This special issue of the Peabody Journal of Education unpacks essential issues and challenges related to launching and operating improvement networks. The articles center on network health and development, elevating lessons learned from research into networks involved in the Gates Foundation’s Networks for School Improvement (NSI) initiative, with attention to network organization, leadership, and development over time.
Educational improvement networks are a transformative strategy for developing school and district capacity for innovation and improvement. The themed issue unpacks essential issues and challenges related to launching and operating improvement networks, including: conceptualizing the organization of networks; understanding the practices of high-functioning networks; framing the distinctive demands of network leadership; and measuring and supporting network development. This research integrates attention to the technical work of improvement with consideration for the social and cultural dimensions of organizing networks in complex policy contexts.
Partners for Network Improvement, at the University of Pittsburgh, worked in collaboration with a diverse team of researchers at Vanderbilt Peabody College, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and the University of Michigan to produce this special issue. Collectively, the articles in this themed issue explore the complexities of moving from a network “in principle” to a high-functioning network “in practice.”
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