Getting the Right Mix Between Research and Teaching: A Cross-National Study of University Teachers' Perspectives and Practices in Teacher Education and Education Studies

Abstract

Integrating research into teaching gives future practitioners the opportunity to inform and enhance their own professional capacities and practices with research. This study analyses integration practices currently employed by a sample of 124 university teachers delivering teacher education and education studies courses from three research-intensive universities in Catalonia (Spain), Poland, and England. Three particular aspects of their research integration were explored: the role they perceived research to have in teaching; the level of and their strategies for research integration; and the variables explaining their use of specific research integration strategies. The majority of the participants were found to actively integrate research activities into their teaching. However, significant statistical differences were found regarding the use of four integration strategies (i.e., research-tutored, research-led, research-based and research-oriented), with participants in England practising all four more frequently than their peers in Catalonia and Poland. The most relevant variables were found to be: the country where the university is located, students' preparedness to apply research in their own professional practice and the importance given to basic research training on study programmes. Thus, this paper provides insights for education professionals and curriculum designers looking to develop mechanisms to better integrate research into teaching.