Conceptualizing and Measuring Educators’ Participatory Benefits in Improvement Networks

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 5:25 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Improvement Network Development: Exploring the Promise of Collaboration Among Schools to Support Educational Improvement (Table 11)

Abstract

Objectives:
We theorize that network members’ participatory experiences influence their commitment and engagement, which in turn contributes to positive change in their educational practice. This paper reports on our construction of a survey measure of member participatory benefits and our investigation of how school-based educators benefit from their participation in NICs and the factors mediating their perceived benefits.

Theoretical framework:
Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) serve as an organizational structure to support educators working to improve educational practices and expand student learning opportunities. NICs are intentionally structured professional learning communities in which school-based educators have opportunities to learn and improve their practice through rigorous, focused, and collaborative continuous improvement processes with diverse colleagues and experts (Author et al., 2015; Yurkofsky et al., 2020). Yet, research on the experiences of school-based educators in improvement networks is nascent (Neumerski & Yurkofsky, 2024; Rohanna, 2022). Ideally, we expect that participation in NICs enables network members to learn problem-solving processes and work collaboratively to improve educational outcomes (Author et al., 2019; Author et al., Forthcoming).

Theorizing that motivation to engage in NICs relates to perceptions of impact, we identified three potential indicators of participatory benefits associated with the NIC model: members’ perceptions that their participation is generally worthwhile and valuable; perceived benefits related to collective pursuit of a specific improvement aim; and perceived benefits from building capacity for collaborative problem solving. We hypothesize that participatory benefits are necessary to change educator practices, which are more immediate network outcomes, that will ultimately lead to improved student outcomes and progress toward network aims (Hargreaves & O’Connor, 2017).
Methods:
We used quantitative methods of Rasch Rating Scale analysis and hierarchical linear modeling to construct a measure of member participatory benefits for school-based educators, analyze the reliability of this measure, and explore the factors associated with members’ perceptions of participatory benefits.

Data sources:
We use three waves of survey responses assessing member perceptions of participation benefits in 34 improvement networks launched through the Networks for School Improvement (NSI) initiative. The nine items that make up the participatory benefits measure assess members’ perceptions that their participation is worthwhile and valuable, perceived benefits related to collective pursuit of a specific improvement aim, and perceived benefits from building capacity for collaborative problem solving.

Results:
Our cross-sectional analyses from the 2024 survey administration show that the measure generated an individual reliability of 0.92 and also had high reliability in distinguishing among individuals within networks (0.84) and between networks (0.92). We explore variation in our results and find that members who are more engaged with their network report greater benefits. Our ongoing analyses explore longitudinal trends in participatory benefits.

Scientific or scholarly significance:
We anticipate that other researchers, network leaders, and educational reformers will be able to use this measure to assess efforts to meaningfully engage educational professionals in collaborative continuous improvement.

Authors

• Hanan Perlman, University of Pittsburgh

• Anthony S. Bryk, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

• Jennifer Lin Russell, Vanderbilt University