Strategies And Conditions Facilitating And Hindering Education Law Attorneys’ Use of Research Evidence

For over 20 years, EdLaw Project (EdLaw) has promoted the use of research through holistic legal advocacy. Holistic approaches to legal advocacy create better youth outcomes, including less incarceration, lower drop-out rates, and greater connection to social services. Despite the benefits of holistic review, little is known about the conditions that foster evidence use within this advocacy approach. In this study, Muñiz Castro will examine how professional relationships contribute to the use of research among EdLaw attorneys. The study will employ a five-year longitudinal case design, including analyses of quarterly semi-structured interviews with attorneys, weekly observations of attorneys’ and staff members’ daily work, and analyses of research evidence and organizational documents. With mentorship from Liliana Garces, Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Texas Austin, and Alan Daly, Professor of Education Studies at the University of California, San Diego, Muñiz Castro will stretch her expertise in social network theory and case methodologies to study the use of research by attorneys.