Much attention has concentrated in recent years around the need for professionals to work together in order to deliver the most effective services and to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people (Atkinson et al 2007). This paper will draw on current educational research projects to explore how theory based research methods can be used to help researchers and practitioners to conduct research together. It will look at whether and how this can contribute to planning, implementation and evaluation of educational interventions.

Academic researchers acrodd Europe, particularly in the social sciences, have traditionally been perceived as sitting outside the world of professional service delivery, examining phenomena under study. This has led to a variety of problems, including a lack of understanding by both parties of the ways and the context in which each other work and domains of expertise that are little understood and rarely crossed or shared effectively. Some researchers have made attempts to overcome these challenges by developing a participatory research ethos, particularly in the education field, and developing new methods to encourage participatory research. Nevertheless, despite the growing popularity of participatory research, the academy rarely situates itself in partnership with those whom it works and levels of participation vary enormously depending on the ethos of the researcher and the scope of the research being conducted (Clark and Laing, 2012). Universities are beginning to position themselves as civic institutions, involved in, and contributing to, the communities in which they are situated. However ethics committee procedures still require researchers to position those being researched as subjects (Nind et al 2013). Lack of understanding by practitioners about what researchers do and the extent to which they need to collaborate leads to tension (Heubner 2000). 

This paper draws on data from a longitudinal evaluation of three initiatives designed to tackle substance abuse in Scotland. The initiatives took a multi-agency approach, situating young people as drivers of change in their communities. For example, one project has involved young people in the creation of messages (ie via film, radio, painting) for families about the use and abuse of alcohol, and is seeking ways to engage family members in dialogue about these messages. We aimed to work collaboratively with the staff of the initiatives in carrying out our evaluation. This paper is a discussion about whether and how far collaboration was possible. Our research draws on ideas of social constructivism and critical realism.

Atkinson, M., Jones, M. and Lamont, E. (2007) Multi-agency working and its implications for practice: A literature review. CfBT Education Trust. Clark J, and Laing K. (2012) The involvement of children and young people in research within the criminal justice area. Newcastle University: Newcastle upon Tyne. AHRC Connected Communities programme: Scoping Reviews. Dyson, A. and Todd, L. (2010) Dealing with complexity: Theory of change evaluation and the full service extended schools initiative, International Journal of Research and Method in Education, Vol 33, No 2, pp 119-134 Heubner, T.A. (2000) Theory-Based Evaluation: Gaining a Shared Understanding Between School Staff and Evaluators in Sue C. Funnell, Timothy A. Hacsi, Anthony Petrosino, Tracy A. Huebner (Eds) Program Theory in Evaluation Challenges and Opportunities: New Directions for Evaluation, Number 87. John Wiley and Sons Inc. Nind, M., Wiles, R., Bengry-Howell, A. and Crow, G. (2013) Methodological innovation and research ethics: forces in tension or forces in harmony?, Qualitative Research, Vol. 13 no.6, pp650-667.