How Can Research-Practice Partnerships Advance Equity for Multilingual Learners? Examining Collaboration With State Education Leaders (Poster 5)

• In Event: What Is the Value-Add of Research-Practice Partnerships?

Abstract

Objective: Although multilingual learners (MLs) are present in nearly all K-12 settings, they tend to be served by schools and educators who are inadequately prepared to support them (National Academy of Math and Sciences, 2017). Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) represent a promising venue for addressing these inequities, as they promote transformation through collaboration between researchers and practitioners (Farrell et al., 2021). While much prior research on RPPs focuses on the district and school levels, this paper examines a partnership with state education agency leaders. Such partnerships are critical to explore, as state education leaders are influential intermediaries connecting policy and practice (Brown et al., 2011). We examine the following research questions: 1) How does engagement in an RPP support the development of transformative state leadership practices? 2) How do state leaders enact these practices to foster shared responsibility for ML equity?

Conceptual Framework: To understand engagement in the partnership, we draw on three dimensions of RPP effectiveness (Henrick et al., 2017): building trust and cultivating relationships; conducting rigorous research to inform action; supporting the practice organization in achieving its goals. To shed light on how partnership engagement supported the development and enactment of transformative practices, we use Shields (2010) conceptualization of transformative leadership which includes centering justice, critiquing inequitable practices, and advancing the public good. We also draw on Mavrogordato and White’s (2020) framing of transformative leadership as leveraging policy to advance systemic equity for MLs.

Methods and Data: Qualitative case study methods are well-suited to support investigation of RPP engagement as it unfolds in context (Yin, 2018). This case study is situated in an active RPP which includes state education agency leaders across 15 states and five researchers collaborating to elevate MLs in policy and practice. Data included 55 interviews and 35 hours of RPP meeting observation. Interviews prompted leaders to reflect on RPP engagement and how they used collaboratively developed leadership practices. Analysis began with coding interview and observation data using a set of a priori codes (Miles et. al, 2019) aligned with our conceptual framework. Emerging themes were shared during partnership meetings for feedback. ​​

Findings: Findings reveal how ongoing collaboration in small groups focused on current problems of practice supported leaders’ development of transformative practices. Aligning with Henrick and colleagues’ (2017) framework for effective RPPs, collaborating in the same small groups helped promote trust and openness about how to navigate challenges within leaders’ unique contexts. Members shared several examples of how they used transformative practices refined through the RPP, such as developing a statewide framework for ML education and supporting district leaders with using ML-specific funds in evidence-based ways.

Significance: This study disrupts traditional silos between research, practice, and policy to demonstrate how RPP engagement can support state leaders’ enactment of transformative practices to advance equity for MLs across states. In addition to directly informing ML state leaders’ work, findings also shed light on partnership approaches that impacted practice. Such knowledge may inform how future partnerships are structured and facilitated to better support equity-focused change efforts.

Authors

• Hayley Ryan Weddle, University of Pittsburgh
  Presenting Author

• Megan Hopkins, WestEd
  Presenting Author

• Hannah Goldstein, University of Pittsburgh
  Presenting Author