RESEARCH AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN EDUCATIONAL SCIENCES: AN ISSUE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE

The literature seems to support the university as a nucleus of development in the community and environment around it. However, the label research and transfer is increasingly being questioned in various academic forums-and outside of higher education. This is largely because it can be difficult to see the applicability of results produced in university research centres, or because the results have not been disseminated effectively. The purpose of this paper is to confirm that educational research must be anchored in socio-educational interests, and that it must have suitable strategies for effective transfer of knowledge to and for the community. To that end, we review and examine how the university's second and third missions have been understood in the scientific literature and go on to make a proposal within the framework of social, environmental, and structural challenges that we will face in the near future. Finally, what concerns us is establishing new pathways for connecting academia and society based on reciprocal meeting points, where both parties participate in the process, albeit playing different roles. In short, it is about promoting a more applied scientific culture-what we study affects target groups, and this should be identified. Therefore, we must show that science in general, and pedagogy in particular, is a way to achieve social justice, from research with firm foundations allowing real advances and epistemological consistency.