What District Conditions Matter for Productive Partnering?

• In Event: Identifying Supportive Conditions for Education Partnerships

Abstract

School districts are turning to external partners for assistance in unprecedented ways. Yet, we know little about the conditions under which districts take up guidance from external organizations. In a mixed methods study of two districts and four partnerships, we investigate how organizational conditions and interactions with external partners can contribute to organizational learning. Drawing on a conceptual framework of absorptive capacity, we found greater variability in organizational learning outcomes in one district and greater uptake and more consistency in the spread of new ideas in the second district. We posit that these differences are related to the organizational conditions of each department, the nature of interactions between external partners and department staff, and broader district context.

Authors

• Caitlin Farrell, University of Colorado - Boulder

• Lok-Sze Wong, University of North Texas

• Megan Hopkins, University of California - San Diego

• Jennifer R Cowhy, Northwestern University School of Education and Social Policy Human Development and Social Policy

• Riley Ceperich, Northwestern University

• Abigail J Beneke, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Nina Wetoska