Running head: EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH 1 EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH 2 Translating Educational Research into Practice Problem For a long time, education research has not been able to impact classroom instructional practices and educational policies. Educational based researchers argue that their primary work is to research the various aspects of learning and teaching to then present their findings at various conferences and publishing them in different educational journals. Their busy schedule does not allow them to train practitioners (Powney & Watts, 2018). On the other hand, practitioners are busy concentrating on there, and they do not have time to review new literature. This brings up the question as to who is responsible for this gap. In the real sense, there should be a connection between the two, and both parties should play a role in bridging this gap. Practices, Policies, and Procedures That Have Led to the Problem There are various reasons for this persistent gap between the teaching practices that teachers use and the guidance that educational research provides. However, three of them stand out. They include the trustworthiness issue, teacher preparation issues, and the research practice issue. The trustworthiness issue comes in because much of the published educational research and disseminated to teachers, policymakers and researchers are often not good and of uneven quality. Research is incredibly demanding, and it is not always possible to choose the most appropriate methodological approach. It is essential that the methodology is applied rigorously whether it is for qualitative or quantitative research (Suter, 2012). Teachers, on the other hand, want to provide quality education to their children. When they turn into research to aid in teaching, their main expectation is that the information they get is trustworthy. If the information is not trustworthy both the teacher and the student will fail terribly. The teachers also have to be prepared. The applicability and relevance of a research finding will be minimal if the administrators and teachers are unable to access the data, unable to develop strategies for implementing the research findings and do not understand or are unable to interpret the research findings in a meaningful and accurate manner (Fenwick, Edwards, & Sawchuk, 2012). While teacher preparation and research trustworthiness play significant roles in determining the extent to which research informs instructional practices and educational policies, a fundamental problem is our inability to understand and identify an environment where the research findings can be applied in complex school systems as well as classrooms. While specific strategies, instructional models and approaches may be useful in a setting that is controlled, there is scanty information about the factors that impede or foster application of these modalities under varying contexts and among diverse teachers and students' pop.

1. Running head: EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH
1
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH 2
Translating Educational Research into Practice
Problem
For a long time, education research has not been able to impact
classroom instructional practices and educational policies.
Educational based researchers argue that their primary work is
to research the various aspects of learning and teaching to then
present their findings at various conferences and publishing
them in different educational journals. Their busy schedule does
not allow them to train practitioners (Powney & Watts, 2018).
On the other hand, practitioners are busy concentrating on there,
and they do not have time to review new literature. This brings
up the question as to who is responsible for this gap. In the real
sense, there should be a connection between the two, and both
parties should play a role in bridging this gap.
Practices, Policies, and Procedures That Have Led to the
Problem
There are various reasons for this persistent gap between the
teaching practices that teachers use and the guidance that
educational research provides. However, three of them stand
out. They include the trustworthiness issue, teacher preparation
issues, and the research practice issue. The trustworthiness
issue comes in because much of the published educational
research and disseminated to teachers, policymakers and
researchers are often not good and of uneven quality. Research
is incredibly demanding, and it is not always possible to choose
the most appropriate methodological approach. It is essential

2. that the methodology is applied rigorously whether it is for
qualitative or quantitative research (Suter, 2012).
Teachers, on the other hand, want to provide quality education
to their children. When they turn into research to aid in
teaching, their main expectation is that the information they get
is trustworthy. If the information is not trustworthy both the
teacher and the student will fail terribly. The teachers also have
to be prepared. The applicability and relevance of a research
finding will be minimal if the administrators and teachers are
unable to access the data, unable to develop strategies for
implementing the research findings and do not understand or are
unable to interpret the research findings in a meaningful and
accurate manner (Fenwick, Edwards, & Sawchuk, 2012).
While teacher preparation and research trustworthiness play
significant roles in determining the extent to which research
informs instructional practices and educational policies, a
fundamental problem is our inability to understand and identify
an environment where the research findings can be applied in
complex school systems as well as classrooms. While specific
strategies, instructional models and approaches may be useful in
a setting that is controlled, there is scanty information about the
factors that impede or foster application of these modalities
under varying contexts and among diverse teachers and
students' populations (McKenney & Reeves, 2012). We still
don't understand how to deal with educational innovations,
including content instructional practices, school classroom
management, and school reform models because we do not have
a solid grasp of administrative, cultural and training conditions
which influence this level of learning.
Importance of the Problem
This problem has helped us to understand and appreciate the
importance of education research translation. Ideally,
translation involves taking something from one interpretation,
perspective or area and determines how it can be germane in
another perspective (Bradshaw, n.d.). For instance in language,
translation is not only substituting word to word to mean the

3. same thing but require a subtle difference in way meanings of
words are taken into account and how the translated versions
convey the copy of what was said. The same applies in
translating research findings to the classroom. This problem
also brings attention to the importance of continuously updating
the existing knowledge to improve teaching and learning.
Steps Taken to Address Problem
Over the years significant steps have been taken to address this
problem. Some researchers develop strategies for teaching their
research findings and implement them in their classes. These
strategies have informed teaching practices, and the students
learning outcomes demonstrate that. Practical trials have also
been developed to make educational research more specific and
relevant to aid in the teaching and learning process. Practical
trials are easy and efficient since researchers themselves
directly administer them. This helps the researcher to relate the
new research findings and the existing knowledge to find a
consensus between the two.
Teacher unpreparedness is one of the biggest concerns which
amplify this problem. However, schools have started addressing
the issue of teacher preparation by building libraries which have
a specific section for research materials making it easy for the
teachers to access data (Cahnmann-Taylor, & Siegesmund,
2008). They have also created online portals where both the
teachers and learners can easily assess research materials. As a
result, teachers have started using research materials for
teaching hence bridging the gap. Governments have also
developed regulations for researchers so that they only publish
articles which do not conflict the existing literature. This has
allowed the teacher to build trust in the research materials
hence use them in teaching. Researchers have also developed
new methodologies which help them to conduct accurate
researches.
Biblical Worldview
In Colossians 3:9-10 the bible warns us against lying to each
other. The Bible in this verse says that the image of the creator

4. is seeing us put new selves and putting off our old self. If you
keep on lying, eventually people will stop trusting in anything
you say. However, if you agree to change and tell the truth, then
you will win back peoples' trust. That is what precisely
educational researchers should do. They should make sure that
the research is finding that they publish bear the real truth, are
even and consistent with the existing literature. Teachers will
trust their findings and begin using them in class, therefore,
bridging the existing gap.
References
Bradshaw, C. (n.d.). Translating research to practice in bullying
prevention. American Psychologist., 70(4), 322–332. Retrieved
from https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039114.
Cahnmann-Taylor, M. (Ed.), Siegesmund, R. (Ed.). (2008).
Arts-based research in education. New York: Routledge.
Retrieved from https://doi-
org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.4324/9781315796147.
Fenwick, T., Edwards, R., Sawchuk, P. (2012). Emerging
approaches to educational research. London: Routledge.
Retrieved from https://doi-
org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.4324/9780203817582.
McKenney, S., & Reeves, T. C. (2012). Conducting educational

5. design research. London: Routledge. Retrieved from
https://liberty.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/openurl?institu
tion=01LIBU_INST&rfr_id=info:sid%2Fsummon&rft_dat=ie%3
D51154782950004916,ie%3D51122220460004916,language%3
DEN&svc_dat=CTO&u.ignore_date_coverage=true&vid=01LIB
U_INST:Services.
Powney, J., & Watts, M. (2018). Interviewing in educational
research. London: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429503740.
Suter, W. N. (2012). Introduction to educational research: A
critical thinking approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Publications, Inc. doi: 10.4135/9781483384443.
EDUC 701: CP: Research Question and Course Project Outline
Instructions
You will submit a research question and a course project outline
to your instructor. Later in this course, you will use your
research question and outline to write your Final Paper.
Tips for Developing a Research Question
From the problem you have identified in Discussion Board
Module/Week 2, develop a quality research question. It is
essential to develop a specific research question that holds your
interest so that you can focus your research and your paper. For
example, researching a broad topic such as “Education
Leadership” is difficult, since there may be hundreds of sources
on all aspects of educational leadership. On the other hand, a
focused question such as “What impact does a principal’s
leadership style have on teacher burnout?” is easier to research
and can be covered in more depth.
Put your research question in the following form:
“What impact does _____________ have on ____________?”

