Leveraging Research in RPPs to Strengthen Professional Learning Communities in Chile (Poster 5)

• In Event: Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Research Use in Research-Practice Partnerships Based Across the Globe

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this presentation is to examine the types of research used in a Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) composed by researchers from a consortium of universities, school and district-level practitioners from two neighboring districts and one state educational department in Chile. The goal of our RPP is to strengthen Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). This paper aims to analyze the research roles configured within the RPP, discussing lessons learned in its two-year implementation.

Theoretical Framework: Literature on collaborative research methodologies such as RPPs highlights the complexities of integrating evidence-based practices into educational settings. This issue is further complicated by the diverse contexts and competencies of teachers, educational leaders, and researchers involved in RPPs (Wentworth et al., 2023). Penuel and Gallagher (2017) emphasizes the need for adaptable research methods that can respond to the dynamic nature of educational settings and the importance of building capacity among practitioners to engage with and use research.

Methods: The research within our RPP had diverse aims:

Measurement Infrastructure: To test our theory of change, we applied the PLCA-R questionnaire, receiving 189 responses from principals, leadership teams, teachers, and assistants, establishing a baseline for PLC conditions in nine schools (Olivier & Hipp, 2010). We conducted interviews with senior leadership and teacher leaders, university facilitators' observations of PLCs and analyzed artifacts from network meetings and coaching sessions.

Supporting Research Use in Schools: This was tailored to address specific learning and practice problems within schools.

Assessing RPP Development: We used Cooper et al.'s (2019) model to monitor collaborative processes such as planning, data use, communication, trust, brokering activities, and capacity building. Field notes and artifacts from steering committee meetings and interview transcripts with various RPP members were analyzed (Patton, 2014; Creswell & Poth, 2018).

Using Penuel and Gallagher’s (2017) insights on research in partnerships, we analyzed how our research use supported the partnership's mutual aims, practitioners capacity building for using research and opportunities to shift on roles that traditionally practitioners and researchers use (Sjölund et al. 2023).

Results: The analysis revealed distinct roles occupied by researchers and practitioners:

Researchers functioned as both research producers and PD facilitators, with some taking on hybrid roles that challenged time to build their own academic work.

The steering committee reviewed analyses made by researchers and contributed to ongoing decision-making processes, ensuring that the research remained relevant and actionable, with few opportunities to engage in research production roles.

Schools engaged in interpreting process data collaboratively, generating inquiry questions, and interpreting data within their PLCs.

The findings underscored the importance of opening up different aspects of the research process to educational partners, promoting analytic capacity building among educators, and ensuring that research questions addressed mutual concerns.

Scholarly Significance of the Study: This study contributes to the need for adaptable research methods, active practitioner involvement, and the production of findings in multiple formats to accommodate the divergent needs of research and practice (Penuel and Gallagher, 2017). The insights gained from this RPP in Chile offer lessons for similar partnerships in diverse international contexts.

Authors

• Bárbara Zoro, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso

• Fernanda Goni, Universidad de Chile

• Rebecca Ipinza, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso