Striving for symmetry: Navigating the complexity of promoting deeper learning through an RPP in Peru

• In Event: Comparing Political Dynamics of Research Practice Partnerships (RPPs): Insights From Latin America and the United States

Abstract

Drawing from a recent four-year RPP between a US-based university and a low-cost network of schools in Peru, this paper argues that popular framings of pursuing “symmetry” in learning (Mehta & Fine, 2019) risk oversimplifying what happens on the ground in schools when attempts are made system-wide to move from transmission-based pedagogical approaches to “deeper learning” (Fullan & Langworthy, 2013). In particular, popular framings of symmetry (e.g., Archer, 2022) sometimes overlook the ways in which contextual elements, including micropolitics, can impact how and to what extent grounding values and practices become embedded across an educational setting or are adopted by individuals. This paper takes a birds-eye view of the now-completed RPP, which involved the design and implementation of collaborative inquiry-style professional development (DeLuca et al., 2014) for people playing various roles within the network of schools, with the goal of promoting widespread pedagogical change. It particularly draws from data collected during the RPP’s fourth and final year that involved working directly with 30 network coaches: survey responses, interviews (n=14), and documentation from professional development sessions and small group inquiry projects (n=8).

The paper identifies three dimensions of complexity with regards to promoting symmetry: organizational structures, professional learning, and individual identities and experiences. Organizational structures refers to the ways in which evolving organizational ‘tightness’ or ‘looseness’ (Hautala et al., 2018; Heifetz, 1994) impacted the type of pedagogical change possible: In this RPP, an overly tight network structure that had initially been designed to establish consistent pedagogical practices needed to be loosened to give educators sufficient autonomy to respond to learners’ needs, interests, and ideas. The second dimension, professional learning, concerns the importance of considering everyone’s learning within the network, including those in roles beyond classroom teaching. It proved important in this context to carefully model pedagogical ideas and values in multifaceted ways that did not involve people with the most expertise or experience telling others how to do things. The third dimension of complexity, individual identities and experiences, refers to the importance of anticipating variation and evolution in individuals’ interpretations of anchoring values and practices. The educators involved in this RPP needed to change their mindsets about learning, rethink their professional identities, and reconsider their practices in varied and profoundly personal ways that went beyond more superficial implementation (Spillane et al., 2002). For example, they were initially concerned about making mistakes or not living up to local expectations for their roles, and were hesitant to offer students greater autonomy. This paper adds nuance to debates about promoting symmetry or coherence (Mintrop et al., 2022) in the name of advancing pedagogical change by examining some of the complexity on the ground. Besides looking at how ideas and practices mostly developed outside of Peru were introduced to this social and political context, the paper’s focus on complexity could help educators and researchers to reflect on their own efforts to pursue pedagogic change with symmetry in mind, and to pre-empt some of the challenges or complexity that likely lie ahead.

Authors

• Elizabeth Dawes Duraisingh, Harvard University

• Andrea Sachdeva, University of Pittsburgh