Understanding Brokerage in Education through Knowledge Exchange Events (Poster 6)

• In Event: Revitalizing Education Through Knowledge Brokerage and Relational Networks

Abstract

Studies of knowledge brokers in education have conceptualized brokers in several ways (Rechsteiner et al., 2024), largely attending to the structural position and role of brokers or brokers’ activities. However, varying conceptualizations belie the complexity of brokers and their work, complexity which demands a broader conceptualization of brokerage as a more dynamic, relational, contextual process (Author 2017, 2019). For example, we must understand not only between whom brokers are positioned and what activities brokers engage in to create the linkage- both the foci of research to date - but also the relationships and contexts that make brokerage necessary, possible, and even effective.

In this presentation, we re-introduce the concept of knowledge exchange events (KEEs) to explore the role of brokerage in linking research and practice. Louis et al. (1985) and Meehan and Wiersma (1995) conceptualize KEEs as moments that consist of actors, research messages, a communication strategy, and the social context of the exchange. We use data from multiple case studies of brokerage, employ forward- and backward-tracking methodology, to explore the KEEs along the path between research and practice. We present findings about the characteristics of KEEs with attention to the following questions:

1. What are the characteristics of KEEs that comprise the path between research and practice?
2. How do KEEs help us to understand brokerage as a complex, relational process?

We used purposive sampling of national surveys of educators and researchers to select case studies of research use and knowledge mobilization. Using a snowball method, we conducted 38 interviews beginning with researchers (for forward-tracking cases) and educators (for backward-tracking cases), constructing a comprehensive understanding of each case. In order to identify KEEs, we used qualitative coding and visual mapping. We coded the resulting 137 KEEs based on their elements (e.g. actors, messages) through an iterative process that included a priori as well as emergent codes.

Findings include quantitative tables of characteristics with supporting qualitative examples. We present data that describe features of KEEs (e.g. descriptions of sending and receiving actors, the nature of the research messages shared, etc.) as well as patterns among elements of KEEs, noting, for example, that KEEs within research or practice communities were more likely to be interactive whereas between communities were more likely to be push- or pull-centered. Patterns across KEEs illustrate broader trends in how research brokerage is enacted in education. For example, we find educators more often engage with intermediaries, while researchers are more likely to seek out educators directly; that motivations for participating in KEEs are associated with different engagement strategies; and that social context plays a crucial role in shaping KEEs.

The findings underscore the complex, relational, and dynamic nature of brokerage and demonstrates how a focus on KEEs offers a more complete picture of how brokerage functions to create pathways between research and practice. Implications relate to future research on evidence use as well as ways to promote and strengthen knowledge exchange among research, intermediary, and practice communities.

Authors

• Samantha Jo Shewchuk, University of Delaware

• Elizabeth N. Farley-Ripple, University of Delaware