Overview 🔎

As a contributor to NECT: Ten Years of Impact – Mini-Lessons, I authored Mini-Lesson 9: Resuscitating Collaboration in Research, reflecting on my experiences in the Classroom Research Project. In my role as Research Impact Officer within the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) and the Teacher Education for Equitable and Quality Learning (TEEQL) Research Consortium, I explored the challenges and successes of fostering collaboration between researchers, educators, and policymakers.

Project Details 🤝

The mini-lesson focused on key insights gained from facilitating research collaboration in South Africa’s education sector. It covered:

• The Role of Collaboration: How partnerships between researchers and educators can improve the relevance and application of research in classrooms.

• Challenges in Research Engagement: Addressing issues such as misalignment between academic research and policy needs, and the difficulty of translating findings into practice.

• Best Practices for Impactful Research: Strategies for fostering more meaningful engagement, including structured dialogue, shared objectives, and ongoing feedback mechanisms.

Results ✨

The NECT: Ten Years of Impact – Mini-Lessons book provided a platform to document lessons learned from a decade of education reform efforts in South Africa. My contribution underscored the importance of collaborative research in driving meaningful, systemic change in teacher education and classroom practices.

Conclusion 💥

This project reinforced the value of cross-sector collaboration in educational research. By reflecting on my experiences, I contributed to a broader discussion on how research can be made more impactful, ensuring that academic insights translate into tangible improvements in South African classrooms.

See the book here 📌

https://nect.org.za/publications/nect-and-sector-documents/nect-ten-years-of-impact-mini-lessons-book-print.pdf