Assessing the Quality of Education Research Through Its Relevance to Practice: An Integrative Review of Research-Practice Partnerships

Abstract

The contemporary social, economic, and cultural conditions within and outside the academy prompt important questions about the role of research in education policy and practice. Scholars have framed research-practice partnerships (RPPs) as a strategy to promote evidence-based decision-making in education. In this chapter, I interrogate the notion that RPPs offer an insightful framework to consider how the quality of research can be measured through its use. The findings suggest that using RPPs to assess the quality of education research enhances the relevance to policy and practice as well as attention to the quality of reporting, and pivots from the preeminence of methodological quality. RPPs increase local education leaders’ access to research and bolster the use of research. RPPs may also strengthen the alignment between education research and the public good. Notwithstanding, employing RPPs as a vehicle to assess research quality has its challenges. Valuing the work of RPPs in academia is a work in progress. Building and sustaining an RPP is challenging, and there is still much to learn about the ways in which RPPs work and overcome obstacles. Assessing the impact of RPPs is also difficult. Future considerations are discussed.

Evaluating the Accreditation Results of Christian Colleges in Indonesia Using the Context, Input, Process, and Product (CIPP) Model

“…In addition to research dissemination issues, it is argued that campuses should further strengthen the use of research in more complex educational decision-making (Farley-Ripple et al, 2018). Previous research offers research-practice partnerships as a strategy to promote evidence-based decisionmaking in education (Welsh, 2021).…”

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

“…Despite burgeoning evidence of their effectiveness and their focus on educational equity, multiple scholars have argued that RPPs do not pay enough attention to race, power, and larger political contexts (Coburn & Penuel, 2016; Denner et al, 2019; Diamond, 2021; Tanksley & Estrada, 2022). Research on RPPs captures how an inattention to the sociopolitical contexts of schools diminishes the extent to which RPPs are likely to realize their aims (Coburn & Penuel, 2016; Yurkofsky et al, 2020; Welsh, 2021). For example, Diamond (2021) witnessed how students participating in a Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) project began to unearth the unflattering realities of racialized discipline practices in their school and were subsequently silenced by teachers and district leaders (see also Lac & Fine, 2018).…”

“…To surface potential challenges and constraints, we try to establish some critical commitments to gauge schools’ capacity to engage in the work, simultaneously creating opportunities to articulate expectations and surface tensions. These processes may require attention to timing and alignment (or misalignment) with state, district, and local policy contexts and changes (Anyon et al, 2017; Welsh, 2021). Despite the urgency of disrupting racism in schools, we posit that if schools have limited capacities or are severely impeded by external political forces, then it may be preferable to delay a partnership to preserve the integrity of racial justice work (Farrell et al, 2019).…”

Advancing Institutional Change to Encourage Faculty Participation in Research-Practice Partnerships

“…For example, the contribution of publicly-engaged research may be assessed quantitatively by counting how often insights from the research are mentioned in traditional or social media and in the deliberations of decision-making bodies, and qualitatively by soliciting testimonials from potential targets of the research as to whether the research was consequential for their work. These notions respond to Welsh's (2021) call for evaluating the quality of education research through its use in RPPs. Massey and Barreras (2013) introduced the term "impact validity" as a criterion for judging whether research has the potential to contribute to social and political change, and Warren et al (2018) have applied this term as a way to examine the contribution of community-engaged research.…”

“…Many faculty members have the talent, training, and creativity to contribute meaningfully to partnerships, but structural barriers in their universities limit or even prevent them from participating. As Welsh (2021, p. 188) commented in concluding a recent review, “there is an urgent need to consider how RPPs can be incentivized and supported in the academy.”…”