Abstract: School networks/research-informed teaching practice
Using school networks to mobilise research-informed teaching practice: how can distributed leadership help?
Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) are defined as any group who engage in collaborative learning with others outside of their everyday community of practice; with the ultimate aim of improving outcomes for children (Brown and Poortman, 2018). Research suggests that PLNs can be effective in supporting school improvement, but require the active engagement of school leaders. In particular school leaders need to establish a meaningful connection between the work of the PLN and the day-to-day teaching practices taking place within participating schools.
The project examines how school leaders sought to maximise the impact of PLN activity for their school by developing a case study of a Research Learning Network in England. The research questions explored within the paper are:
1. What actions do school leaders undertake to ensure their school both supports and engages meaningfully and effectively with the aims and purpose of the Research Learning Network?
2. What actions do school leaders engage in to ensure all teachers in their school know about, input into, engage with and embed as well as continue to improve the products and outputs of the Research Learning Network?
3. What effect do these actions have on Research Learning Network participants, as well as their colleagues in school?
Methods: To address these research questions a number of methods were employed, including:
1) In-depth semi-structured interviews with all school leaders of schools participating in each PLN (6 interviews in total).
2) In-depth semi-structured interviews and/or focus group interviews were held with key teachers participating in RLNs/engaging with RLN outputs (6 interviews in total).
3) Survey of staff within schools:
Results: Indicative findings point to the need for school leaders to promote effective distributed leadership in order that RLN activity is effectively prioritised. Furthermore, since the aim of any RLN is to engender the development and spread effective practice, school leaders also need to understand how distributed leadership approaches can lead to the knowledge and innovation that emerges from networked learning being meaningfully mobilised; thus, ensuring other teachers and educators within their school engage with and adopt such innovation - with teaching and learning benefiting as a result.