Network
NW 15. Research on Partnerships in Education
Title
Accessing research-practice-partnerships – methodological issues and approaches to research
Abstract
This special call addresses methodological challenges in researching Research-Practice Partnerships (RPPs) as complex, dynamic, and context-dependent collaborative arrangements. Particular attention is given to distinguishing between research in RPPs, investigating educational innovations, and research on RPPs, examining partnerships themselves. The call invites contributions exploring conceptualisation, operationalisation, measurement, and research designs capable of capturing partnership processes and effects while distinguishing these from the outcomes of educational innovations. By fostering methodological reflection, innovative approaches, and cross-national perspectives, the call aims to strengthen the empirical foundations and cumulative evidence base of RPP research, particularly within European educational contexts.
The Call
Research-Practice Partnerships (RPPs) have gained increasing attention as a promising approach bridging the persistent research–practice gap in education. By fostering sustained collaboration and the co-construction of knowledge, RPPs aim to enhance research relevance, knowledge mobilisation, and educational improvement (Coburn & Penuel, 2016). However, partnerships differ considerably in their organisational structures, collaborative arrangements, and institutional contexts (Farrell et al., 2021). European approaches, ranging from institutionalised partnership infrastructures in Sweden to project-based collaborations and Design-Based Research traditions in German-speaking countries, further illustrate this diversity (Grunau & Gössling, 2020; Sjölund et al., 2023).
Recent research has increasingly examined partnership quality, drawing on frameworks such as the five dimensions of RPP health and effectiveness (Henrick et al., 2023). Studies have provided insights into collaborative roles, boundary-crossing practices, power relations, and organisational conditions. Nevertheless, the methodological foundations for systematically investigating RPPs, particularly their processes, outcomes, and impacts, require further development.
A central methodological challenge concerns the distinction between research in RPPs and research on RPPs. While research conducted within partnerships typically investigates educational innovations, interventions, or professional practices, research on partnerships examines the collaborative arrangements themselves. These two perspectives are closely intertwined but address different objects of investigation and levels of effectiveness. Improvements in teaching or student learning cannot automatically be attributed to the partnership, just as successful collaboration does not necessarily demonstrate the effectiveness of the educational innovations developed within it.
Consequently, investigating RPP effectiveness requires research approaches capable of distinguishing, relating, and critically examining these different levels of outcomes. How can partnership-specific contributions to knowledge production, professional learning, organisational development, and educational improvement be identified? Which methodological designs allow researchers to investigate causal mechanisms, reciprocal influences, and long-term effects? Addressing these questions requires moving beyond descriptive accounts of individual partnerships towards theoretically grounded operationalisations, robust measurement approaches, and longitudinal or comparative research designs.
European research traditions and institutional contexts provide particularly valuable opportunities for advancing this methodological agenda. Their diversity raises questions concerning the contextual validity and transferability of research instruments, the comparability of partnership models, and the possibilities of developing cumulative empirical evidence across national boundaries. Methodological reflexivity is equally essential, particularly when researchers simultaneously participate in partnerships and investigate their functioning and effectiveness.
The ECER Network Research on Partnerships in Education invites theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions addressing:
Research in and on RPPs: How can these distinct yet interconnected research perspectives be conceptually and methodologically integrated?
Conceptualisation and operationalisation: How can partnership quality, collaborative processes, and partnership-specific outcomes be translated into empirically accessible constructs and indicators?
Measurement and assessment: Which instruments and analytical approaches can capture the multidimensional and dynamic nature of RPPs?
Investigating effects and causal mechanisms: How can the effects of partnerships be distinguished from, and related to, the effects of educational innovations developed within them?
Research designs and methodological reflexivity: What opportunities and limitations arise from qualitative, quantitative, mixed-method, participatory, and longitudinal approaches, including researchers’ dual roles?
Comparative and cumulative research: How can cross-national and cross-contextual studies, particularly within Europe, contribute to methodological advancement and a cumulative evidence base?
Contact Person(s)
René Schroeder: rene.schroeder(at)uni-koeln.de
Anne Reh: anne.reh(at)uni-koeln.de
References
Coburn, C. E., & Penuel, W. R. (2016). Research–practice partnerships in education: Outcomes, dynamics, and open questions. Educational Researcher, 45(1), 48–54. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16631750
Farrell, C. C., Penuel, W. R., Coburn, C. E., Daniel, J., & Steup, L. (2021). Research-practice partnerships in education: The state of the field. William T. Grant Foundation. https://wtgrantfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/RPP_State-of-the-Field_2021.pdf
Grunau, J., & Gössling, B. (2020). Cooperation between research and practice for the development of innovations in an educational design project. EDeR – Educational Design Research, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.15460/eder.4.1.1513
Hartmann, U., & Decristan, J. (2018). Brokering activities and learning mechanisms at the boundary of educational research and school practice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 74, 114–124.
Henrick, E., Farrell, C. C., Singleton, C., Resnick, A. F., Penuel, W. R., Arce-Trigatti, P., Schmidt, D., Sexton, S., Stamatis, K., & Wellberg, S. (2023). Indicators of research-practice partnership health and effectiveness: Updating the five dimensions framework. National Center for Research in Policy and Practice and National Network of Education Research-Practice Partnerships. doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/YVGCN
McGeown, S., & Sjölund, S. (2026). Research-practice partnerships in education: Benefits, challenges, methodological considerations and key enablers for change. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 96(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12785
Penuel, W. R., Allen, A.-R., Coburn, C. E., & Farrell, C. C. (2015). Conceptualizing research–practice partnerships as joint work at boundaries. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR), 20(1–2), 182–197. doi.org/10.1080/10824669.2014.988334
Penuel, W. R., & Hill, H. C. (2019). Building a knowledge base on research-practice partnerships: Introduction to the special topic collection. AERA Open, 5(4), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858419891950
Sjölund, S., Lindvall, J., Larsson, M., & Ryve, A. (2023). Mapping roles in research-practice partnerships – A systematic literature review. Educational Review, 75(7), 1490–1518. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2021.2023103