ABSTRACT
During the past decade, the role of educational research in the UK has been the subject of considerable debate. Discussion has centred on issues such as: priorities for educational research; how ‘user groups’ of research should be involved; the extent to which research should lead to ‘applied outcomes’; and the ‘relevance’ of research (Rudduck and McIntyre 1998). Underpinning this debate is the notion accepted by most educational researchers that there should be some sort of connection between educational research on the one hand and the policy and practice of education on the other. How this connection is conceptualised varies, however, particularly in relation to teaching. Hargreaves has argued that teaching should be a ‘research-based’ profession and that it should be ‘evidence-based’ (Hargreaves 1998). These phrases suggest a direct relationship between applied research and application in the classroom. Hannon (1998), however, sees the role of research somewhat differently when he states, ‘Teachers do not use research as a cookbook but as a resource in constructing their view of what is worth aiming for and likely ways to get it’ (p. 151).
