Page 20 -

The concept of
research-engaged
schools

In the research-engaged school,
knowledge is effectively mobilized
to underpin professional practice
and learning (Levin, 2008).
Teaching is underpinned by
evidence-informed ideas and
practices, drawn from both
research evidence of ?hat works??and tacit knowledge, that is,
knowledge based on teachers??practical experience. Given the
importance of relevant and robust
research evidence in determining
the best professional teaching and
learning practices the crucial
question for schools in the future,
as Levin (2004) poses, is ??How do
they find, share and use research
in their work? This and the
following section provide some
ideas to address this question.

In the conceptual framework
outlined earlier, a main cause of
the problem of a lack of uptake of
research by schools was attributed
to the hiatus between knowledge
producers (academic researchers)
and knowledge users, that is,
school practitioners. The divide
between them has two dimensions
- an institutional and an
occupational. Researchers in
universities mostly pursue research
for their own career advancement,
between

14