What is the purpose of research and teacher professional development in schools?

Abstract

The educational environment requires a complex approach where each action is distinct and cannot be replicated, as it engages with an ever-changing reality whose complexities cannot be managed by rigid applications or fixed solutions.
In this peculiar aspect of educational and teaching practices may reside both teachers’ skepticism towards educational research – viewed as theoretical and distant – and the feeling of ineffectiveness related to teacher professional development, perceived as suggesting just a set of predefined solutions to implement.
Various education systems report cultural and structural barriers to the use of research. Such barriers include the perception that research is neither sufficiently accessible nor relevant to daily school practices. This highlights the frequently noted gap between research findings and their application in schools, as persistent constraints related to time and funding remain significant and understandable barriers.
At times, there is also a lack of understanding of the meaning of ‘research’ within educational contexts, including what the research process involves and how it can effectively support the practical development of teaching and learning practices. This challenge also arises from the fact that the research and teaching communities often operate through distinct languages, frameworks, and perspectives.
Considering this, why conduct educational research? Why provide teacher professional development?

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