Session Information
01 SES 08 C, School Improvement Research
Paper Session
Contribution
Internationally, there has been a proliferation of networks in education over the last two decades and much literature has been written on the models, processes and interactions involved (Azorín and Muijs 2017; Azorín 2020; Azorín et al. 2020; Brown and Flood 2020; Rincón-Gallardo 2020). This paper presents findings from an original piece of research in Ireland which sought to understand how two networks of DEIS schools have supported individual members and schools over a twenty-year period. DEIS is the Irish government policy instrument to address educational disadvantage.
In addition to contributing to the evidence and practice base nationally and internationally, this research developed a unique Conceptual Framework to problematise the networks from a policy, practice and theoretical perspective. As such it draws on national and international education policy, literature on school networks, social theory on the reproduction of inequality in education, social capital theory and the social learning theory of Communities of Practice to recognise the complexity of the two networks and match them with conceptual tools that do not, in Lima’s words (2010, p. 2), ‘oversimplify’. The CF maps the interplay between the key elements in the analysis of the networks drawn from the literature i.e., composition, structure, purpose, processes, dynamics, effectiveness and challenges (Hadfield and Chapman 2009; Lima 2010; Muijs et al. 2011; Rincón-Gallardo and Fullan 2016; Azorín and Muijs 2017; Azorín 2020; Azorín et al. 2020) and the domain, community and practice of CoPs (Wenger 1998; Wenger Trayner and Wenger-Trayer 2015), illustrating how they can co-exist. It also demonstrates how social capital is built internally through bonding social capital (Putnam 2000) and externally through bridging (ibid) and linking social capital (Grootaert et al. 2004) to support schools in the face of societal and economic inequity and social and cultural reproduction of inequality in education. In doing so, the networks help to connect the micro level of the DEIS school to the macro level of national education policy mediating through the meso layer in the centralised Irish system. This research captures and analyses the multifaceted nature of the networks and illuminates the structures, processes and interactions through which the aims of the networks and outcomes from participants’ perspectives are realised at the individual level (i.e., professional learning, growth and development of leadership skills and occupational wellbeing of members), and collective level (i.e., mobilising resources and support for schools involved in a variety of areas, advocacy and raising awareness of the concerns of member schools). The CF also recognises and illuminates the challenges and limitations of these networks theoretically, practically and in terms of policy. This approach will be of benefit to other researchers internationally who wish to situate school networks or indeed, other collaborative professional learning within practice, policy and theory.
Method
A qualitative research design was employed, utilising an exploratory, instrumental case study (Stake 1995). The aim was to gain a holistic overview of the context of each network, to understand the emic perspective of participants and describe the ways in which they have come to ‘understand, account for, take action and otherwise manage their day to day situations’ (Miles et al. 2014, p. 8-9). The case study approach involved gathering primary data through focus groups (N=3), in-depth individual interviews (N=26) and surveys (N=26) with network members. Secondary data analysed included documentary analysis of agendas and minutes of meetings from 1999 to 2018. Multiple methods and sources of data generation facilitated triangulation of sources of evidence (Creswell 2014; Robson 2011; Yin 2009; Merriam 1999; Stake 1995). The analytic strategy adopted in the research drew on a variety of proponents of qualitative and case study research, including Stake (Stake 1995; Merriam 1998; Yin 2009; Robson 2011; Creswell 2014; Miles et al. 2014) to establish a systematic, thorough and comprehensive strategy for analysis and interpretation of the data. Creswell (2014, pp. 197-201) advocates a six-step general process for qualitative data analysis that was followed. The coding strategy for analysis of interview and focus group data was adapted from Miles et al. (2014, pp. 71-93) and involved first and second cycle coding in Nvivo. Surveys were analysed using SPSS and redacted minutes and agendas of meetings were analysed through one cycle of coding and incorporated specifically for contextual and historical information and to triangulate participants’ accounts. Themes/categories formed the major findings of the research as presented in case study reports and were analysed for each case and then across cases (Creswell 2014). Findings were then drafted in narrative form i.e., case study reports, with a detailed description of each case, the key emergent themes and sub-themes and discussion with inter-connecting themes. Explanation building (Yin 2009) involved constructing an explanation about the case through the analysis of the case study data. This iterative process involved examining the case study evidence, revising the theoretical stance and re-examination of evidence from a ‘new perspective’. The final step in the analysis involved making an interpretation of the findings or results i.e., what are the lessons learned? These are the researcher’s personal interpretation, ‘couched in the understanding that the inquirer brings to the study from a personal culture, history and experiences’ (Creswell 2014, p. 200).
