ABSTRACT
Chapter 2: Implementation gap and professional development contributes to discussion of links between research and practice, by focusing upon policy and theoretical principles. Theory deepens our learning, facilitates the transfer of concepts to different contexts, and supports consistent implementation of practice. Principles are the strap-lines from theoretical frameworks. These tenets are composed with diligence, and every word entraps wisdom and encourages the reader to seek out links to further and deeper comprehension. Principles represent findings from research, and the few words of knowledge may be the result of many years of collecting and analysing data in the field.
Matching theory and practice in order to close the implementation gap is not an exact science, and there cannot be a definitive outcome in the early years of human development. The ever-evolving nature of these processes provides the key to professional development and responsive care by promoting life-long learning for the service-provider, as well as the service-user. The issue is illustrated to the reader in a context of the outdoor learning environment: Outdoor Nurseries are current pilot projects and focus for early intervention in Scotland and throughout the world. This chapter includes a section on professional development.
