Cynthia Coburn - William T. Grant Foundation

Awarded Grants

Grant

Fostering Research Use in School Districts Through External Partnerships: The Role of District Capacity

What organizational conditions facilitate the absorption of new research knowledge by school districts?

Cynthia Coburn

Northwestern University

2015 – 2018
$543,284

Grant

From Users to Coproducers of Research Evidence: A Study of Place-Based Research Partnerships

How do research-practice partnerships support the use of research in school districts?

Judith Warren Little

Regents Of The University Of California, Berkeley

2012 – 2015
$585,216

Articles & More

Publication

Research-Practice Partnerships in Education: The State of the Field

Research-Practice Partnerships in Education: The State of the Field expands on the 2013 white paper Research-Practice Partnerships: A Strategy for Leveraging Research for Educational Improvement in School Districts by scanning the current landscape of partnerships, identifying points of variation, and outlining ...

Caitlin Farrell

William Penuel

Cynthia Coburn

Julia Daniel

and Louisa Steup

Research-Practice Partnerships in Education: The State of the Field

News

• Jul 15, 2020

Welcoming Three New Members to the William T. Grant Scholars Selection Committee

We are pleased to announce three new members of the William T. Grant Scholars Selection Committee, a dedicated group of academics who are committed to the Scholars Program’s priorities of career development, mentoring, and the bold pursuit of ...

Foundation Staff

Welcoming Three New Members to the William T. Grant Scholars Selection Committee

Publication

“Using Evidence in the U.S.” from What Works Now

In this chapter from What Works Now: Evidence-informed Policy and Practice, Vivian Tseng and Cynthia Coburn delineate the evolution of evidence use in the United States, specifically the ways that research evidence has been used in public education. From the ...

Vivian Tseng

and Cynthia Coburn

Publication

“Using Evidence in the U.S.” from What Works Now

Vivian Tseng

and Cynthia Coburn

Blog Post

Fostering Research Use in School Districts Through External Partnerships

When and under what conditions can a district central office learn from external partners for their improvement efforts? External partners, such as vendors, consultants, and researchers, can share materials and expertise to support instructional improvement efforts in districts. An increasing ...

Caitlin Farrell

and Cynthia Coburn

Fostering Research Use in School Districts Through External Partnerships

Publication

Research–Practice Partnerships in Education Outcomes, Dynamics, and Open Questions

Policymakers, funders, and researchers today view research–practice partnerships (RPPs) as a promising approach for expanding the role of research in improving educational practice. Although studies in other fields provide evidence of the potential for RPPs, studies in education ...

Cynthia Coburn

and William Penuel

Blog Post

What is the Conceptual Use of Research, and Why is it Important?

We recently observed and interviewed leaders in a major urban school district as they set out to revise their district’s school improvement policies. In pursuing their goals, the leaders we followed drew heavily from the 2010 book, Organizing Schools ...

Caitlin Farrell

and Cynthia Coburn

What is the Conceptual Use of Research, and Why is it Important?

Blog Post

Research-Practice Partnerships A Strategy for Leveraging Research for Educational Improvement in School Districts

Excerpt from the Introduction Pressures are increasing on educational policy and practice to use research to guide improvement. In recent years, federal programs such as No Child Left Behind, Reading ...

Cynthia Coburn

William Penuel

and Kimberly E. Geil

Research-Practice Partnerships A Strategy for Leveraging Research for Educational Improvement in School Districts

The William T. Grant Foundation invests in high-quality research focused on reducing inequality in youth outcomes and improving the use of research evidence in decisions that affect young people in the United States.