Using Networked Learning Communities to Increase Research Use for Teacher and School Improvement

• In Event: Evidence Use in Professional Learning Communities

Abstract

Objectives and perspective
This paper reports on a two-year research use project taking place in 114 primary schools across England. The aim of the project is to test an innovative pilot to increase research use amongst primary school teachers at scale. This pilot draws on the work of Stoll (2006), Earl and Katz (2005) and Katz and Earl (2010) in order to understand how researchers might form effective networked PLCs with school leaders, successfully centered on knowledge mobilization. Building on the concept of knowledge creation (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995), conceptions of expertise (Flybjerg, 2001) and learning conversations (Stoll, 2012) we aim to understand how researchers can best combine practitioner tacit knowledge with research and evidence on ‘what seems to work’ in relation to teaching and learning. Notions of formal and informal leadership (Day and Sammons, 2013) and social network analysis method (Daly, 2010) are employed to ascertain the role of different types of leaders in mobilizing knowledge within their school.

Methods and data sources
A social network survey was employed exploring two major dimensions of social capital among the participating schools: structural, referring to overall properties of a social network, and relational, referring to the quality of ties in terms of the norms, values, and expectancies shared by group members (Finnigan and Daly, 2012; Bourdieu, 1986). In addition, questions were asked regarding which existing within-school factors were most likely to drive research use. In line with previous research, (eg. Baker-Doyle and Yoon, 2010), our survey focused on measures of ‘attribute’ characteristics (e.g. years of experience, content knowledge); social capital measures (to whom practitioners turn for work-related information; interaction quality and frequency); school cultures regarding research use; the extent to which teachers perceive aspects of organizational learning present in their school; and teachers’ perceptions regarding the levels of trust within their school (Hoy & Tschannen-Moran, 2003; modified version previously employed by Finnigan and Daly, 2012).

We analyzed the network data for the 43 responding schools with a response rate of at least 75 per cent, corresponding to 828 teachers.

Results and significance
The results indicate that respondents’ perceptions regarding research use within their schools are positively related to: teachers’ perception that organizational learning is present within their school; the presence of frequent (weekly) advice seeking relationships; the presence of high quality advice seeking interactions; and whether teachers believe they are operating in a high trust environment.

The analysis also shows, however, that perceptions of trust and the existence of a high trust culture is the biggest driver of perceived research use: trust has approximately three times more influence on the perceptions of school research use than the second biggest variable – organizational learning. In addition, the regularity of interactions has most impact on perceptions of research use rather than the frequency and the quality of interactions. Consequently, organizational learning factors do impact on whether teachers perceive their schools’ research use climate as positive, but it is trust that really drives teachers’ perceptions that they operate within an environment encouraging research use.

Author

• Chris Brown, Institute of Education University of London