Dissemination of knowledge beyond the local context

In a learning study project, teachers are usually involved in all stages of the research process: in planning of lessons in the iterative form of the learning study, in the analysis of the pre-test and post-test of collected data, in the final stage of the experimental phase of the research process and in disseminating results (Kullberg, 2010; Kullberg and Runesson, 2013; Runesson, 2019; Runesson et al., 2018). In other research projects with other research approaches, for instance, in “research on teachers,” when the final research results are summarized in an article submitted to a research journal, most often only researchers’ names appear under the title.

Whitney (2020) examines the extent to which lesson study results are disseminated outside the local school context. To define the concept “sharing,” Whitney (2020) uses how the final component “Sharing results” is defined in the “Collaborative Lesson Research” introduced by Takahashi and McDougal (2016). The component “sharing results” means that the lesson study cycle is not only for the research team and improvement of their practice, but also more broadly for the field of research. In coding the data, “Sharing” means dissemination of the learning of the lesson study team and in some cases other individuals’ learning (those not belonging to the team) (Whitney, 2020, p. 5). Results of the meta-analysis of the 45 cases indicate that only 27 percent of the lesson study teams were disseminating results by inviting colleagues and people from outside to the public lesson, distributing the research lesson, presenting in conferences and as articles in journals, while 73 percent of the lesson study teams have “No method for sharing results” (Whitney, 2020, Table I).

Andrée and Eriksson’s (2020) project is a part of the “teacher training program” and its teachers and researchers have a special focus to bridge the gap between theory and practice as a platform between university and schools. They addressed, on a general level, teachers’ involvement in research as student teachers as well as teachers teaching different school subjects, as necessary condition for building teachers’ professional knowledge base. Currently, this project expanded with seven subject-specific networks coordinated by university researchers and PhD students aiming to bridge the theory–practice gap. The project is a platform between university and schools in order to create a database containing teachers’ didactical and professional knowledge. Carlgren (2012, 2020) argues that “educational clinical research,” such as teachers’ research in classrooms, can be comparable to “medical clinical research” accomplished by doctors in clinics. The idea is supported by Wood (2018, p. 170):

“Learning study supports the development of clinical practice where the object of learning is explicitly emphasized, combining content, pedagogy and evidence of the lived experiences of individual learners, and where the outcomes are evaluated by the teachers themselves on the basis of evidence and can be reported for the information of others so that they can see what works and why. Being explicit about theory retains the potential to transform teacher education and professional development.”

In a similar way, doctors’ database for “evidence-based knowledge,” teachers with educational researchers could jointly build a database of “teachers’ professional knowledge” (Carlgren, 2012, 2020) and the suggestion is a feasible endeavor and not only an idea. Teacher training programs are developed which include training of teachers as researchers, as a mandatory content, and create possibilities to accomplish the idea (Andrée and Eriksson, 2020).