Our Approach
Using a range of methodological approaches and anchoring our work in appropriate conceptual tools, we engage in applied research that generates actionable and consequential findings for the field of education/educational leadership as well as for practitioners and policy makers.
Current Research
EXAMINING ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF K-8 MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTION AND STUDENT THROUGH PROJECT CASPIR
Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and beginning Summer 2019, Cosner and an interdisciplinary team of UIC-researchers (CUEL, College of Education, Learning Sciences Research institute) are enacting and testing a multi-level (district, school) intervention designed to develop the kinds of organizational capacities of consequence for the improvement of mathematics teaching and student learning.
Examining National School Leader Development Contexts and Programs/Approaches in the Global South
INVESTIGATING THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT APPROACHES OF A “BIG CITY” CEO
Funded by the Fry and Crown Foundations and undertaken from Summer 2019 to early Fall 2020, this study used organizational learning and continuous improvement as tools to conceptually frame this study. Whalen led this investigation into the leadership practices associated with, impacts of, and challenges encountered from a “big city” Chief Executive Officer’s continuous improvement approach to system-level leadership. Read the executive study here. Read the full report here. Read additional background about this work here.
EXAMINING ASPIRING AND PRACTICING SCHOOL LEADER COACHING
Funded by the US Department of Education the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, and the EdPrepLab and using tools, routines, and social networks, and learning processes as anchoring conceptual frames, Cosner, Whalen, and team are examining the design and impact of leadership coach tools, data systems, and routines on clinical experiences and on leadership coaching practices and outcomes.
First phase publications from this work include the following:
Cosner, S., Walker, L., Swanson J., Hebert, M., & Whalen, S. (2018). Examining the architecture of leadership coaching: Considering developmental affordances from multifarious structuring. Journal of Educational Administration, 56(3), 364-380.
SOCIAL JUSTICE LEADERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP FOR COMMUNITY ACTIVISM; UNDERSTANDING PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES IN LARGE MARKET-ORIENTED CONTEXTS
Using literature on leadership for social justice, community activism, education markets, and critical urban theory as conceptual tools, Salisbury, Cosner, and Richard are examining an assortment of issues that relate to understanding and strengthening social justice and community activism practices by school leaders and about the kinds of context factors that challenge and shape this work in larger urban school districts.
First phase publications from this work include the following:
Richard, M., Salisbury, J., & Cosner, S. (In press, 2021). Examining social justice leaders in educational market contexts. In C.A. Mullen (Ed.), Handbook of Social Justice Interventions in Education. Springer Nature. Learn more about this article here.
Salisbury, J., Richard, M., & Cosner, S. (2020). Merging schools and communities: Engaging in activist leadership beyond your school walls. In J. Brooks, T. Watson, & A. Heffernan (Eds.), The school leadership survival guide: What to do when things go wrong, how to learn from mistakes, and why you should prepare for the worst. Information Age Publishing. Learn more about this article here.
Richard, M., Salisbury, J., & Cosner, S. (2020). The school-community connection: Social justice leaders’ community activism to promote justice for students. International Journal of Leadership in Education. Learn more about this article here.
Salisbury, J., Richard, M., & Cosner, S. (In press, July 2020). (Re)connecting schools and communities: Leader activism as a mechanism to disrupt neoliberalism. In A.D. Welton, S. Diem, & D. R. Owens (Eds.), Developing Anti-Racist Leaders. Bloomsbury. Learn more about this article here.
Cultivating a High Functioning Hybrid RPP between CUEL and CPS that Positively Contributes to CPS 5-Year Vision and also Generates Knowledge of Value to the Field
The UIC Center for Urban Education Leadership and the Chicago Public Schools are working together to develop a research practice-partnership (RPP) to support the district’s efforts to use continuous improvement to better support high-churn schools. High-churn schools are high-poverty schools that exhibit comparatively high instability in student enrollment and attendance and serve students likely to have the most troubling educational outcomes. The RPP will use a hybrid of approaches–research, networked improvement communities, design-based research—and engage a diverse group of stakeholders in the problem, including CPS leaders, teachers, parents, students, community organizations, CUEL researchers and other external experts, to address the knowledge needs that emerge from jointly identified problems. The work will seek to strength system, network and school level policies and practices for high quality rigorous and equity-oriented instruction and services that meet whole child needs. Over the next five years, we will leverage our RPP to jointly identify and use a hybrid of RPP approaches to address educational problems impacting issues of educational equity for impact to the CPS 5-Year Vision and the field more generally.
Key Past Research and Evaluation
Examining Affordances of Active Learning Leader Development Designs
Funded by the US Department of Education and using situated learning theory, Cosner and team examined the situational learning resources harnessed through an active learning leader development design and identified authentic leadership considerations and actions that are enabled.
Examining Aspiring and Practicing School Leader Coaching
Funded by the US Department of Education and the Fry Foundation and both situational learning and social network theories, Cosner and team examined the design and impact of leadership coach structuring on leadership coaching practices and outcomes.
Examining Collaborative Data Practices by Teacher Teams and Leadership for Collaborative Data Practices
Funded by Chicago Community Trust, Cosner in collaboration with Susan Goldman (subject matter learning, instruction, assessment) and Taffy Rafael (literacy), examined grade-level collaborative data use and the administrative and teacher leadership supports of data use in urban elementary schools.
Investigating Effective Principal Practices
With funding from Chicago’s Fry Foundation as well as the U.S. Department of Education, CUEL has sustained a program of case study and documentary research to inform the preparation of school leaders in Chicago and across the country.
Evaluating the Ounce’s Professional Development Initiative
Beginning in fall 2011 CUEL conducted a three year evaluation of the Ounce of Prevention Fund’s new Professional Development Initiative (PDI), with funding from the US Department of Education’s Investing in Innovation (i3) Initiative (See Executive Summary). The project expanded our capacity to study education leadership in early childhood settings and led to a scale-up of PDI across Illinois.
