One Teacher Trainer's Perspective on a Sample of Academic Educational Research Papers

Abstract

In this study a teacher trainer analyses 56 papers from the journal Educational Studies and, applying specific criteria, determines the extent to which their content can be said to have applications to and implications for educational practice. Section 1 of the study explores the general context of the sample papers. Findings here show that in this set of papers the academic research is conducted and written almost exclusively by staff within Schools of Education in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs); that the authorship includes a higher proportion of males than females; that research style is mainly empirical and that gender may play a role in the research style itself; and, significantly for this study, that the titles of these papers, when considered exclusively, imply a close association with the classroom context. In Section 2, a systematic scrutiny of the content of a sub-sample of the papers reveals a significant trend of potential, as opposed to actual relevance to educational policy and practice—at variance with the findings for the study of their titles alone in Section 1. Additional findings are that there is little evidence in the papers of direct collaboration between HEIs and schools. Finally, Section 3 contains the author's personal reflections on communication of the research message within the sample and ways are suggested in which the writing in academic journals generally might be made 'barrier-free' to the wider educational community. Concluding comments tend to be made as appropriate within the body of the paper at the point of discussion. The main conclusion briefly considers the role of Initial Teacher Training tutors in Higher Education, and the issue of monitoring language and communication style in academic research.