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Broken Bridges: The Role of Brokers in Connecting Educational Leaders Around Research Evidence

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Networks, Knowledge Brokers, and the Public Policymaking Process

Abstract

Few studies have examined the brokering role that some educators play in providing access to research evidence. Our study uses social network analysis to examine the type of brokering roles that exist, as well as identify who plays these roles, and to understand how research evidence moves through formal and informal relationships. Our results show that Area Superintendents are an important source of research evidence, serving key brokering roles between disconnected actors. Individuals in these formal leadership positions bridge research evidence between actors. Findings speak to the important role that brokers play in diffusing research evidence in school systems, highlight a disconnect between formal district structures and the informal interactions between leaders, and indicate that additional attention is needed by policymakers to retain key leaders.

All of the authors contributed equally to this chapter.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA

    Kara S. Finnigan & Anita Caduff

  2. University of California At San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    Alan J. Daly & Christina C. Leal

Authors
  1. Kara S. Finnigan
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  2. Alan J. Daly
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  3. Anita Caduff
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  4. Christina C. Leal
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Correspondence to Kara S. Finnigan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Communication and Information, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Matthew S. Weber

  2. School of Communication and Information, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA

    Itzhak Yanovitzky

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Finnigan, K.S., Daly, A.J., Caduff, A., Leal, C.C. (2021). Broken Bridges: The Role of Brokers in Connecting Educational Leaders Around Research Evidence. In: Weber, M.S., Yanovitzky, I. (eds) Networks, Knowledge Brokers, and the Public Policymaking Process. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78755-4_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-78755-4_6

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