Collaboration between academics and teachers: a complex relationship

Abstract

Collaboration between academics and teachers has become increasingly prevalent over recent years. Whether its aim is joint research or continuing professional development for teachers, collaboration seems to offer a realistic opportunity for reducing the perceived gap between theory and practice. However, collaboration is not merely academics and teachers working together on a common project. It is complex in nature and involves a range of requirements which must be satisfied in order to maximise the potential of the relationship. In this paper we will theorise on the nature of academics and teachers working together and suggest that a working relationship between academic researchers and teachers can either be one of three models: client-supplier, a coercive relationship or a collaborative one. We identify and unpack specific factors that underpin collaboration and suggest a number of concrete actions to establish it between academics and teachers. We draw heavily from existing literature and our own reflections on two collaborative projects which we have recently been involved with. We use data from these projects to provide a number of anecdotes from the teachers who participated to support our own reflections. Finally, we suggest that further research should investigate the different ways attempts to collaborate fail to build a more complete sense of the problems and potential of this special relationship.

La formación continua colaborativa a través de la investigación-acción. Una forma de cambiar las prácticas de aula

“…El profesorado universitario fue el encargado de especificar, junto con el resto de miembros, los objetivos del Proyecto al principio y de cuidar que se tuviesen en cuenta todas las variables posibles. Esto favoreció que el PID haya funcionado a través de la colaboración efectiva entre académicos y docentes, alejándose de relaciones del tipo cliente-proveedor que hubiesen hecho fracasar la cooperación prevista entre los miembros (Bevins y Price, 2014).…”

“…El proceso en el que está implicado todo el grupo es colaborativo, siendo el rol del investigador interno al grupo y no teniendo la potestad de dirigirlo (Greenwood y Levin, 2007). Estos procesos de relación igualitaria basada en el diálogo constante favorecen el desarrollo de una colaboración efectiva entre académicos y docentes (Bevins y Price, 2014). Es de resaltar el objetivo común y compartido de transformar el contexto en función de sus propias demandas y necesidades.…”

“…formación continua colaborativa Los modelos tradicionales de formación, basados en el rol de expertos y aprendices, dificultan a los y las docentes la incorporación en sus aulas de los conocimientos adquiridos (Bevins y Price, 2014;López Pastor, Monjas y Manrique, 2011). Estos modelos se basan en el verbalismo o en el discurso teórico que según Freire (1968Freire ( /2007 separan lo que se dice de lo que se hace, provocando que no se actúe en la realidad.…”

Action research in Singapore: where are we now?

“…In this arrangement, the work of 'action' and 'research' are not contradictorily mixed but shared between two specialists -the university faculty member who provides the 'research' expertise, and the school teacher who provides the 'action' expertise. The partnership between university and schools can be built with varying configurations (e.g., Bruce, Flynn, & Stagg-Peterson, 2011;Taylor et al, 2012), albeit being mindful of its potential difficulties (e.g., Bevins & Price 2014;Noffke, 1997;Rosendahl & Rönnerman, 2006;Somekh, 1994). In the Singapore education context, the work promoting action research between academics from the National Institute of Education (NIE), Nanyang Technological University and schools can be further strengthened.…”

‘The exchange of ideas was mutual, I have to say’: negotiating researcher and teacher ‘roles’ in an early years educators’ professional development programme on inquiry-based mathematics and science learning

“…This fourth characteristic regarding the balance between researcher and teacher roles has attracted considerable attention in the literature (cf. Bevins and Price 2014), since challenging the theory-practice divide is difficult to achieve within both the context of traditional educational research and the historical experience of teachers being unable to make their knowledge public (Cochran-Smith and Lytle 1993). Kelly differentiates the teacher-researcher model, in which teachers' perspective must be central, from simultaneous-integrated AR where teachers must be active collaborators in the research, 'but they need not be the initiators […], nor passive recipients of it.…”