Spanning Boundaries Between Research, Policy, and Practice: An Exploration of Multiple, Embedded Thematic Knowledge Networks

• In Event: 21.033 - Knowledge Brokers and Boundary Spanners: Strengthening Ties Between Research, Policy, and Practice in Education

Abstract

Purpose and Perspective
This paper will explore the complexities of creating and sustaining research-practice partnerships and the importance of engaging researchers, practitioners, and policy makers in ongoing reciprocal relationships to increase research and evidence use in education practice and policy. The authors will examine the focus, structure, processes and roles of the Knowledge Network for Applied Education Research (KNAER), a research-policy-practice partnership established in 2010 to facilitate research to practice connections and build capacity for knowledge mobilization and evidence use across the Ontario education system. Research-partnerships “require participants to navigate multiple cultural, professional and organizational differences” that can become “boundaries to be understood and navigated” (Penuel et al. 2015, p.188) rather than obstacles to collaboration. Crossing these boundaries requires partners to intentionally undertake joint work despite different expertise, responsibilities and organizational cultures and to establish new routines and relationships that bridge the traditional perspectives and practices of researchers, policy makers and educators.

Methods and Data
This paper will summarize a growing body of evidence on the challenges and opportunities of research-practice partnerships, the role of knowledge brokers, and strategies for spanning traditional boundaries between research, policy and practice. The evolution of KNAER from a focus on collaborative knowledge mobilization projects to multi-year, nested thematic knowledge networks and communities of practice illustrates the challenges of building effective research-practice partnerships and offers insights into the next generation of partnerships (Tseng, Easton, & Supplee, 2016). The paper will draw on multiple data sources to summarize results of the multiple embedded thematic knowledge networks and share conclusions about: the characteristics of effective research-practice partnerships; different approaches to network models; strategies for strengthening research brokering across collaborative networks; and new ways of working together to improve evidence use and impact in classrooms, schools and communities. The structures, relationships, processes and outcomes of the thematic networks will be highlighted as case examples of these new partnership models.

Results and Significance
This presentation will be of particular interest to school and system leaders, academic researchers, and government policy makers who are committed to evidence use and collaborative partnerships to improve teaching and learning. From its inception, the KNAER has incorporated multiple forms of knowledge brokering: making research and evidence more accessible and relevant for educators, building relationships and partnerships between researchers and practitioners, and engaging knowledge brokers and intermediaries in educational improvement. Insights arising from the implementation of nested thematic networks will be presented in relation to: intentionally flexible structures; policy as a lever; the challenges of understanding and navigating cultural, professional and organizational differences; joint work at the boundaries; and potential for system-wide impact.

Authors

• Erica H. van Roosmalen, Ontario Ministry of Education

• Doris McWhorter, International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement

• Donna Kotsopoulos, Huron University College

• George Gadanidis, University of Western Ontario

• Ruth G. Kane, University of Ottawa

• Nicholas Ng-A-Fook, University of Ottawa