Reducing educational inequality through research-practice partnerships

Abstract

Although researchers have done effective work at describing the inequities that plague schools, they have been less successful at making headway in addressing them, largely because their work remains disconnected from the schools that have to try to use the research. Through research-practice partnerships, researchers are able to stay in touch with the educators on the ground, craft research questions with their actual problems in mind, and help them take action in response to the research. Daniel Potter, Erin Baumgartner, and Ruth N. López Turley describe how, through the Houston Education Research Consortium, researchers from Rice University launched an equity project to uncover inequities within Houston-area schools and track their progress in addressing them. And, because of the ongoing relationship, they were able to launch a research project looking into how the COVID-19 pandemic affected students and produce results while schools where they were still relevant.

“I’m Doing the Best I Can”: Teaching General Music in the Time of Covid-19

“…The participants in the current study—along with participants in similar research—acknowledged that the most essential and demanding task for successful virtual teaching was student engagement and participation ( Dolighan & Owen, 2021 ; Potter et al, 2021 ; Pryor et al, 2020 ). Participants struggled to effectively connect with students and provide what they felt was an equitable music education.…”

“…Participants struggled to effectively connect with students and provide what they felt was an equitable music education. This may be due to the technological inequities that have been found in virtual learning environments ( Potter et al, 2021 ; Pryor et al, 2020 ). According to the 2021 Education Next parent survey, virtual students had less one-on-one contact with teachers.…”

“…For some students, the virtual environment did not seem to negatively impact learning ( Frost & Frost, 2020 ). However, due to the technological requirement of distance learning, inequalities among students were discovered in the virtual school model ( Nichols, 2020 ; Potter et al, 2021 ; Pryor et al, 2020 ). Not only were some students struggling with technology, but they were also negotiating other issues such as lack of food, difficult learning environments, and special education concerns ( National Academy of Education, 2020 ).…”

Teacher Sensemaking in an Early Education Research–Practice Partnership

“…ECE RPPs have the potential to guide instructional practice and inform policy (Williford et al, 2021). They can also inspire educator interest and enable effective scaling of early childhood evidence-based interventions (Brotman et al, 2021) to more effectively reduce inequalities (Potter et al, 2021).…”

Closing Research-Practice Gaps in the Delivery of Online Teaching and Learning

“…To be sure, educators and researchers are making inroads in online spaces, but evidence from studies of research-practice partnerships underscores that systemic change is the domain of partnered efforts (Potter et al, 2021). A recent special issue of Educational Policy (see Yamashiro et al, 2023) explored precisely this topic of how partnerships between educators and researchers can address equity issues.…”