The Importance of Trust to Research-Informed School Improvement: A Social Network Analysis of 43 English Schools

• In Event: Poster Session 3
  In Poster Session: Current Issues in the Use of Research

Abstract

Based on a social network analysis of 621 teachers in 43 schools, this paper explores: 1) what supports the use of research findings in improving teaching practice; and 2) the degree to which school-improvement strategies are based on research and evidence. With the paper we: 1) examine the drivers for schools to now use research and engage in evidence-informed practice; 2) model the role of trust, organizational learning (OL), and high quality social interactions between teachers in achieving research-informed improvement. Our findings indicate that teachers’ perceived climate of trust and OL are statistically significantly and positively related to their perceived school’s research use climate. Finally we: 3) examine the implications of our analysis for school-leaders and at the system level.

Authors

• Chris Brown, Institute of Education University of London

• Alan J. Daly, University of California - San Diego

• Yi-Hwa Liou, National Taipei University of Education