice and research knowledge, and that unexpected actors may play a brokering role for less-connected members.

Author

• Sarah McKibben, U.S. Fulbright Program