scholarly journals “What the Hell Is This, and Who the Hell Are You?” Role and Identity Negotiation in Research-Practice Partnerships

AERA Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 233285841984959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin C. Farrell ◽  
Christopher Harrison ◽  
Cynthia E. Coburn
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Identity Negotiation ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
New Members ◽  
Role Negotiation ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
Collaborative Efforts

In research-practice partnerships (RPPs), the line between researcher and practitioner can be blurred, and the roles for everyone involved may be unclear. Yet little is known about how these roles are negotiated and with what consequences for collaborative efforts. Guided by organizational theory, we share findings from a multiyear case study of one RPP, drawing on observations of partnership leadership meetings and interviews with school district leaders and partners. Role negotiation occurred in more than one third of leadership meetings, as evidenced by identity-referencing discourse. When roles were unclear, collaborative efforts stalled; once partners renegotiated their roles, it changed how they engaged in the work together. Several forces contributed to these dynamics, including the partner’s ambitious yet ambiguous identity and the introduction of new members to the group. This study offers implications for those engaged in partnership work and provides a foundation for future research regarding role negotiation in RPPs.

scholarly journals Opportunities and Access: Exploring How School District Leaders Make Meaning of Equity in Practice through Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Clayton ◽  
Donald Robertson ◽  
Tania Sotomayor
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Behavioral Interventions ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Primary Research ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
Positive Behavioral Interventions

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to explore how PBIS and equity interacted according to school and district leaders.Research methods/approach: This study examined how five schools made meaning of the implementation process, ongoing efforts, and structures created. Through a case study including interviews, focus groups, and observations, the primary research question was explored: How do school leaders and teachers make meaning of implementing and assessing PBIS in their schools as a component of a journey toward equity?Findings: While the five schools had unique aspects, four common themes emerged across schools, including the benefits of PBIS, the power of relationships, the importance of communication and leadership, and PBIS challenges.

What are the conditions under which research-practice partnerships succeed?

2021 ◽  
Vol 102 (7) ◽  
pp. 38-41
Author(s):  
Caitlin C. Farrell ◽  
Laura Wentworth ◽  
Michelle Nayfack
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Stanford University ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
Educational Improvement ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
Unified School District ◽  
Support Conditions

Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) are long-term collaborations between researchers and practitioners aimed at educational improvement and transformation through engagement with research. Yet RPPs can be challenging to implement, and even long running RPPs experience bumps in their work together. Caitlin Farrell, Laura Wentworth, and Michelle Nayfack discuss what conditions helped school district leaders and researchers from the partnership between Stanford University and San Francisco Unified School District be more or less successful in influencing school district policies and practices, and they share recommendations on how to develop or support conditions for successful partnerships.

scholarly journals Some pennies are more equal than others: Inequitable school facilities investment in San Antonio, Texas

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marialena D. Rivera ◽  
Sonia Rey Lopez
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
School Districts ◽  
School Finance ◽  
San Antonio ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Educational Facilities ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
Property Wealth ◽  
State And Local

In Texas, local taxpayers fund the majority of educational facilities construction and maintenance costs, with local wealth influencing facilities outcomes. The traditional school districts that comprise the predominantly Latino and segregated San Antonio area vary considerably in property wealth as well as district capacity and expertise. We conducted an analysis of 12 San Antonio area school districts to address the questions: 1) To what extent do state and local investments vary by district? 2) How do district actions and constraints affect facilities quality and equitable investment? Methods include descriptive quantitative analysis of facilities investment data and qualitative interviews with school district leaders, staff, and school finance experts. Examining Texas school finance data demonstrated the variance in school district investments in educational facilities. Despite some districts with lower property wealth exerting higher levels of tax effort, they were able to raise less money per student for educational facilities through interest and sinking taxes. Interview findings revealed that several districts acknowledge lacking the capacity to maintain high-quality facilities for all students. Respondents frequently criticized current state policies and funding for educational facilities as inadequate, inequitable, and inefficient and expressed a need for policy improvements in an era of increasing state disinvestment.

scholarly journals When a Parent of a Student With a Learning Disability Is Also an Educator in the Same School District: A Heuristic Case Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keri Haley ◽  
David Allsopp ◽  
David Hoppey
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Learning Disability ◽  
Children With Disabilities ◽  
Job Security ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Daunting Task ◽  
Parent Educator

