3-100 - Bridging Developmental Science, Policy and Practice: The Utility of Understanding Decision Makers as Consumers of Research

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

In an era of tight budgets and increased accountability, calls for evidence-based practice and policy have become commonplace among researchers and policymakers alike. Growing research evidence offers many lessons for “what works,” yet too little makes its way into practice and policy. This gap between the production and the utilization of research is puzzling given prevailing assumptions that practitioners and policymakers will use research to inform their work if it is rigorously conducted, accessibly translated, and widely disseminated. Consequently, there have been increasing efforts to better understand these end-users of research and the circumstances that shape the use of research in their decision-making. This symposium brings together three papers on the use of research evidence by key decision makers whose work greatly influences the life prospects of children, youth, and their families: school administrators, state legislators, and judges in the juvenile justice system. Aligned with SRCD’s strategic goal to “communicate, exchange and translate” developmental science, this panel aims to provide insight into (1) how these decision makers engage research; (2) how research evidence is used in each of these contexts; (3) which factors facilitate or impede use; and (4) what theoretical frameworks can guide the application of research to policies and practices. Following these presentations, a leading expert in research utilization will discuss how the findings presented by panelists align with the emerging evidence base in the field, and the chair will lead a 30-minute discussion with the audience on the implications of this work for the developmental research community.

Sub Unit

• Social Policy

Chair

• Tiffany Berry, Claremont Graduate University

Discussant

• Vivian Tseng, William T. Grant Foundation

Individual Presentations

• Understanding how Social Networks Facilitate the use of Evidence by Public School Administrators - Presenting Author: Jennifer Watling Neal, Michigan State University; Zachary P Neal, Michigan State University; Kristen Mills, Michigan State University; Jennifer A. Lawlor, Michigan State University; Kathryn McAlindon, Michigan State University

• The ways Legislators say Research Contributes to Policymaking: How Insiders’ Views can Inform Theory - Presenting Author: Karen Bogenschneider, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Elizabeth Wehrspann, Society for Research in Child Development Congressional Policy Fellow; Emily Parrott, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• The Role of Developmental Science in the Juvenile Justice System - Presenting Author: Kelly Murphy, Child Trends; Miranda Carver Martin, Child Trends; Shelby Hickman, Child Trends; Elizabeth Jordan, Child Trends