June 2023

AERA member Nathan Schilling is the superintendent of Lansing School District 158 in Lansing, IL, a continuing adjunct professor in the Educational Leadership program at Concordia University Chicago, and program chair for AERA SIG 97–Research on the Superintendency. He can be followed on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/nathansschilling.

Collaboration between education researchers and school leaders such as principals, business officials, and superintendents offers significant benefits. Do you want to involve practitioners in your research, presentations, professional activities, and publications? Below are a few suggestions based on my experience engaging with the research community and seeing how we can collaborate to mutually strengthen our work.

Invite us to be research participants. Many school leaders are eager to share their stories and perspectives on the current state of education, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative inquiry, in particular, allows for direct discourse, relationship building, and networking that can strengthen these partnerships.  Practitioners can be involved on both sides of a study—participating in research and conducting it with you.

Attend practitioner conferences and events. Most states have professional organizations for superintendents, business managers, special education administrators, and principals. Attending annual conferences, professional development activities, and networking events for these groups can help you formulate research agendas that are relevant to our current needs. This research, in turn, is more likely to involve us as participants and/or fellow researchers. You may also find opportunities here to support future enrollment in the educational leadership programs of your institutions!

Involve us in AERA division and SIG activities. As a current program chair, I have enjoyed working with—as well as recruiting—SIG members who are both researchers and practitioners. The SIG format is naturally conducive to building these connections, which lead to opportunities for research, writing, and presentations. Ask school leaders to run for officer positions and share their AERA experiences with peers.

Focus on current doctoral students and recent graduates. School leaders with doctoral research fresh in their minds are already actively collaborating with higher education professionals. Take this one step further and educate them about opportunities, with AERA and other organizations, for disseminating and building upon their recent scholarly work. Encouragement can go a long way toward helping a school administrator become involved in research.

Add us to your communications and newsletters. Thanks to AERA’s Division A newsletter, I learned of an opportunity to publish work from my dissertation as a chapter in a research book about the superintendency.  These and similar communications provide valuable opportunities for school leaders to learn about your initiatives.

Offer to participate in our presentations. I have enjoyed working with professors as panelists for presentations at the Illinois Association of School Boards Joint Annual Conference. Find ways to contribute to such activities as a volunteer. Your research can add valuable context to practitioner reflections and, in turn, produce opportunities to collaborate on future studies.

Joint efforts between education researchers and school leaders have the potential to add relevance, guide future efforts, and reach broader audiences. It is my hope that these strategies will help you find new and innovative ways to build bridges and support advancement across both professional communities.