This symposium has two parts.

Part 1: The integration of research-based knowledge into practice

Although there is general agreement that educational research should make a distinct contribution to educational practice, it has long been recognised that this is no simple matter. Academic knowledge, generated through research, is not simply transported into educational practice (Dagenais et al. 2013, Nutley et al). Rather, the communities of research, policy and practice are so distinct as to be characterised as different worlds (e.g. Hammersley 2002; Dimmock 2016). Thus research knowledge achieves its influence in the classroom through a wide variety of routes. Some of these routes are explicit, as when teachers read research reports, undertake Higher Degrees with a research component, or use research-informed ideas, introduced to them through training or other forms of Professional Development. Other routes are relatively implicit, as when teachers use research-informed educational programmes, or engage in ideas in current currency, without knowing very much about the research that informed them.

Whatever influence research-generated knowledge has, and by whatever route it travels, it must eventually become integrated into the espoused and tacit knowledge of educational professionals such as teachers and school leaders. This integration raises age-old issues of ‘theory’ and ‘practice’ (e.g. Dewey 1929) but goes beyond these, as new policy and practice contexts, with a heavy emphasis on ‘what works’ have re-framed the conditions in which education is organised and enacted. Indeed, the simplistic view that research discovers ‘what works’ and policymakers and practitioners act accordingly, almost never occurs in reality (Weiss 1979) because difficulties arise when research is adapted to local contexts. Furthermore, popular educational beliefs that claim to be research-informed may not emanate from valid or robust research and may be ideologically-driven (Kirschner & van Merriënboer 2013).

Research has an important contribution to make to these issues. However, the field of research use in education is dominated by philosophical writing; there are few empirical studies in this field (Nelson & O’Beirne 2014). Conceptual writing tends to concern itself with problematising simple conceptions of research use and exploring barriers to research use (e.g. Hammersley 2002; Biesta 2007; 2010; McIntyre 2005). Empirical studies have often focused on teachers’ engagement with various types of within-school, practitioner research, or on the quantity of teachers’ engagement with research and the factors which support this (e.g. Dagenais 2014). As a consequence, there is little research about the relationship between teachers’ espoused knowledge (or personal theories) and the tacit knowledge that is gained through experience.

In this context, this symposium addresses these important questions:

1. How do teachers use research and evidence conceptually, in their discussions about education?
2. How do teachers connect academic knowledge, espoused knowledge, and tacit knowledge?
3. Why do teachers sometimes resist academic knowledge and evidence?
4. How is research knowledge mobilised for use in policy making?
5. How does research knowledge contribute to the development of teaching competences?

Through a mixture of theoretical and empirical papers, the symposium adopts multiple perspectives on the use of research in education. At the same time, because the papers share a coherent and under-researched theme, we expect the presentations and the consequent discussions to contribute to the knowledge base around this timely and relevant subject. 

Biesta, G. (2007). Why “what works” won’t work: Evidence‐based practice and the democratic deficit in educational research. Educational theory, 57(1), 1-22. Biesta, G. J. (2010). Why ‘what works’ still won’t work: From evidence-based education to value-based education. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 29(5), 491-503. Dagenais, C., Lysenko, L., Abrami, P. C., Bernard, R. M., Ramde, J., & Janosz, M. (2012). Use of research-based information by school practitioners and determinants of use: a review of empirical research. Evidence & Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and Practice, 8(3), 285-309. Dewey, J. (1929). The sources of a science of education. New York: Liveright. Dimmock, C. (2014). Conceptualising the research–practice–professional development nexus: mobilising schools as ‘research-engaged’professional learning communities. Professional Development in Education, 42(1) 46-53. Hammersley, M. (2002). Educational Research, Policymaking and Practice. London: Paul Chapman. Kirschner, P. A., & van Merriënboer, J. J. (2013). Do learners really know best? Urban legends in education. Educational Psychologist, 48(3), 169-183. McIntyre, D. (2005). Bridging the gap between research and practice. Cambridge Journal of Education, 35(3), 357-382. Nelson, J. and O’Beirne, C. (2014). Using Evidence in the Classroom: What Works and Why? Slough: National Foundation for Educational Research. Weiss, C. H. (1979). The many meanings of research utilization. Public administration review, 39(5), 426-431.