Building bridges from PreK to K-3 through the use of research evidence

Abstract

ABSTRACT As education systems in the United States of America become increasingly focused on making evidence-based decisions, it remains unclear how leaders in state education agencies are using research. This qualitative study describes how three state prekindergarten (PreK) leaders use research evidence in interactions with state kindergarten through third grade (K = 3) leaders to influence and inform decisions of policy and practice. Applying a use of research evidence framework revealed the types of research PreK leaders described using, how they used their knowledge of research, and the strategic ways they did so to overcome the challenge of collaborating across systems. As PreK leaders are positioned at the nexus between early childhood education and care systems and the kindergarten through twelfth grade education system, they are positioned to serve as a bridge between these two worlds. Findings suggest that research can support bridge building efforts if there is a culture of collaboration and shared commitment to using research, but the burden of brokering this knowledge in our study fell to state PreK leaders. Implications for future research are discussed.