The stronger research and practice connection in educational settings is recognized as a public good (Farley-Ripple et al., 2017). According to Levin’s conceptualization (2011), there is a research knowledge mobilization triangle between research and practice communities where there are three separate but intersecting elements: (i) production (e.g., universities), (ii) use (e.g., policy-makers, practitioners), and (iii) mediation (e.g., individuals, organizations, processes) where each element represent a function or people/group that may operate more than one context. In that regard, teachers with a postgraduate degree can be considered knowledge transfer agents (KTAs) mobilizing knowledge between research and practice communities. 

In recent years, postgraduate education has gained significant attention among teachers, driven by teacher education policies (Darling-Hammond, 2017) and the rise of evidence-based teaching (Helgetun & Menter, 2022). Research conducted during postgraduate studies offers numerous benefits, particularly for teachers. Such graduate experiences help teachers deepen their subject, pedagogical, and theoretical knowledge, as well as research skills, improve teaching practices, and boost professionalism and self-efficacy (Kosar et al., 2020). It also enhances their understanding of broader sociopolitical issues within education and supports career advancement (Zuzovsky et al., 2018). Beyond individual benefits, teacher-initiated research might positively impact students and schools. For students, it can lead to an increase in achievement  (Perry & Lewis, 2010). For schools, it may foster a stronger culture of inquiry, promote innovation, facilitate knowledge-sharing, and strengthen partnerships between schools and universities (Snoek et al., 2017; Zuzovsky et al., 2019). 

However, the impact of teachers’ postgraduate research on practice and schools is shaped by individual, postgraduate program-related, and school-based factors. At the individual level, teachers’ willingness, skills, attitudes, job satisfaction, and professional experience significantly influence how effectively they apply their research (Kowalczuk-Walędziak et al., 2020). The possible connection between research use and the potential role of contextual factors such as culture in schools or districts remains underexplored to that date (Penuel et al, 2017) despite the limiting nature of restrictive school curricula, bureaucratic demands, and a performativity culture focused on measurable outcomes (Kowalczuk-Walędziak, 2021). While these barriers pose challenges, the integration of research and practice relies on teachers maintaining their motivation through sustained effort and time. Support from a professional community committed to improvement and student success can serve as a key driver of this motivation (Lewis et al., 2012).

National education policies and the foundations of postgraduate programs may moderate the knowledge transfer between research and practice. In nations where teacher education places less emphasis on research, postgraduate studies are often perceived as less impactful on professional development (Kowalczuk-Walędziak et al., 2020). Moreover, programs focusing on practical, teaching-related research have been shown to produce positive and stronger impacts compared to those with theoretical foundations (Kowalczuk-Walędziak, 2021). This explains why inconsistent educational practices occur in educational issues like student assessment, student engagement, or teacher expectation despite the wide range of research creating consistent literature on those issues (Levin, 2011). Therefore, knowledge mobilization from educational research into practice is a widely discussed topic. In that context, however, the real-life experiences and perceptions of KTAs and their colleagues in terms of drivers and barriers remain an open question. Therefore, this qualitative study aims to explore individual, contextual, and program-related factors facilitating or hindering KTAs' research-based practices in the school context. By identifying these factors, this study will offer practical recommendations to teachers, school principals, policymakers, and teacher education programs on how to strengthen the link between research and practice.

Design This study adopts a multi-case study design with a phenomenological perspective to investigate the lived experiences and perceptions of teachers, their colleagues, and the academics from programs in which the teachers were enrolled regarding the translation of research into professional contexts (Creswell, 2013; Patton, 2002). A multi-case study focuses on (i) an overarching phenomenon (ii) diversifying in each case by (iii) showing its complexity according to Stake’s (2006) three criteria. The research is guided by the following research question: “How do individual, contextual, and program-related factors influence the translation of postgraduate research conducted by teachers into their schools?” The study aims to uncover both shared and unique experiences and perspectives of stakeholders mentioned on research use, and the connections and disconnections between research and practice issues while considering the unique contexts across various schools. Participants and Sampling Participants will include teachers who have completed their postgraduate studies, their colleagues including other teachers and administrators in their schools, and the academics who are involved in these teachers’ postgraduate studies. The participants will be recruited from different schools at different levels using snowball sampling. Separate semi-structured interview protocols will be developed for teachers, their colleagues, and academics to obtain their perspectives on the barriers and drivers that influence the process of applying postgraduate experiences into practice for KTAs in their schools. Data Analysis Thematic analysis will uncover various participants' experiences and perceptions by revealing similarities and differences across different school cases since each school will be treated as a unique case. This multi-level analysis will give insights into individual, program-based, and contextual factors influencing research and practice connection. The research employs a data triangulation approach by recruiting different groups of participants for the same phenomenon that will contribute to the study's trustworthiness (Denzin, 2009). Ethical considerations After obtaining the necessary ethical permissions, researchers will fully share the purpose of the study with the participants, obtain their informed consent, ensure their confidentiality, and volunteer participation. Finally, pseudonyms will be used to protect participant privacy.

This study expects to identify individual, contextual, and program-related factors that enable or hinder translating teachers' postgraduate research into practice by exploring the lived experiences and perceptions of teachers, their colleagues, and academics. On the individual level, the study aims to reveal how teachers’ experiences, attitudes, and job satisfaction influence the extent to which they incorporate research into their practice. For example, teachers who identify themselves as highly satisfied with their jobs are expected to make more effort to translate research into their practices than teachers with less job satisfaction. Contextually, the study will examine how school and country-related factors such as school culture and climate, curricula, and leadership or country-level policies and strategies and socioeconomic or cultural aspects, influence the research use. It is anticipated that factors such as rigid curricula, low level of collegial relationships or support, and performance-focused school culture will serve as barriers to the use of research in practice while school administrators’ leadership practices that empower teachers are expected to enhance research use in practice. Additionally, it is expected the participants will highlight how a highly centralized educational system in Türkiye and a society that places less emphasis on science in policy-making processes affect the research-to-practice processes. The results will be valuable as academics’ views on research translation to practice will be included in addition to school-level stakeholders’ views on the issue. Academics are expected to reflect on academic programs’ content and approaches, as well as their perceptions towards school-level factors influencing translation. Overall, this study aims to provide insights and recommendations for teachers, principals, policymakers, and educational sciences departments to improve the practical use of research conducted by teachers in improving teaching, learning, and school-related issues.

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