Chapter 9: Practitioner-Experts and Researchers in Layers of Learning: Researching and Designing Interventions in Postsecondary Education Through the Grammar of Equity

This project began as a qualitative analysis of Key’s contributions to student success, and over time, through conversations about research, culture, and equity, the project evolved into a joint learning effort between practitioner-expert¹ and researcher. In this chapter, we provide an overview of qualitative findings from the study of the program itself and first-person accounts from both the practitioner-expert as well as the researcher about what we learned.

Quantitative research studies have documented the statistically significant positive effects of Key upon the graduation rates of student participants who are first in their families to attend college, identify as people of color, and come from socioeconomically vulnerable backgrounds (see Nosaka & Novak, 2014). To complement statistical analyses, Key educators collaborated with a qualitative researcher to co-design a study about Key’s contributions to favorable learning and student success outcomes. Drawing on a cultural-historical activity framework and interview data of 23 participants from across multiple years and cohorts of the program, the researcher identified recurrent themes in the cultural practices of Key.