The document outlines the establishment of the Knowledge Network for Student Well-Being, funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education, to promote evidence-informed educational practices through thematic networks. It emphasizes collaboration among researchers, educators, and support staff to address student well-being and outlines objectives and deliverables, including the development of a holistic framework and knowledge mobilization plans. The initiative aims to enhance understanding and implementation of best practices in education, with a focus on four components of well-being.

1. Knowledge Network for
Student Well-Being
Don Buchanan, Knowledge Mobilization Officer,
Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board
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2. Background
• The Knowledge Network for Applied Education Research (KNAER) is
research organization funded by the Ontario Ministry of Education.
• The KNAER is establishing up to four research-to-practice thematic
knowledge networks to support the identification, sharing,
adaptation and implementation of evidence-informed educational
practices.
• Thematic knowledge networks will focus on ministry priority topics
and will receive multiyear funding (4-5 years).
• The HWDSB is partnering with the Offord Centre for Child Studies at
McMaster University to host the Knowledge Network for Student
Well-Being
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3. Roles
• Thematic knowledge network - brings together multiple partners to
form a provincial network and local communities of practice.
• Network Host organization - will lead the thematic network with
organizational, fiscal and management responsibilities.
• Communities of practice (or “CoPs”) are groups of individuals who
collaborate on shared interests to co-create and support evidence use
to inform educational practice connected to the network goals.
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7. Underlying principles
• Networks function best when they are providing services that none of
the individual members could provide on their own.
• Members of a network will participate in a network as long as the
cost of their involvement is outweighed by the benefits they receive.
• We believe that wellness in education is a multi-faceted concept that
includes individual, community, and broader societal factors.
Promoting well-being in education goes beyond the promotion of any
particular practice or body of evidence and requires a broad,
integrated view of wellness.
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8. Underlying principles
• We will organize our Knowledge Network so as to enable it to act as a
complex adaptive system.
• Complex adaptive systems are characterized by elements that include:
• elements that can change or adapt,
• a few simple rules of behaviour,
• non-linear relationships,
• emergent behaviour,
• unpredictability,
• self-organization,
• contextual dependency,
• and healthy tensions.
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9. Objectives
• Connect researchers who are interested in aspects of student well-
being to front-line educators in order to:
• help researchers understand the context in which well-being is imbedded in
schools,
• assist in the development and trial of knowledge products flowing from
current research by providing opportunities for educators to be involved,
• promote research and knowledge mobilization across all schools.
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10. Objectives
• Connect front-line educators, school administrators and other
support staff with researchers in student well-being in order to:
• help educators, school administrators and other support staff to identify,
understand, and implement best practices in student well-being,
• identify educator problems of practice and topics of interest in student well-
being and connect with researchers who might develop and share knowledge
in these topics.
• promote research and knowledge mobilization across all schools.
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11. Deliverables
• Develop and support a Project Steering Committee (PSC) consisting of one
representative from the two partners and one representative from each of the
four Communities of Practice (CoP).
• Facilitate regular meetings of the Project Steering Committee. At least one initial
meeting will be in person, subsequent meetings may be electronically hosted.
• Working with the PSC, develop a holistic framework that integrates the four
components of well-being through research evidence and current policy
initiatives. The framework acknowledge and explain the interconnectedness of
well-being with improved student engagement, equity, and achievement.
• From this framework, develop a Knowledge Mobilization Plan (KM Plan) to share
the framework with the communities of practice, researchers in well-being,
educators, parents, students, and other interested partners.
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12. Deliverables
• Identify and recruit a lead organization with multiple partners for four
Communities of Practice. Each CoP will focus on one component area
of well-being (Safe and Accepting Schools, Positive Mental Health,
Healthy Schools, and Equity and Inclusive Education)
• Facilitate regular meetings of the Communities of Practice. At least
one initial meeting will be in person, subsequent meetings may be
electronically hosted.
• Work with each CoP to develop a four-year KM Plan to identify the
most relevant activities, including knowledge development activities
such as systematic reviews or syntheses.
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13. Deliverables
• Assist each CoP to produce a regular (quarterly?) newsletter that summarizes
recently published research that is relevant to that CoP component of well-being.
Newsletters will be distributed electronically and in print through a variety of
media, and archived through the Ontario Education Research Exchange (OERE).
• Assist each CoP to develop knowledge products that reflect best practices in their
area of focus. This may include organizing focus groups educators and researchers
to identify a range of types of knowledge, not just research-based knowledge.
These focus groups will be modelled on the Knowledge Mobilization Lab
meetings developed through previous KNAER grants.
• Assist each CoP to develop and test a range of knowledge products, similar to the
Research in Brief and Program in Brief products developed under previous KNAER
grants. These products will also be distributed electronically and in print through
a variety of media, and archived through the Ontario Education Research
Exchange (OERE).
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14. Questions?
Don Buchanan
dbuchana@hwdsb.on.ca
(905) 527-5092, ext. 2724
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