Expected Outcomes
The two networks were found to be teacher professional learning and support networks (Azorín 2020) that assist schools in challenging circumstances to respond to intractable social issues by: 1) Enhancing Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) of members, building professional capital and supporting members’ wellbeing; 2) Supporting schools involved to implement key educational policy i.e., School Self-Evaluation and Wellbeing; 3) Connecting network members’ priorities to those of key stakeholders through the development of social capital; 4) Building lateral capacity for systemic change. Additionally, the research acknowledges that there are challenges to networking and limitations to these particular networks including exclusion of those not in particular roles or particular schools which can also lead to homogeneity and power imbalances. Essentially, these networks represent a ‘divergent’ (Stoll 2010, p. 472) approach to TPL that is required to support schools to respond to the progressively more complex nature of society and the myriad of pervasive challenges faced including societal inequity, income poverty, health inequality, the climate crisis and migration. They do so through an informal process of learning centered on developing bonding social capital and the ‘social formation’ (Pyrko et al. 2017, p. 351) of network members’ professional identities and by supporting DEIS schools to develop networked agency (Hadfield and Chapman 2009) through bridging and linking social capital. This is significant in the absence of a ‘joined up’ response to educational inequality in a context where educational policy makers and subsequent piecemeal interventions for schools view ‘educational disadvantage’ as an isolated, school based issue for teachers to deal with, rather than a wider societal concern that recognises the endemic nature and intersectionality of multiple dimensions of inequality and thus requiring a whole government response to social exclusion involving a range of departments and agencies (Cahill 2015; Fleming and Hartford 2021; Jeffers and Lillis 2021).
References
Azorín, C. (2020) 'Leading Networks', School Leadership & Management, 40(2-3), 105-110, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2020.1745396. Azorín, C.M. and Muijs, D. (2017) 'Networks and collaboration in Spanish education policy', Educational Research, 59(3), 273-296, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00131881.2017.1341817 Creswell, J.W. (2014) Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches, 4th ed., London: SAGE. Fleming, B. and Harford, J. (2021) 'The DEIS programme as a policy aimed at combating educational disadvantage: fit for purpose?’, Irish educational studies, 1-19, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2021.1964568 . Grootaert, C., Narayan, D., Nyhan Jones, V. and Woolcock, W. (2004) Measuring Social Capital: An Integrated Questionnaire, Washington, D.C.: The World Bank. Hadfield, M. and Chapman, C. (2009) Leading School-based Networks, Oxon: Routledge.. Lima, J.Á. (2010) 'Thinking more deeply about networks in education', Journal of Educational Change, 11(1), 1-21, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10833-008-9099-1 Merriam, S.B. (1998) Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Miles, M.B., Huberman, A.M. and Saldaña, J. (2014) Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook, 3rd ed., London: SAGE Publications. Muijs, D., Ainscow, M., Chapman, C. and West, M. (2011) Collaboration and Networking in Education, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. Putnam, R.D. (2000) Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, New York: Simon & Schuster. Pyrko, I., Dörfler, V. and Eden, C. (2016) 'Thinking together: What makes Communities of Practice work?’, Human Relations, 70(4), 389-409, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0018726716661040 . Pyrko, I., Dörfler, V. and Eden, C. (2019) 'Communities of practice in landscapes of practice', Management Learning, 50(4), 482-499, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1350507619860854 . Rincón-Gallardo, S. and Fullan, M. (2016) 'Essential features of effective networks in education', Journal of Professional Capital and Community, 1(1), 5-22, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-09-2015-0007 . Rincón-Gallardo, S. (2020) 'Leading school networks to liberate learning: three leadership roles', School Leadership & Management, 40(2-3), 146-162, available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13632434.2019.1702015 . Robson, C. (2011) Real World Research: A Resource for users of Social Research Methods in Applied Settings, 3rd ed., Chichester: Wiley. Stake, R.E. (1995) The Art of Case Study Research, Thousand Oaks, California London: Sage. Stoll, L. (2010) 'Connecting Learning Communities: Capacity Building for Systemic Change' in Hargreaves, A., Lieberman, A., Fullan, M. and Hopkins, D., eds., 341 Second International Handbook of Educational Change, Springer Netherlands, 469-484. Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wenger-Trayner, E. and Wenger-Trayner, B. (2015) Communities of Practice: A Brief Introduction, available: https://wenger-trayner.com/introduction-to-communities-of-practice/ [accessed 31 October 2022]. Yin, R.K. (2009) Case Study Research: Design and Methods, 4th ed., London: SAGE.
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