Discourse in Research-Practice Partnership Meetings - A Comparison of Conditions Across Contexts

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Adam

The article investigates discourse in research-practice partnership (RPP) meetings across Switzerland and the United States, using micro-analytic analysis of video data. It examines the extent to which meetings feature generative discourse—dialogue that alters meanings or generates new knowledge—and identifies conditions associated with its occurrence. Results indicate that nearly half of meeting time is generative, though discourse patterns differ by RPP size, purpose, and activity structure. Insights inform efforts to support knowledge generation and continuous improvement in RPPs.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Background and Literature Review

Research-Practice Partnerships

Generative Discourse and Analytical Approach

Comparing Conditions Across Contexts

AERA Open January-December 2024, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 1–18 DOI: 10. 1177/23328584241230051 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)© The Author(s) 2024. [https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero](https://journals.sagepub.com/home/ero) Discourse in Research-Practice Partnership Meetings: A Comparison of Conditions Across Contexts Enikö Zala-Mezö Zurich University of Teacher Education Amanda Datnow University of California San Diego Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) are gaining international attention as they promise to close the gap between research and practice in education. As RPPs bring together participants with diverse expertise, how people dialogue to collectively learn and address problems of practice is critically important. Analyzing video data from RPP meetings in Switzerland and the United States, this micro-analytic study examines the extent of generative discourse in RPP meetings and the conditions under which it occurs. Since RPPs vary significantly along a number of dimensions, it is useful to compare them to see how these features influence discourse and learning. Across the Swiss and US contexts, almost half of the meeting time was generative—altering meanings and/or creating new knowledge and perspectives. Discourse patterns varied, however, reflecting the different sizes, purposes, and activity structures of the RPPs. Examining meeting discourse across conditions may help promote knowledge generation and continuous improvement in RPPs. Keywords: comparative education, discourse processes, educational reform, qualitative research, research-practice partnerships, school improvement The disconnect between research and practice is a global phenomenon. Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) are gaining international attention as they offer a promising strategy for supporting educational change and closing the gap between research and practice (Farrell et al., 2021; Lai et al., 2020). As RPPs bring together a range of participants, how people dialogue to collectively learn and address problems of practice is of critical importance (Farrell et al., 2022). Emerging research provides insight into the discourse of researchers and practitioners (Farrell et al., 2019; Gomollet al., 2022; Thompson et al., 2019) who have different languages and ways of working (Brown & Allen, 2021) . Since RPPs vary significantly in their complexity, composition, and goals (Farrell et al., 2021; Kipnis et al., 2020), it is useful to look across them to see how these features influence discourse and learning in RPPs. As Coburn and Penuel (2016) explain,“We need comparative studies that investigate how RPPs of different designs interact with their contexts to impact various outcomes of interest,” especially studies of RPPs that have “similar aims but different designs”(pp. 51–52) . Although RPPs are gaining interest globally, there is a dearth of research that studies RPPs across national contexts, which offer an additional layer of variation. This study aims to investigate discourse in RPPs in the US and Switzerland. We develop and use an analytical tool to describe and compare dialogue during RPP meetings. We examine the extent to which RPP meetings are characterized by generative discourse (Lefstein et al., 2020) and explicate the conditions under which it occurs. Generative discourse is defined as “engagement between two or more people that transcends the superficial, altering certain meanings or processes and/or generating new knowledge” (Beech et al., 2010, p. 1342). By examining discourse patterns in micro-interactions, this study helps to illuminate whether RPP meetings are sites of joint productive activity, as generative discourse is an important indicator of learning. We assume that practice change occurs through the integration of diverse expertise, and we can examine this possibility through generative discourse. B

FAQs

What is the main focus of the study on research-practice partnership meetings?

The study focuses on discourse in RPP meetings and how generative discourse appears under different conditions across Switzerland and the US.

How is generative discourse defined in the article?

Generative discourse is defined as engagement among two or more people that goes beyond superficial talk, altering meanings or processes and/or generating new knowledge.

What factors are suggested to explain differences in discourse patterns across RPP contexts?

Discourse patterns vary according to differences in RPP size, purposes, and activity structures across the Swiss and US contexts.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Adam