Headwinds and tailwinds: Insights from a Research-Practice Partnership on identifying high-impact growth areas for school improvement

A growing body of research suggests that Research-Practice Partnerships (RPPs) are contributing to greater use of research in decision making around school improvement efforts. The current study is part of an RPP including eleven K-12 schools in an urban fringe school district in California. This RPP aims to develop a deeper understanding of successful change efforts toward learner-centered education and the role of culture and climate. The current case study examines how, over time, this RPP developed into a data driven dialogue around high leverage areas for school improvement. This mixed-methods study involves survey data and a series of individual principal interviews coupled with an innovative method, Conditional Mean Independent Correlations (CMIC) and growth functions, to support district decision making. This case study demonstrated that an RPP can both reveal and shape the ways in which principals examine the views and ideas that guide their leadership practices. Implications about weaving thriving ecosystems for learning and flourishing are discussed.