Abstract:
Participatory methodologies are often favoured in education research. This study aimed
to determine collaborative partnership trends between education researchers and
teachers in order to understand the use of participatory theory and practice in education
studies. Seven symposium presentations by education scholars from various higher
education institutions were analysed using trend analysis from a community of practice
theoretical framework. It emerged that participatory methodology denotes various
characteristics which indicate favourable use by education researchers. Partnerships
between education researchers and teachers share common goals, are contextual
in nature, have a process-oriented emphasis and foreground knowledge exchange
and the development of knowledge networks. In addition, collaborative partnerships
between education researchers and teachers appear to be directed by an overarching
philosophy of ‘care’.
