Evaluating Communities of Practice that Aim to Build Educational Leaders’ Capacity for Equity-Centered Continuous Improvement

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 7:45 am - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Designing and Evolving Programs for Continuous Educational Improvement

Abstract

A qualitative study was conducted with two communities of practice (CoPs) offered to educational leaders to build their capacity to transform TK-12th grade education. The study illuminates how evaluation could be better utilized to identify the value of CoPs and areas for improvement. The study explored individuals’ perspectives on the purpose of their CoPs and evaluation designs, outcomes, and measures of interest. Findings suggest that CoPs would benefit from formative evaluations. However, facilitators and members held divergent perspectives on the outcomes worth investigating, with facilitators emphasizing immediate member-related outcomes (e.g. member learning and behavior) and members calling for the study of long-term outcomes related to changes at their sites (e.g., changes in the behavior of other educators and student outcomes).

Author

• Lizzet Rojas, University of California - Los Angeles