3-022 - Seeking Advice in Schools: Understanding Social Network Ties among Educators

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Children’s learning in schools depends, in part, on the quality of their teachers and teaching (Hanushek, 2011). Quality, in turn, relates to the selection of teachers, curricula, and programs; and, importantly, to the information, training, and support the teachers receive while on the job (DeMonte, 2013). Recent research using social network methods has found that information, training, and support are delivered not only via formal hierarchical channels but also through professional ties within and beyond schools (Moolenar, 2012). Yet, limited research examines the prevalence, nature, and consequences of advice networks in diverse education contexts.

This symposium comprises three empirical papers and a discussion of educator advice networks and child development. Paper 1 traces the network chains that 247 superintendents and principals use to learn about social skills programs; the goal was to identify whether the chain reaches a researcher and the types of brokers that facilitate communication. Paper 2 draws on four years of network data from 14 elementary schools in one district, examining the degree to which new teachers seek, provide, and broker advice about teaching and learning in their first years. Paper 3 capitalizes on a representative sample of pre-kindergarten programs in a large urban district to examine teachers’ involvement in school advice networks and associations between fall advice-seeking and spring teaching experiences. An education network scholar will discuss implications for research, policy, and practice related to the support of school staff who aim to provide best practices and enhance the development of the children in their care.

Sub Unit

• Education, Schooling

Chair

• Elise Cappella, New York University

Discussant

• Kara Finnigan, University of Rochester

Individual Presentations

• Knowing Who to Ask: Educators’ Use of Network Brokers to Learn about Social Skills Programs - Presenting Author: Jennifer Watling Neal, Michigan State University; Non-Presenting Author: Zachary P Neal, Michigan State University; Non-Presenting Author: Kristen J. Mills, Michigan State University; Non-Presenting Author: Jennifer A. Lawlor, Michigan State University; Non-Presenting Author: Kathryn McAlindon, Michigan State University

• On Their Own? New Teachers’ Integration into Their Schools’ Work-related Social Networks - Presenting Author: Matthew Shirrell, The George Washington University

• Seeking Advice in Pre-K Programs: Association between Workplace Networks and Teaching Experiences over Time - Presenting Author: Elise Cappella, New York University; Non-Presenting Author: Travis Cramer, New York University