ABSTRACT
This chapter explains in more detail the rationale and approach used in the study, which focused on the challenges in promoting equity within a research network involving schools and university staff. As the project developed in the participating research network schools, a number of important themes emerged from discussions among the network partners. The study involved a research network comprising schools and a team of university researchers who, together, explored how ethical leadership could promote ways of interpreting and using various forms of evidence to promote learning and equity. The research design employed iterative cycles of action research to build inquiry communities, informed by Kemmis and McTaggart's summary of action research as a form of collaborative, self-reflective inquiry. Given the impact that schools have on one another within a local area, however, our research reinforced for us that there is a need to find ways of encouraging partnerships across schools.
