Equity and Social Justice in Research Practice Partnerships in the United States

Abstract

Research–practice partnerships (RPPs) have grown rapidly in the last decade in the United States to challenge traditional notions of education research by emphasizing the importance of researchers and practitioners working together in a spirit of mutuality to develop research questions, collect data, implement interventions, and analyze and use findings. RPP scholarship in the United States has historically advocated for the need to pay more focused attention to issues of equity and justice. To address that need, this literature review examined how RPPs in the United States have addressed equity and justice in their work. Based on five dimensions of equity and justice that could be observed within the 149 examples of RPP work we reviewed, we identified 17 exemplar projects that explicitly and effectively forefront equity and justice in RPPs, what we call equity-focused. Implications suggest that researchers and practitioners who have initiated equity-orientated RPPs may reflect on the partnerships’ existing strengths, specifically related to the five interconnected features that characterize equity-focused RPPs, to sustain and advance equity and justice through RPPs.

Politics at the Boundary: Exploring Politics in Education Research-Practice Partnerships

“…In essence, the definition of equity in RPPs becomes another example of how negotiating identity, values, and priorities within an RPP is an inherently political process. Similar to other literature (e.g., Vetter et al, 2022), Farrell, Singleton et al (2022 share a framework for thinking about what equity in RPPs looks like-both in terms of what RPPs do ("equity-in-mission") and how they do it ("equity-in-process")-to aid in developing common language and to guide future research.…”

Research-Practice Partnerships in Pursuit of Racial Justice in Schools: Navigating a Hostile Sociopolitical Climate

“…We do not assume we have gained school members’ trust simply because we have established the partnership; rather, we set aside time for what ORJ staff have called structured and unstructured dialog, listen to the needs and stories of our partner schools, model vulnerability, and provide space to make mistakes while holding each other accountable. Similar to other partnerships, this form of relationship building sets the foundation for our future joint work (Vetter et al, 2022), but in racial justice work, it also allows partners to engage in conversations about racial harm and healing. One school leader commented, “[Our ORJ facilitator] did a lot of great work around facilitating issues that came up along the year within the equity committee group, and within the school community.…”

“…During the initial stages of the work, we have also learned to talk more explicitly about our processes and values up front (Farrell et al, 2019; Vetter et al, 2022). Many school leaders are not fully aware of the challenges inherent in pursuing racial justice work (Gorski, 2019; Lewis & Diamond, 2015).…”

“…Through open dialog (e.g., weekly meetings), opportunities to be vulnerable (e.g., professional retreats), and full transparency about each of the components of our work (e.g., shared platforms that house proprietary materials and data), we developed a deep level of trust and a largely flat power dynamic in which all members have a voice in shared decision making (Brown & Allen, 2021; Farrell et al, 2021). These processes of dynamic feedback and open communication not only helped foster professional and personal relationships, but were also critical in establishing our research aims and activities (Farrell et al, 2019; Vetter et al, 2022).…”

The Political and Social Contexts of Research Evidence Use in Partnerships

“…This research gap calls into question the power dynamics of RPPs, including whether researchers see themselves as equal learners and whether the partnerships are designed in equitable and anti-racist ways that equally value the knowledge and skills of all partners (see Wilson, 2021). As Vetter et al, (2022) point out, for RPPs to advance equity and social justice they must intentionally center equity and justice in planning and design, attend to historical power relationships and acknowledge power differences, and specifically investigate and address inequities in problems of practice. This type of centering is quite uncommon—in fact, they found that only about 10% of the publications they reviewed described RPPs that were equity focused—suggesting an important area of focus for those engaged in developing and studying RPPs.…”