Academic perspectives of the teaching-research nexus in initial teacher education in Portugal

Abstract

For future teachers to be researchers of their teaching practice, and to improve it, it is important to enhance a strong relationship between teaching and research during their education. Based on this idea, a study was carried out with the aim of widening the debate about the teaching-research connection in higher education or, as it is called by some authors, the teaching-research nexus. The research study answers the following questions: What positions justify the importance of the teaching-research relationship in initial teacher education? What is the manner of this relationship in initial teacher education? What difficulties and possibilities are there for conducting teaching with research? Methodologically, an email internet interview with three open-ended questions was used to collect the opinions of professors who provide initial teacher education. The interview protocol was submitted to critical validation using the “jury agreement” technique and was answered by 56 professors of 13 higher education institutions from the 24 that provide initial teacher education in Portugal. The professors were informed that the overall data and institution names to which they belong would be anonymized. The answers given were submitted to content analysis supported by Healey’s (2005) typology of the teaching-research nexus: research-led teaching; research-oriented teaching; research-tutored; research-based teaching. This analysis allows the conclusion that, when referring to the teaching-research relationship, the professors present concepts related to the four dimensions spelled out by Healey, although a research-oriented approach was favoured. Institutional and educational policy reasons were pointed out as the greatest difficulties in achieving teaching with research, even though also possibilities were identified to lead this change. This situation opens perspectives for initial teacher education to prepare future teachers to guide their curricular practices supported by research. To this end, it is important to invest in institutional cultures and in the working conditions of higher education professors.