What on earth has research got to do with me?

Abstract

This article is about using research from a practitioner perspective. It tells the stories of four teachers and a researcher, who were part of a collaborative project focused on connecting research and practice in relation to Education for Sustainable Development. The project started with a small advertisement placed in a practitioner newsletter, and ended with a publication launch at the House of Commons. In this article, the authors look back at how they came to be involved in this venture, what the highs and lows were along the way, and what they now feel they got out of the experience. In sharing their experiences, they hope that they might encourage and inform others who are wondering what on earth research has got to do with them. To this end, the article concludes with some brief ‘take-away points’ for practitioners and researchers.