Bridging the research‐practice gap: barriers and facilitators to research use among school principals from England and Israel

Abstract

When a professional practitioner is faced with making a decision about what to do in a particular situation, do they base that decision on findings from research? This paper reports on qualitative and quantitative research which examined school principals' perceptions of barriers to the use of research. To facilitate a comparison the study was conducted simultaneously in two countries: England and Israel using interviews, focus groups and the Barriers Scale survey instrument (Funk et al., 1991).The results of tests indicated that factors associated with the research itself, (e.g. relevance and access), were significant barriers to research use for principals from both countries (compared with factors associated with: the setting; the presentation of research; and the individual).The paper concludes that multiple strategies would be required to address a number of issues related to the dissemination of research and ways of addressing the gap between the aims of researchers, and the needs and expectations of practitioners. wordsHemsley-Brown J. V. and Oplatka, I. (2005). Bridging the Research-Practice Gap: barriers and facilitators to research use among school

Research barriers from the viewpoint of faculty members and students of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Iran, 2014

“…According to the results of present research, in terms of the individual restraining factors, lack of time due to job preoccupation has had the highest frequency in view of professors; this is consistent with results of the study of Tan M et al, Hemsley-Brown J et al and Roxburgh M. [20][21][22] This individual barrier can be caused by the multiple responsibilities of professors in the training, consulting, and executive and administrative areas in university environments. Engaging in executive and administrative activities, in addition to take a lot of valuable time of faculty members who can be spent on research and science production, has also this threat as a consequence that being continuous of staying in such posts creates gradually a kind of administrative tendency and routine in these individuals.…”

“…Also in his study Hemsley-Brown J has reported the lack of databases as one of the strategic restraining factors in order to carry out research. 21 To adjust this barrier, the preparation of research possibilities and facilities, providing the valid scientific resources, the creation of internally information databases relating to conducted or running researches are essential.…”

Perceived Barriers and Motivating Factors Influencing Research Productivity Among Nursing and Allied Health Professionals Trainers

“…Students of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences in Iran rated the lack of access to information sources as the highest mean score barrier in research productivity. Another study reported the lack of access to databases as a significant barrier to research (Hemsley-Brown & Oplatka, 2005).…”

Changes in Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems: Case Study of Poland

“…Other authors (Kirst, 2000;Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka, 2005) search for the reasons for this gap among representatives of agricultural practice. These include conservatism and distrust to implement new knowledge, low competences and poor perception.…”

“…Many advisors perceive scientists as those who belong to the world of theory, which is distant from the problems of agricultural practice, which are not undertaken by them. It is very important to try more strictly to link the worlds of science with agricultural practice to level the existing gap in the knowledge of transfer system by creating better atmosphere of cooperation and new relations (Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka, 2005).…”