Improving Education Opportunities Through Networked Systems – Further Findings From A Longitudinal Study In Switzerland

Author(s):

Stephan Gerhard Huber(presenting / submitting)Pierre Tulowitzki Marius Schwander Ricarda Werner

Conference:

ECER 2017

Network:

15. Research Partnerships in Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

15 SES 06, Case Study (Part 1)

Paper Session to be continued in 15 SES 07

Time:

2017-08-23

15:30-17:00

Room:

K6.16

Chair:

Magali Hardouin

Contribution

To improve education networks in order to improve education offers is the aim of a program called ‘Education Landscapes Switzerland’, a multi-year national initiative supported by the Jacobs Foundation (one of the world’s leading charitable foundations) in cooperation with several Swiss cantons and communities. The program tries to encourage the cooperation of formal and non-formal agents in the regional systems with the aim to ensure access to a high- quality education for all that goes beyond the school setting. This initiative, which began in 2013, is comprised of 22 projects or networked systems, also referred to as ‘education landscapes’. They all try to systematically link formal and non-formal education, each in their unique way and context.

The aim of the five-year study (2013-2018) presented in this proposal is to ascertain how these networked systems function and evolve as well as to assess their possible impact on the educational contexts they are located in. In line with these goals, the following questions are guiding the research:

Which conditions lead to a higher functional quality of cooperation between educational agents?
How do the educational offers (the learning opportunities) change?
How are the educational offers used by children and adolescents?
Which effects on children and adolescents can be attributed to the use of the educational offers?

These questions were seen as vital for the entire research project. As this proposal is based on the analysis of data from the first three years of the study, the questions cannot yet be answered in a final way due to the nature of the research design (which is longitudinal). However, this proposal contains several findings pertaining to the research questions.

Perspective(s) or theoretical framework

In order to conduct research into the initiative and the networked systems, a theoretical framework was developed based on Helmut Fend’s (1981) and Andreas Helmke's (2012) opportunity-use model, which characterizes aspects of education and learning in school (for a presentation of the model in English, see Zierer & Seel, 2012, S. 16f). This model was expanded to account for learning and teaching beyond the classroom setting and to allow for a more detailed analysis of the context of formal and non-formal educational settings. The expanded model stipulates that the impacts of curricular and extracurricular learning arrangements are the result of the interaction between many factors. The opportunity-use model maps several of these factors such as teachers and instructors, learning potential of children and young adults, but also family- and culture-related context factors (see Figure 1 at the end of the document).

The model served as a focal lens when analyzing the networked systems, allowing to map changes to various levels like the system context or the (evolving) educational offers.

Method

For the study, 22 networked systems all over Switzerland were analyzed using quantitative and qualitative approaches in data gathering and data analysis. For the study, semi-structured interviews are regularly conducted with people from all levels of the projects, for example with local project leaders, members of steering committees of projects, volunteers, local and cantonal authorities in charge of overseeing the development. The focus lies on interviewing project leaders. A standardized online questionnaire is regularly distributed to all people from the networked systems. The questionnaire contains a quantitative social network analysis focused on identifying who collaborates with whom, in what intervals and in what ways. It is conducted using members lists from each project with the possibility to add additional names for the respondents. For the pilot projects, 214 questionnaires were distributed during the first wave (RR 58,4%), 275 during the second wave (RR 44%) and 300 during the third wave (RR 41%). The interviews and questionnaire were focused on determining who participates in networked systems, what circumstances and forms of governance lead to (better) cooperation, the main foci of the individual projects / networked systems and finally ascertaining what, if any, impact they have on the existing learning opportunities. In addition, the study was extended to networked systems from the second phase of the overall initiative, so that the study encompasses a total of 22 networked systems. For the phase2-projects 588 questionnaires were distributed (RR 50,2%) during the first wave with the second wave about to be launched. For the social network analysis, the density of the networks was calculated as well as the indegree and outdegree of key agents. The composition of within-school and out-of-school agents was analyzed as well. While the overall rate of participation for the social network analysis from pilot projects was satisfactory, only 28 people participated in both the first and the second wave of the questionnaire, which has to be kept in mind when assessing the results. On a quantitative level, there were several steps of analysis. In a first step mainly descriptive statistics were conducted. In a second step regression analyses for conditions of effective cooperation as predictors for different forms/levels of cooperation and the effectiveness of networked systems were modeled.

Expected Outcomes

Based on data from the interviews, exchanges between different agents and institutions have intensified over time. The various agents and institutions of formal and non-formal education are more aware of each other and better informed about the functions and services of others. Participants rate the cooperativeness of virtually all possible partners in the education networks higher. The survey data shows that people engaged in education networks increasingly allocate time for meetings and exchanges with other agents and institutions. Correlations from the responses from people from the networked systems point to trust, a good communication climate and common goals as conditions for a functionally improved form of cooperation for people engaged in networked systems. The social network analysis shows that among the nine pilot projects, the overall number of ties has increased in four of them, decreased in three of them and stayed more or less stable in two between the first and second questionnaire. The density has increased in all but three projects. The average density is .36 when only taking into account the 28 people who participated twice or .19 when taking into account everybody from the pilot projects who participated in the first two waves of the questionnaire. With regard to the intervals and modes of networked activities, most respondents indicate meeting with people from their networks quarterly or even bi-annually, less of them monthly, hardly any of them weekly. The more often they meet, the more likely it is that they collaborate beyond a superficial exchange of information.

References

Bowen, G. A. (2009). Document Analysis as a Qualitative Research Method. Qualitative Research Journal, 9(2), 27–40. http://doi.org/10.3316/QRJ0902027 Chapman, C., Collins, A., Sammons, P., Armstrong, P., & Muijs, D. (2009). The impact of federations on student outcomes. Nottingham: National College for Leadership of Schools and Children’s Services. Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing Grounded Theory: A Practical Guide Through Qualitative Analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Fend, H. (1981). Theorie der Schule (2. Ed.). Munich: Urban & Schwarzenberg. Gräsel, C., Pröbstel, C., Freienberg, J., Parchmann, I. (2007). Fostering collaboration among secondary school science teachers. In: Prenzel, M. (Ed.): Studies on the Educational Quality of Schools. Münster:Waxmann. 157-173. Helmke, A. (2012). Unterrichtsqualität: erfassen, bewerten, verbessern (4. Aufl.). Seelze: Klett-Kallmeyer. Huber, S. G., & Ahlgrimm, F. (Eds.). (2012). Kooperation: Aktuelle Forschung zur Kooperation in und zwischen Schulen sowie mit anderen Partnern. Münster: Waxmann. Stoll, L., Bolam, R., McMahon, A., Wallace, M., & Thomas, S. (2006). Professional Learning Communities: A Review of the Literature. Journal of Educational Change, 7(4), 221– 258. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-006-0001-8 Zierer, K., & Seel, N. M. (2012). General Didactics and Instructional Design: eyes like twins A transatlantic dialogue about similarities and differences, about the past and the future of two sciences of learning and teaching. SpringerPlus, 1(1), 1–22.

Author Information

Stephan Gerhard Huber (presenting / submitting)

University of Teacher Education Zug, Switzerland

Pierre Tulowitzki

Ludwigsburg University of Education, Germany

Marius Schwander

University of Teacher Education Zug, Switzerland

Ricarda Werner

University of Teacher Education Zug, Switzerland

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