1. Knowledge Utilisation (KU) in Education
Lessons learned from social sciences
Marjan Vermeulen
Open University The Netherlands,
KPC Group ‘s-Hertogenbosch
EAPRIL, 2014

2. Gap between theory and practice (Ros & Vermeulen, 2010)
Research in education has had a disappointing impact on educational practice Schools Scientists
research
Schools choose
ad hoc solutions
Difficult articles
Results are
not convincing
Only publications
in scientific
magazines count
No access
No holistic view, context is neglected
No translation of results
to interventions and tools
No practical recommendations
Schools lack
Body of knowledge

3. Knowledge utilisation (KU)
Knowledge utilizations; products and processes
Product
Instrumental use
research knowledge that directly shapes results in action in practice.
Conceptual use
a change in awareness or understanding of specific topics.
Symbolic use
legitimizes existing policies, decisions or positions.
Process
Different models to fill the gap

4. Lineair models
Research
Practice

5. Lineair models
Research
Practice

6. Lineair models
Research
Practice

7. Interacting models
Research
Practice

8. interacting model

9. Four models explaining KU processes (Landry, Amara & Lamari, 2001).
The technological model or the science pus model
focusses on the supply of research findings as the major determinants of KU (see the linear model),
Success factors; content attributes, type of research and research domains and disciplines.
The economic model (or demand pull model),
stresses the needs and the context of the users.
Success factors the way the research fits to the needs of the users.
The institutional dissemination model
the combination of the former models, pushing the results and adaption on the user need.
The social interaction model, (or interaction model)
to overcome the criticism of the previous mentioned models combining the previous success factors and adds social interaction.
Success factors: the more intense and sustained the interaction between researcher and user is at the different stages of the research the more KU takes place (see Vermeulen & Ros, 2011)

10. Stages of the ladder of Knowledge Utilization (Landry, Amara & Lamari, 2001)
Transmission
I transmit my research results to end-users
Cognition;
My research reports have been read and understood by end-users
Reference
My work has been cited in reports and strategies by end-users
Efforts
were made to adopt the results of my research by end-users
Influence;
My research results have influenced the choices and decisions of end-users
Aplication;
My research has been applied by end-users
Micro
Situation specific
meso
Macro
Generalization

11. How to climb the ladder? First
At the start of the project researchers should decide on which step they will end (and the higher the step the more effort and costs).
Crucial stage is transmission
30% of the scholars failed this stage. When failed no other step can be reached. (Landry et al suggests there are barriers in entering the ladder)
To reach other steps relational capital between researchers and practitioners is crucial, and perceived use for administrators.

12. Recommendations and warnings
Make use of knowledge on KU from other disciplines.
Invest in relations between researchers and practitioners.
Warnings (Landry et al., 2001)
The higher on the ladder the more costs.
Reaching a broad public is a contradiction with climbing the ladder.
KU depends strongly on content and discipline, learning from others means translation to our own situation

13. references
Cleveland H. (1982). Information as Resource, The Futurist, December 1982 p )
Landry, R. R., Amara, N. N., & Lamari, M. M. (2001). Climbing the Ladder of Research Utilization: Evidence from Social Science Research. Science Communication, 22(4),
Ros, A., & Vermeulen, M. (2010). Standards of Practice-Based Research. Paper, presented at the EAPRIL in Lissabon.
Vermeulen, M. & Ros, A. (2011). An instrument for design choices. Paper, presented at the EAPRIL in Nijmegen.

14. Questions?