The development of a framework for the effective translation of educational research into sustained practice in Singapore

This project arose from the need to engage in translation and scaling efforts from previous technologically mediated research projects; this is in line with the strategic direction set by the third tranche of research funding at the OER. The concepts of diffusion, scaling and translation are contested and are sometimes framed too narrowly from the paradigm of numbers progressing along a unilinear trajectory alone; to an extent, this paradigm arises from how translation has been understood from the bioscience and pharmacological industries. Transposing these understandings to the Social Sciences in general, and to Education in particular, has not been straightforward.

Because of the pressing need to enact translational work for both Future Schools (FS) and eduLab projects and also potential CRPP curricular innovations, a framework to inform decision making and policy formulation is critical. Using one of these projects – the eduLab Six Learnings project – as a test-bed, we have sought to:
(a) determine how the design principles and theories which have informed the original research project can be subsequently scaled; and in the process develop a framework for translation which involves detailed understandings into the breadth and depth of the specificity of outcomes resulting from the research; and
(b) assess whether there is sufficient preparedness in the schools in terms of teacher-readiness for scaling to occur. The latter is important largely because lethal mutations from the original intentions usually occur if those who take up the interventions do not understand the conceptual underpinnings of the research innovation.

Hence, to reiterate, the central focus of this research study is to develop a framework for understanding how the outcomes arising from researcher-driven interventions may be translated, extended and scaled into wider practitioner-driven enactments, in the context of the education system in Singapore.

In 2012, we collected data of teacher enactment of Six Learnings curriculum to help us understand the process of effective translation of a curricular innovation in local schools. We explored how teachers in different schools and different levels appropriated a Six Learnings curricular framework in their classrooms, and discuss the kinds of support to be provided to teachers.

In our study, we have chosen to stress the importance of people and stakeholders as a key dimension in successful translation efforts. By arguing for a community-based approach to augment translation efforts, we have proposed and justified a social participatory process complementing the traditional product-oriented scaling models. We see this as another significant contribution of this study to the literature. We frame such a community as central to the success of re-creating resemblances and legitimate mutations relative to the original research innovation.