6. Tips for Developing an Outline
Later in this course, you will use your research question to
write a Final Paper (i.e. Your Course Project or CP). Develop
an outline similar to the one below. You will use this outline to
help plan for the course project.
For example, say your research question is “What impact does a
principal’s leadership style have on teacher burnout?”
Ask yourself, what type of information do I need to answer the
research question?
Break the research question into individual parts before starting
your research. For example:
· Find articles, research studies, and theories on leadership
styles (Annotated Bibliography #1)
· Find articles, research studies, and theories on teacher burnout
(Annotated Bibliography #2)
· Find articles, research studies, and theories on the
principal/teacher burnout relationship (Annotated Bibliography
#3)
Below is an Example Outline. For this course, write your
outline in “first person” in terms of what you will do for each
section of your paper. This is NOT to be an outline of the final
paper. It is an outline of the steps YOU will take to write the
final paper.
Example Outline
I. Introduction
A. Introduce the problem

7. 1. I will explain the problem, how the problem was identified,
and why it needs further study and research.
2. I will include practices, policies, or procedures that have led
to the problem (use citations).
B. Importance of the problem.
1. I will discuss the importance of the problem and its
significance to teaching and learning (use citations).
2. I will discuss steps, if any, that have already been taken to
address the problem (use citations).
C. Research question (Place the research question at the end of
the introduction).
1. I will address the following question:
“What impact does principal leadership styles have on teacher
burnout?”
II. Literature Review (You may not have read enough of the
literature to know the subtopics at this point. If that is the case,
then just write Subtopic 1, Subtopic 2, and Subtopic 3 for the A,
B, C. For the 1 under each subtopic, just write that you will
address subtopic one, two, three, etc.
A. Principal leadership styles
1. I will address the topic of educational leadership styles.
B. Teacher burnout
1. I will address the topic of teacher burnout
C. Principals’ leadership styles and teacher burnout
1. I will address the relationship between principal leadership
style and teacher burnout.
(Yours may look like this:)
A. Subtopic 1
1. I will address subtopic 1

8. B. Subtopic 2
1. I will address subtopic 2
C. Subtopic 3
1. I will address subtopic 3
III. Association to Learning Theory (Use the terms Subtopic 1,
Subtopic 2 and Subtopic 3 here as you did in section II.
A. Principal leadership styles
1. I will connect the subtopic of principal leadership styles to a
learning theory or learning theories.
B. Teacher burnout
1. I will connect the subtopic teacher burnout to a learning
theory or learning theories
C. Principals’ leadership style and teacher burnout
1. I will connect the subtopic of the relationship between
principal leadership style and teacher burnout to a learning
theory or learning theories.
(Yours may look like this):
A. Subtopic 1
1. I will connect subtopic 1 to a learning theory or learning
theories.
B. Subtopic 2
1. I will connect subtopic 2 to teacher burnout to a learning
theory or learning theories
C. Subtopic 2
1. I will connect subtopic 3 to a learning theory or learning
theories.
IV. Definitions(I will make a list of definitions with citations)
`
1. Transitional leadership

9. 2. Transformational leadership
3. Teacher burnout
4. etc…
V. Gaps in the research
A. I will provide recommendations for future research.
VI. Biblical world view (use citations)
A. I will address the problem of leadership/teacher burnout
from a biblical world view.
1. I will Google search the phrase “A Christian perspective on
leadership.”
2. I will Google search the phrase “A Christian perspective on
burnout.”
VII. Conclusion
A. I will end with a summary of the paper and overall
conclusion.
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