Session Information
15 SES 04, International Point of View
Paper Session
Contribution
As education researchers we find ourselves caught up in a wave of enthusiasm for research undertaken in partnership with organisations, communities and individuals outside of universities (McIlrath et al 2012). Different approaches to partnership working are evident across Europe, for example the Scandinavian focus on action research (eg Work Research Institute, Oslo) or focuses on partnerships between the academy and industry (eg Department for Business Innovation and Skills in the UK). Linking these approaches across Europe is the use of Early Career Researchers (ECRs) in much of the fieldwork and relationship building, for example as Research Assistants or placement based PhDs. This paper reflects upon the sorts of expertise that is needed in partnership working in education and makes recommendations for Principal Investigators (PIs) and those concerned with doctoral training, about the sorts of support and development that such researchers may need.
Common themes underpinning partnership research in education are a sense of responsibility to include the knowledge, expertise, and informed voices of the people (e.g. students, teachers, communities, cultural organisations, policy makers) implicated in a research topic, and to embark on collaborative projects which produce mutually beneficial outcomes, that pursue social justice or tackle inequality. In addition to this sense of responsibility the recent emphasis on impact which stresses the need for educational research (and other social science and arts and humanities research) to show ‘demonstrable benefits to the wider economy and society’ (Higher Education Funding Council for England 2011) has also driven the need for researchers and educators to work in partnership with people, organisations and institutions outside the academy. While there have been a number of studies of partnership working (Jones 2012; Brydon-Miller & Greenwood 2006; Hart el al. 2013) and of engaged research in education (Edwards, 2007) this paper focuses in particular on the experience of the ECRs whose role in these projects is often to work on the ground and mediate between these different groups.
Reflections on partnership working are taken from the authors’ work on the Connected Communities Programme (Arts and Humanities Research Council). The Connected Communities Programme is the AHRC’s largest programme of research and is dedicated to funding research which is co-produced with different community partners and across academic disciplines. Reflecting on our experiences and findings from this project we explore both issues of partnership working specific to education and whether these are a more general concern of ECRs in engaged research.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Brydon-Miller, M., and Greenwood, D. 2006. A Re-examination of the Relationship between Action Research and Human Subjects Review Process. Action Research, 4(1), pp. 117-128. Edwards, A., Sebba, J., and Rickinson, M. 2007. Working with Users: Some Implications for Educational Research. British Educational Research Journal, 33(5), pp. 647-661. Edwards, A. 2005. Relational Agency: Learning to be a Resourceful Practitioner. International journal of Educational Research, 43(2005), pp. 168-182. Hart, A., Davies, C., Aumann, K., Wenger, E., Aranda, K., Heaver, B., and Wolff, D. 2013. Mobilising Knowledge in Community – University Partnerships: What Does a Community of Practice Approach Contribute? Contemporary Social Science, 2013, pp. 1-13. Jones, K., 2012. Connecting Research with Communities through Performative Social Science. The Qualitative Report, 17(18), pp. 1-8. McIlrath, L., Lyons, A., and Munck, R. 2012 (eds) Higher Education and Civic Engagement: Comparative Perspectives (New York: Palgrave Macmillan)
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