Despite widespread recognition of a research-practice gap in multiple service sectors, less is known about how pre-existing communication channels facilitate the flow of information between researchers and practitioners. In the current study, we applied an existing typology of brokerage developed by Gould and Fernandez (Sociol Methodol 19:89-126, 1989) to examine what types of brokerage facilitate information spread between researchers and educational practitioners. Specifically, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 19 school administrators and staff in two public school districts regarding their experiences searching for information about instructional, health, and social skills programs. Using deductive content analysis, we found evidence of all five types of brokerage identified by Gould and Fernandez (1989). However, only three types of brokerage-gatekeepers, representatives, and liaisons-were involved in the flow of information between school administrators and researchers. Moreover, information transfer often occurred in longer chains that involved multiple, distinct types of brokerage. We conclude with the broad implications of our findings for narrowing the research-practice gap by improving researchers' dissemination efforts and practitioners' search for information.

Limited studies of Black students' experiences of racial microaggressions specifically address environmental racial microaggressions. Environmental racial microaggressions have no apparent offender, affect all persons of color in a given social setting, and are more evident at a systemic or environmental level such as in education, government, and the economy (Nadal, Skolnik, & Wong, 2012;Sue et al., 2007). Using resilience theory as a framework, this study investigates environmental racial microaggressions experienced by Black college students attending a predominantly White institution (PWI). Four focus group interviews were conducted with Black college students attending a large Midwestern PWI. Findings indicated that students experienced six types of environmental racial microaggressions in various contexts at the university: (a) segregation, (b) lack of representation, (c) campus response to criminality, (d) cultural bias in courses, (e) tokenism, and (f) pressure to conform. Gender differences emerged where only women described experiencing cultural bias in courses and only men spoke explicitly about the lack of representation of persons of color in leadership positions within campus employment. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

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In this study, we explored the extent to which educators discuss and prioritize Rogers' (Diffusion of innovations, The Free Press: New York, 1995) five attributes of innovations-relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, observability, and trialability-in the context of research use. Using a directed content analysis of 54 semi-structured interviews and exemplar quotes, we describe how educators mentioned compatibility most frequently, but also commonly invoked observability and complexity in their discussions of research use. Our results also revealed key differences between educators in executive and non-executive roles. We discuss the implications of our findings for closing the research-practice gap in school-based mental health services and psychosocial interventions.

The implementation of effective community interventions can be challenging for many reasons, including financial and time costs, lack of infrastructure, local contextual variations, and barriers to fidelity. But, prior to all of these is the challenge of limited information exchange between the researchers developing interventions and the practitioners implementing them, or the so-called research-practice gap. In this paper, we use network theory and review a dozen small world experiments to understand the researchpractice gap, identifying three key lessons: (1) spatial and social distances are related to the severity of the gap, (2) social boundaries may lead to echo chambers and closed loops, and (3) wider gaps reduce the likelihood of successful information exchange. From these lessons, we recommend that researchers and practitioners should rely on the assistances of information brokers who know people they do not know and who are different from themselves.