Productive Tension in Research Practice Partnerships: Where Substance and Politics Intersect

Participatory design of teacher dashboards: navigating the tension between teacher input and theories on teacher professional vision

“…There is a wealth of research, including the insights gained via the research methodology of Design-based Research (Kali et al, 2018 ; Hoadley and Campos, 2022 ), that have described ways to set up effective research-practice partnerships (see for example the recent special issue edited by Goldman et al, 2021 ). As Tabak ( 2022 ) puts it, it is vital to achieve “a climate in which interactions operate on a level plane and each participant's perspective is invited and valued, but open to face-saving modifications” (p. 171). One way to do so is to approach the design process as a learning experience for both parties, so not only for the stakeholders, but also for the research team.…”

Politics at the Boundary: Exploring Politics in Education Research-Practice Partnerships

“…As many have pointed out, RPPs are often characterized by “boundary-spanning” individuals (i.e., brokers) to enact the boundary-spanning practices and structures required to create space for the “porous” flow of ideas and resources between partner organizations (Farrell, Penuel et al, 2022; Wentworth et al, 2022). In other words, RPPs exist in the liminal space between organizations or institutions with different, and sometimes competing or conflicting, goals and values, motivations and incentives, and climates and cultures—while simultaneously attempting to build trust and a set of shared goals and values and collaboration processes among partners (see Tabak’s, 2021 discussion of productive tensions in RPPs). Whether or not a partnership is able to build those shared goals and co-construct boundary spanning structures, such as collaboration and communication routines and mechanisms, depends heavily on whether each partner organization has internal structures, orientations, resources, infrastructure, and leadership to engage in partnering and research use (Farrell & Coburn, 2017; Farrell, Penuel et al, 2022; Penuel, et al, 2017).…”