The MLRC School Network serves as a global research–practice partnership for schools committed to improving outcomes for multilingual learners. MLRC School Network members have opportunities to engage in dialogue and collaborative research to explore common problems of practice in teaching multilingual learners. This provides the foundation for inquiry both within schools and across schools.
Action research supports educators within their school contexts, providing an opportunity to bridge the gap between research and practice. To expand the impact of individual research projects, the MLRC School Network facilitates the exchange of findings across various contexts, an important opportunity often not possible within individual teachers’ action research limitations. As of May 2024, 24 teams from MLRC partners are engaged in action research projects in international schools around the globe.
The goals of this process are to:
Feedback from current participants indicates positive progress in their action research endeavors.
For many participants, they begin their action research journey through attending an in-person MLRC Research Symposium. Participants note how the symposium helped them acquire the practical tools they needed to begin action research, as well as the importance of providing a structure for the overall project. Others highlight the advantages of doing this type of work with a supportive community, as they were able to benefit from the expertise and questions of others across the region. After the conclusion of each MLRC Research Symposium, teams meet regularly with each other and with the MLRC team for additional coaching and support of their action research projects. In individual meetings and monthly meet-ups, teams share about their experiences and further develop their skills to engage in data collection and analysis. Learn more about the Research Symposium and upcoming dates at locations at our MLRC Research Symposium page.
The American International School of Bucharest recently shared about their experience engaging in action research through their Featured Partner article – read more about their story. In addition to ongoing feedback from our participants, the MLRC is studying this research-practice partnership to explore how participating in the MLRC School Network and its associated research activities impacts teachers, schools and students.