Education research and educational practice: The qualities of a close relationship

Abstract

The relationship between education practice and education theory has a long history. In modern times, education practice and its relation to education research has been central to debates about the nature and quality of education as an academic discipline in universities. This paper reports an empirical study that investigated a new instantiation of the practice-theory debates -'close-to-practice' research in education. The research, a) sought to define and further articulate the concept of close-to-practice research, and b) provide reflections on the quality of close-to-practice research. The orientation of the work reported in the paper is informed by theory on traditions of knowledge in the organisation of education that have contributed to the development of education as an academic discipline.The main section of the paper reports the findings of the empirical study. The research design was a rapid-evidence-assessment and a series of interviews with education researchers whose experiences were highly relevant to understanding of close-to-practice research issues. The conclusions of the research are reported in relation to how close-to-practice research might be defined, including in relation to quality, but also implications for education as a discipline in universities subject to nation-wide assessments of quality.

The importance of collaboration for knowledge co‐construction in ‘close‐to‐practice’ research

“…Biesta, 2007;Thomas, 2012) and yet there is little or no critical reflection on these central arguments. In agreement with Hordern's (2020) critique of Wyse et al (2018Wyse et al ( , 2020, there is an overly dichotomised view of research and practice that characterises the work, which undermines and misrepresents the breadth and depth of research in this field of inquiry.…”

“…knowledge emerges from the conjoined understandings of teachers and others committed to long-term, highly systematic observation and documentation of learners and their sense making'. Indeed, Wyse et al (2018Wyse et al ( , 2020 acknowledge the importance of collaboration between research and practice and include 'collaborative work' in their definition of CtP research, but then leave this important aspect underexplored. This is despite the authors citing feedback from the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2014 Education sub-panel, which indicated that some papers from the REF '.…”

“…Hammersley, 1997Hammersley, , 2002Biesta, 2007;Hargreaves, 2007;Thomas, 2020). Nevertheless, the assumption that, at best, there is a mostly unidirectional relationship from research to practice is implied in the choice of terminology 'close-to-practice' (CtP) and exemplified in the way this term is operationalised within the British Educational Research Association (BERA)'s commissioned report on CtP research (Wyse et al, 2018(Wyse et al, , 2020. For example, the authors draw explicit parallels with health research to frame their own orientation to the topic: 'Hence, the notion of CtP research is relatively well developed in the health sector where, like education, research informs professional practice' (Wyse et al, 2020, p. 5;my emphasis).…”

Joint Recommendations on Reporting Empirical Research in Outdoor, Experiential, Environmental, and Adventure Education Journals

“…Our aim was not to prescribe specific scholarly agendas but rather to provide guidelines for reporting research in the journals we manage. Our effort was occasioned by the 2018 publication of the APA guidelines, the SRCD’s adoption of a sociocultural policy for their journals in 2020, and similar reports issued internationally (e.g., by the British Educational Research Association; see Wyse et al, 2018). As these guidelines are already circulating in academic communities that intersect with ours, it seemed appropriate to examine their implications for authors seeking to publish in the JOREL, JOEE, JAEOL, and JEE, and also for reviewers and consumers of research in these outlets.…”

“…We therefore thought it would be more efficient to compose one document that provides greater continuity and clarity of expectations for scholars across leading outlets in our field(s). Second, although the guidelines referenced in this essay emanate from associations based largely in the United States, they are aligned with best practices that are currently advocated worldwide (e.g., Wyse et al, 2018). We therefore thought it beneficial to compose a document jointly to ensure any proposed guidelines were not overly restrictive or too narrowly tailored.…”