If You Are my 'Development Partner,' Am I Also Yours? - Of the Risks in Joint School-Based Research-Practice Partnerships (RPP)
Proposal Information
The Norwegian education authorities have exceeded expectations that researchers from teacher education and schoolteachers interact (Norwegian: Samhandling) and develop their practice through joint school-based Research-Practice Partnerships (RPP). Samhandling is a Norwegian term that connotes interaction, collaboration, and cooperation in a single word (Torgersen & Steiro, 2009, 2018). Joint school-based RPP aims to develop practical, motivational, and relevant practices that can facilitate solving yet unexpected and unforeseen challenges in the future society. RPP in itself is unforeseen, as it does not have clear aims. There is an increasing interest in how organizations prepare for unexpected and unforeseen challenges (fx. Torgersen, 2015; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001). This study draws on a Norwegian five-year national initiative for joint school-based RPP – "Lower-secondary schools in development" (UiU) (Utdanningsdirektoratet, 2013-2017 - Ministry of Education), and explores conditions for samhandling in joint school-based RPP in light of Torgersen and Steiro's understanding of Samhandling as a phenomenon. More specifically, we investigate how teachers and researchers perceive the role distribution in the UiU initiative. Role perceptions can have implications for the practice and praxis.
Methodology or Methods/ Research Instruments or Sources Used
This study is conducted with a quantitative and qualitative digital survey for the data collection ("mixed methods") (for example, Creswell, 2012; Creswell, 2013; Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009). The survey respondents are randomly selected 137 teachers and 25 researchers from 18 counties in Norway who have participated in the said initiative. This article is based on findings from the survey. The theory on
Samhandling that informs the survey is developed by Torgersen and Steiro (2009) based on a meta-analysis. Their fifteen samhandling indicators matrix has contributed to systemizing the questionnaire's development and a mirror for our study's data analysis.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings
Our study found that joint school-based RPP projects currently seem to be mainly based on traditional roles where researchers are perceived as educators and schoolteachers as learners. We argue that such perceptions of role distribution in joint school-based RPP projects might lead to knowledge reconstruction instead of new insights. In our opinion, when aiming to develop practical, motivational, and relevant practices that can facilitate solving yet unexpected and unforeseen challenges, joint school-based RPPs can benefit from exploring new roles. By not empowering stakeholders to contribute sufficiently with their expertise, joint school-based RPPs can risk losing learning opportunities. A more resource-oriented perspective on stakeholders in joint school-based RPPs can lead to better use of valuable expertise and perhaps also to new insights.
The Norwegian education authorities have exceeded expectations that researchers from teacher education and schoolteachers interact (Norwegian: Samhandling) and develop their practice through joint school-based Research-Practice Partnerships (RPP). Samhandling is a Norwegian term that connotes interaction, collaboration, and cooperation in a single word (Torgersen & Steiro, 2009, 2018). Joint school-based RPP aims to develop practical, motivational, and relevant practices that can facilitate solving yet unexpected and unforeseen challenges in the future society. RPP in itself is unforeseen, as it does not have clear aims. There is an increasing interest in how organizations prepare for unexpected and unforeseen challenges (fx. Torgersen, 2015; Weick & Sutcliffe, 2001). This study draws on a Norwegian five-year national initiative for joint school-based RPP – "Lower-secondary schools in development" (UiU) (Utdanningsdirektoratet, 2013-2017 - Ministry of Education), and explores conditions for samhandling in joint school-based RPP in light of Torgersen and Steiro's understanding of Samhandling as a phenomenon. More specifically, we investigate how teachers and researchers perceive the role distribution in the UiU initiative. Role perceptions can have implications for the practice and praxis.
Methodology or Methods/ Research Instruments or Sources Used
This study is conducted with a quantitative and qualitative digital survey for the data collection ("mixed methods") (for example, Creswell, 2012; Creswell, 2013; Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009). The survey respondents are randomly selected 137 teachers and 25 researchers from 18 counties in Norway who have participated in the said initiative. This article is based on findings from the survey. The theory on
Samhandling that informs the survey is developed by Torgersen and Steiro (2009) based on a meta-analysis. Their fifteen samhandling indicators matrix has contributed to systemizing the questionnaire's development and a mirror for our study's data analysis.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings
Our study found that joint school-based RPP projects currently seem to be mainly based on traditional roles where researchers are perceived as educators and schoolteachers as learners. We argue that such perceptions of role distribution in joint school-based RPP projects might lead to knowledge reconstruction instead of new insights. In our opinion, when aiming to develop practical, motivational, and relevant practices that can facilitate solving yet unexpected and unforeseen challenges, joint school-based RPPs can benefit from exploring new roles. By not empowering stakeholders to contribute sufficiently with their expertise, joint school-based RPPs can risk losing learning opportunities. A more resource-oriented perspective on stakeholders in joint school-based RPPs can lead to better use of valuable expertise and perhaps also to new insights.
Publisert i ECER2021 Geneva (online), 2021
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