Determinants of School Level Success in Design-Based Innovation Networks

Abstract

Design-based implementation research (DBIR) is a methodological approach that has emerged in recent years to address the challenge of sustainability and scalability of such learning innovations in diverse settings in the educational ecosystem. These efforts are generally organized in the form of innovation/implementation networks (DBIN). While the network as a whole can be successful, implementations in individual schools differ, resulting in large variations in the depth and reach of the changes that take place at the school level. This study investigates two schools in a DBIN that demonstrated similar trajectories of change in the first two years, but very different outcomes at the end of the third year. The findings show that the fine grain details of the architecture for and leadership engagement in within- and cross-school learning, and the quality of the school-based learning interactions matter in determining the implementation outcomes of schools in the same DBIN.