{"id":212,"date":"2023-10-18T11:13:15","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T11:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/acre\/?p=212"},"modified":"2024-03-22T15:52:52","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T15:52:52","slug":"research-circles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edgehill.ac.uk\/acre\/2023\/10\/18\/research-circles\/","title":{"rendered":"Research Circles; a collaborative and supportive approach to bridging the gap between theory and practice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Silvia Cont, Dr Karen Boardman  <\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

When I first heard about the \u2018Research Circle\u2019 <\/em>approach, I had no idea what it was. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I had not encountered these terms combined before beginning my Research Assistant (RA) post here at Edge Hill University. When I asked Dr Karen Boardman for information about the post, she explained that the Research Circle (RC) projects would be focused on language and communication, SEND and outdoor learning. I understood the range of topics researched but not how the methodology or approach of RC worked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

During my first day as a RA, Karen handed me a box full of questionnaires and focus group workshop qualitative data to be sorted, transcribed, and coded, highlighting that it \u201cwould be very messy data\u201d. This was because everyone in the RC had their part to play and their own voices heard about their own EYE setting and considering the needs, wishes and agency of the children, practitioners, families, and communities. I, therefore, realised this was a different research approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The origins of the ‘Research Circle’ approach<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Karen shared a couple of initial resources on RC (Coghlan & Brydon-Miller, 2014; Persson, 2009) that, combined with data processing and a literature review on the approach, which were useful steps to familiarise with the Department of EYE\u2019s strategy for RCs. I understood that the RC originated in Sweden and was initially employed as a model with union representatives (H\u00e4rnsten, 1994). Over time the application fields ranged from health (L\u00f6fqvist et al., 2019) to education research (Poulsen et al., 2017). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

RC as an approach is a \u2018mediating arena\u2019 (Persson, 2009, p. 10) and a \u2018negotiable space\u2019 (McIntyre, 2008, p. 215) between the University and school\/pre-school worlds guided by principles of democratisation and empowerment of participants. Therefore, RC in EYE is \u2018doing research with each other not for or on others\u2019 (Holmstrand et al., 2017, p. 3), meaning that academics\u2019, educators\u2019 and families\u2019 practice-based knowledge are considered equals in contributing to the creation of new knowledge on an agreed research topic bridging the gap between the two worlds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are so many benefits to employing the RC approach in this way to ensure that our EHU vision for social justice remains at the heart of everything we do with our school partners, families, and communities:<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n