Evolving Notions of Improvement Network Development in the Context of the Networks for School Improvement Initiative

• In Event: Organizing Networks to Accelerate School Improvement in Pursuit of Equitable Educational Opportunity

Abstract

Purpose:
In a time of rapid proliferation of networks in the education sector, what does it mean to be a networked improvement community? This paper frames the concept of a scientific, professional learning community organized in networked form, with specific attention to the uptake of the network concept promoted by the influx of significant resources to launch and support network operations. The paper aims to be context setting for the subsequent papers by introducing our theoretical framework and providing foundational information about the Gates-funded NSI initiative and the ecology of support provided to networks participating in the initiative.

Context / Conceptual Framework:
We attend to the developmental processes that unfold as networks are launched, develop structures and organizational routines, and mature into learning systems, all while responding to contextual characteristics. Drawing on a prior conceptualization of the Improvement Network Development Framework (Authors, et al, 2017; Authors, et al., 2019) we introduce core domains of activity associated with the launch and development of improvement networks including: network leadership; network roles and engagement; continuous improvement processes; network connections; network culture; and contexts for improvement.

Modes of Inquiry:
This is a conceptual paper integrating theory with a real world case of networked improvement, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Networks for School Improvement initiative.

Data / Analysis:
The paper draws on documentation related to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Networks for School Improvement initiative in order to understand the initiative's theory of action and descriptive information regarding the networks funded through the initiative. This case background is interpreted through the conceptual framework which emphasizes the developmental process associated with launching and operating improvement networks.

Results:
Through the lens of the Network Development Framework, the paper interrogates implicit assumptions operating in the field, such as the notion that getting funded to operate a network means that a networked learning community will automatically emerge. The paper will also examine a range of ways in which we see improvement networks organized in the context of the NSI initiative. For example, some manifestations aim to leverage existing systems to operate deliberately as learning networks (e.g., networks emerging within districts that aim to promote the transformation of bureaucratic systems). While other networks led by intermediary organizations seek to create new temporary organizations that facilitate the uptake of new practices and inter-organizational learning. Additionally, networks in the initiative vary in consequential ways such as the types of organizations acting as the network hub, the improvement aims of the network (e.g., instructional improvement, early warning systems to support student success, and post-secondary transition), the scope and size of the networks, and their spread within and across districts.

Significance:
The NSI initiative is likely to have a significant impact on the field given a massive investment in the development of nearly forty networks, committed to using continuous improvement methods to advance equity-focused school improvement goals. Better understanding the processes and core assumptions at play in the initiative stands to contribute to both research on networked improvement and the practice of current and future improvement networks.

Authors

• Jennifer Lin Russell, Vanderbilt University
  Presenting Author

• Donald J. Peurach, University of Michigan
  Non-Presenting Author

• Anthony S. Bryk, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jennifer Zoltners Sherer, University of Pittsburgh
  Non-Presenting Author

• Chris Matthis, Partners for Network Improvement
  Non-Presenting Author

• Megan Duff, Vanderbilt University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Anna Elisabeth Premo, ETH Zürich
  Non-Presenting Author