Research-Practice Partnership Context and Development: Florence 1 Schools (F1SD) and the University of South Carolina

• In Event: Bridging Institutional Divides for Continuous Improvement: The Improvement Leadership Education and Development (iLEAD) Network

Abstract

Our school district partner (F1SD) will be our inaugural partner in using improvement science to engage in disciplined inquiry to address education problems and their relations to aims of societal equity. Through supporting our partner at their site, and with the enrollment of key stakeholders from the district into the newly-developed EdD strand on improvement science, we are beginning our full engagement in the improvement science process, enhanced by theories that relate societal/racial equity and inequity with education.
Accomplishments Year 2
We have engaged faculty from Uof SC and stakeholders from F1SD in continued examination of improvement science with support from Carnegie consultants and professional development convenings and opportunities. In addition, courses have been developed to align with developing improvement leaders.
At the school with which UofSC is working closely, NIC members have been identified and invited to participate by the school principal. The NIC is currently working on the completion of an equity audit (Theoharis & Scanlan, 2015; Skrla et al., 2004) for their school. There is promising interest among key stakeholders to become improvement science leaders.
The partnership has moved beyond a readiness stage and into understanding the problem and identifying those best positioned to leverage change ideas within their context. Following the equity audit, it is anticipated that the NIC, with the help of UofSC will engage in the process of understanding the problem of practice to develop change ideas for small change implementation (i.e., PDSA cycles).
Our major challenge has been working through a leadership transitions. There are personnel changes taking place within the district, making broad, district-wide commitment not realistic at this time. The UofSC is in the process of identifying an additional neighboring district with which to partner and will be able to support a district-wide commitment as well as individual school commitments.
Data collection to document partnership and learning
Data collection methods related to identifying and beginning to understand the problem of practice include observations, HR data, qualitative interviews, equity audit data, district data, school data, and survey results. We will also collect data on the use of improvement science in our educational leadership courses.
Intended outcomes
There are a number of intended outcomes. First, we aim to help establish an effective collaborative group(s) to work as a NIC. A second outcome is that the NIC’s work will lead to substantive changes within the school that lead to an equitable educational experience for students. As the coalition of NICs develop, and as UofSC serves as a guide and hub, we hope to foster social progress through education. In so doing, we seek to develop leaders who use improvement science in their practices.
Significance
We view our emerging partnership as a model for building leadership capacity to identify and solve substantive problems of practice in increasingly diverse schools of the global south (Moyi, et al., in press).

Authors

• Kathleen M.W. Cunningham, University of South Carolina

• Rose M Ylimaki, University of South Carolina

• Kimberly Mack, Florence School District