Efficacy of the Cultivating Knowledge Through Professional Reading Project to Promote Research-Informed Practice Among K-12 Leaders

Abstract

Academic research, if mined judiciously, has the potential to enrich K-12 leaders’ professional practice. Yet, K-12 leaders remain skeptical about the value of research to inform their work (Davis, 2007). The purpose of this paper is to report findings from a study of the efficacy of the Cultivating Knowledge Through Professional Reading (CKPR) project. Designed for and instituted in one K-12 Canadian district, CKPR was designed to enhance leaders’ engagement with academic research to inform their practice. Most participants agreed that academic research is an important source of information to support their practice; however, few reported that they regularly consulted research prior to the CKPR project. Seventy-nine percent of respondents noted that research shared via CKPR was usually or always relevant to their work and just over half noted that this made it more likely that they would consult research to support their practice. This article surfaces additional findings along with implications for enhancing K-12 leaders’ uptake of research to inform their practice.