CHEMISTRY EDUCATION: RESEARCH AND PRACTICE IN EUROPE 2002, Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 327-343 SPECIAL SECTION: 6th ECRICE / 2nd ECCE	RESEARCH AND PRACTICE OF CHEMISTRY EDUCATION (INVITED CONTRIBUTION*) General issues in science education

Richard KEMPA
University of Keele, Department of Education

RESEARCH AND RESEARCH UTILISATION IN CHEMICAL EDUCATION

ABSTRACT: Despite the enormous growth of science education research (including chemical education research) during recent decades, its impact on the practice of science education has remained relatively low. Reasons for this include the following: (i) Neglect by researchers of genuine 'application studies', in favour of 'diagnostic' ones. (ii) Undue attention in researches on 'fashionable' areas (e.g., pupils' misconceptions and alternative frameworks), without adequate consideration of the practical usefulness of the findings. (iii) Insufficient elaboration by researchers of the implications of their findings for the practice of science education. (iv) Unawareness on the part of many science teachers, even experienced ones, of the findings from science education research or their tendency to ignore such findings. (v) Practitioners' inclination to rely on 'common sense' and/or 'personal knowledge' in their practice of science teaching. To enhance this impact of science education research on the practice of science education, it is suggested that attention is paid in the planning and conduct of researches on: (1) the adoption of lines and areas of science (chemical) education research that are practice-related and, hence, potentially useful for the practitioner; and (2) the development of strategies for improving practitioners' responsiveness towards and awareness of science education research findings, including their willingness and competence to adjust their practices in the light of such findings. These aspects are explored in the paper. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract. Eur.: 2002, 3, 327-343]

KEY WORDS: research utilisation; impact of research on practice; practice-relatedness; pedagogical knowledge; awareness of research findings; teacher involvement in research

CORRESPONDENCE: Richard KEMPA, Department of Education, University of Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK; e-mail: richard.kempa@ntlworld.com / r.f.kempa@educ.keele.ac.uk

* This is a the full text of a plenary lecture delivered by Prof. Kempa at the 6th ECRICE/2nd ECCE in the University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal.

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