Research practice partnership for schools and universities

This paper aims to review the research paradigms of action research, narrative inquiry, and teacher research, mainly through the writings of John Elliott; F. Michael Connelly and D. Jean Clandinin; and Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan Landy Lytle respectively, for conceptual possibilities for fruitful schoolteacher and University researcher partnerships. This study seeks to survey the focal points relevant for the concerns of practice, theory and partnership to give the reader an introduction with an intention to further develop these practitioner research with the possibility of encouraging more fruitful School and University partnerships. This is with a view that teachers need to engage in educational research and that researchers' perspectives can also contribute especially within partnerships. The literature review aims to survey the current stances of the research paradigms along with their features, research foci, methods, outcomes and others. These are then conceptualized for possible research--practice partnerships (RPP) within educational research in terms of definitions, conceptualizations, organizations, practice and enactment. The review also investigates possible partnership issues, problems and tensions of the research paradigms to suggest resolutions, guiding questions and recommendations for researchers and practitioners.