Advocating for your child with a disability can be a daunting task for any parent. When the parent is also a school district employee, determining whether advocacy could impact one’s position as an employee becomes inherently problematic. Using a heuristic case study approach, this inquiry’s intent is to understand the experiences, barriers, and perceptions of job security related to advocating from inside the district as a parent–educator of a child with a learning disability. Three themes emerged that describe this parent–educator’s experiences. Findings indicate this parent–educator encountered varied experiences. Specifically, these include experiences that were both positive and challenging in nature, barriers that were not anticipated by the parent–educator, and repercussions related to job security. Implications for practice and future research related to parents of children with disabilities who are also educators are discussed.

scholarly journals On Leadership: Responding to COVID-19: Short- and long-term challenges

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (8) ◽  
pp. 60-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua P. Starr
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Data Systems ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
Local Economies ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
Short And Long Term ◽  
State And Local

In the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak, school district leaders’ most immediate priority was to ensure that students have access to regular meals. However, efforts to provide a range of other social services must follow close behind. As a start, superintendents can look to their data systems to help them identify those students and families that are most likely to need social services to make it through this phase and beyond. But even while racing to ensure students’ health and safety, they cannot afford to ignore the longer-term challenges that their districts will face, given not just the need to move instruction online but also given that COVID-19 is all but guaranteed to do serious damage to state and local economies.

District Leaders Engaged in School Turnaround: Identified Challenges and Espoused Responses

2018 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Coby Meyers ◽  
Jonathan Sadler
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
District Leadership ◽  
School Principal ◽  
School Turnaround ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
School District Leaders

School turnaround initiatives have prioritized the school principal as the change lever. Little overall consideration about the critical role district leadership plays. In this study, we analyze the turnaround launch and, improvement plans of school district leaders participating in a university, turnaround program. We find that district leaders identify certain systems, levers as more significant challenges than other ones, but their espoused, ways to address these challenges are disparate if determined at all. Implications for districts and schools are discussed.

scholarly journals Developing Leadership Capacity in New Rural School District Leaders: The Kansas Educational Leadership Institute

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Augustine-Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leadership ◽  
School District ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Leadership Capacity ◽  
Professional Organization ◽  
District Leaders ◽  
School District Leaders ◽  
Leadership Institute

Understanding the context of rural school settings is critical to beginning school district leaders.  Rural communities present multifaceted challenges that leaders must embrace as diverse community expectations unfold.  The majority of Kansas school districts are in rural settings.  Mentoring and induction shapes the experiences encountered during the first year of practice.  The Kansas Educational Leadership Institute provides high quality mentoring and induction for new superintendents and principals in Kansas.  Mentoring and induction provided by veteran superintendents familiar with leadership complexities in rural communities is offered through on-site visits.  In addition, new superintendents participate in activities focused on building capacity through regional cohort networks, attendance at professional organization and state meetings, and in professional learning seminars.  The rural superintendent wears many hats in serving their local district. Professional learning opportunities that provide leaders with strategies to focus on achievement, plan for change, and build leadership capacity in rural environments are critical for success.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Leadership Identification: A Collective Autoethnographical Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-95
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Parfitt ◽  
Brianne Romano ◽  
Danielle Hudzina ◽  
Sarah Rogozinski
Keyword(s):  
School District ◽  
Succession Planning ◽  
Assistant Principal ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Group Discussions ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Perceptions Of Leadership

Through a collaborative autoethnographic approach, a former principal, current principal, current assistant principal, and aspiring principal recount their experiences pertaining to identification of leadership talent. As identified through previous research, proper identification or talent is the first major component to quality succession planning. Data were collected through individual reflections and group discussions and triangulated to published documents from the school district. Positive and negative aspects were identified, including personal experiences and perceptions of district-wide initiatives. Divergent viewpoints were most notable among levels of experience. The former principal focused on systems aspects, the current principals concentrated on aspects that affected them directly or in which they had influence. The aspiring principal addressed the issues from the point of view of a teacher who had limited exposure to several aspects. Limitations and potential biases were acknowledged and recommendations for future research were provided, including expansion as a case study or phenomenology.

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