Innovation Initiatives in Relation to Leaders' Attitudes and Social Networks: Insights From a Research-Practice Partnership in California

• In Event: Toward Sustainable Innovations in Education

Abstract

Objectives
In the United States, school districts are key players in sustainable innovations in education (Daly & Finnigan, 2016). Therefore, this study builds on research on the organizational culture and climate in which school leaders do their work (Deal & Peterson, 2016; Gaziel, 1997; Liou, Bjorklund & Daly, 2019). This study takes place in an urban fringe school district of eleven K-12 schools in California. Using data collected from a research-practice partnership with the district, we examine how leaders’ perspectives on change efforts towards student-centered instruction change over time, with particular attention to individuals’ social network position as well as district culture and climate.

Perspective
Sustainable innovation addresses the widely-held needs of stakeholders (Cohen & Mehta, 2017; Hatch, Corson, & van den Berg, 2021; Farrell, Coburn, Chong, 2019). Moderated by relational capacity, successful leaders collaborate in ways that result in collectively shared ideas and practices (Collinson & Cook, 2006; Marks & Louis, 1999). These practices include leaders’ willingness to experiment or improvise, work on teams that are cooperative rather than competitive, the development of processes for reflection, and turning consensus into action (Louis, 2010).

Methods, data sources, and analysis
This study draws survey data collected annually among school leaders (N = 43) from 2019 to 2021. Sociograms were generated to visualize similarities and differences in the attitudes towards instruction of leaders and how these have changed over time. In addition, qualitative data were collected. Interviews with school principals in the district were held annually (N = 11). Observational data were collected during a series of professional development meetings with site and central office administrators. By systematically cycling between data and analysis iteratively through constant comparison, early hypotheses are tested in further cycles, which resulted in the identification of emerging themes and patterns in the data (Glaser & Strauss, 2017).


Preliminary results
The network data revealed increased alignment in instructional beliefs over time, and how a preference for student-led learning spread through formal and informal network channels. Preliminary data analyses show that site leaders became more central and connected in the district leadership social network and this was particularly influential in shaping belief structures. The interview data reveals that school principals increasingly emphasized space for experimentation and ownership for teachers. Other factors that emerged from the interviews about sustaining innovation initiatives were promoting a conversation about alignment, investing in relational capacity, and focusing on needs-based initiatives for sustainable change.

Significance of the work
Shifting attention to the social context in which cognition and affect is harnessed contributes to understanding sustainable innovation, as the social ties of a leader enable the exchange of resources necessary for individual and organizational change (Liou & Daly, 2018). So far, research highlights the importance of examining the role of social networks among school leaders in reaching consensus about instructional innovations or leveraging diverse perspectives in teams (Mannix & Neale, 2005; Srikanth et al., 2016). This study contributes with insights on the importance of specific strategies to leverage social networks in these change efforts.

Authors

• Nicolette van Halem, Erasmus Rotterdam University

• Marie Lockton, University of California - San Diego

• David Albert Rodes Trautman, University of California - San Diego

• Yi-Hwa Liou, National Taipei University of Education

• Alan J. Daly, University of California - San Diego