What Research District Leaders Find Useful

Item

Title

What Research District Leaders Find Useful

Abstract/Description

This study investigated what research district leaders find useful. It draws on evidence from interviews and surveys of central office leaders in three large urban districts in the United States. We find that although leaders did report using research as federal policies intend--to select among curricula, programs, and interventions to adopt--the kinds of research district leaders find useful are not primarily peer-reviewed impact studies. Instead, research they find useful present frameworks and practical guidance in the form of books. Leaders also report using research to support their own professional learning, guide their instructional leadership activities, and monitor and support implementation of district-adopted programs and practices. These findings make the case that we need a broader understanding of the research that may be relevant for the multifaceted work of district leaders.

Author/creator

Penuel, William R.

Farrell, Caitlin C.

Allen, Anna-Ruth

Toyama, Yukie

Coburn, Cynthia E.

Date

2018

In publication

Educational Policy

Volume

32

Issue

4

Pages

540-568

Resource type

en Research/Scholarly Media

Resource status/form

en Published Text

Scholarship genre

en Empirical

Language

en

Open access/full-text available

en Yes

Peer reviewed

en Yes

ISSN

0895-9048

DOI

10.1177/0895904816673580

URL

Official Publisher's Webpage (SAGE Journals)

Full-text PDF Shared by Author (ResearchGate)

Citation

Penuel, W. R., Farrell, C. C., Allen, A.-R., Toyama, Y., & Coburn, C. E. (2018). What Research District Leaders Find Useful. Educational Policy, 32(4), 540–568. https://doi.org/10.1177/0895904816673580

Item sets

Ob Citations - Research–Practice Partnerships in Education Within the United States

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