Exploring the Nature of Resources and Relationships in a Multi-Stakeholder Collaborative Network

Multi-stakeholder collaborative networks (MSCNs) centered around innovative problem solving have become increasingly popular. These collaborations seek to pool the resources of the various stakeholders in order to address their common issue. The importance of the collaboration members’ awareness of one another’s resources is the basis for this study. This study developed a new analytical method in which to quantify the resource awareness of members of an MSCN and how that relates to features of the network. The MSCN that was the focal organization for this study was as STEM Ecosystem. A perceptual framework was built upon literature from diverse areas including community asset mapping, collaborative innovation management, knowledge transfer, and social capital. The following variables were explored: the resource awareness of the members of a STEM ecosystem; the relationship between the resource awareness and the relational social capital of the ecosystem members; and the relationship between the resource awareness and the structural social capital of the ecosystem network. Quantitative data were collected using an electronic survey that was completed by 86 members of the STEM ecosystem. Data from the survey was analyzed using both traditional statistical methods as well as social network analysis methods. Analysis of the data demonstrated some significant findings and directions for further research are included

Identification of the Emergent Leaders within a CSE Professional Development Program

The need for high quality, sustainable Computer Science Education (CSE) professional development (PD) at the grades K-12 level is essential to the success of the global CSE initiatives. This study investigates the use of Social Network Analysis (SNA) to identify emergent teacher leaders within a high quality CSE PD program. The CSE PD program was designed and implemented through collaboration between the computer science and teacher education units at a Midwestern metropolitan university in North America. A unique feature of this specific program is in the intentional development of a social network. This study discusses the importance of social networks, the development of social capital, and its impact on the sustainability of the goals of the CSE PD program. The role of emergent teacher leaders in the development of the social capital of the CSE PD cohort is investigated using SNA techniques. The cohort consisted of 16 in-service teachers in grades 6-12 representing seven districts and four distinct content areas. The instruments used involved a questionnaire and the results of a CSE PD program online course. The findings suggest a correlation between the emergent teacher leaders, the online course results, and the overall cohort social capital. Future uses of SNA within professional development programs are also discussed