Developing of knowledge in practice-based research: Research circles as an example

The article deals with the research circle method as a way of conducting practice-based research. Based on data from a research project about drop-out in vocational education and training we analyse the process of generating knowledge and the researcher’s role in this process. The empirical data include written material from the circle work and interviews with the practitioners in the research circles concerning the knowledge developing process. Three kinds of knowledge have been generated: Knowledge based on the practitioner’s experiences, knowledge based on an interplay between existing practical knowledge and research-based knowledge, and new research-based knowledge. In the article we characterise the three types of knowledge and account for the challenges related to the knowledge generating process. Furthermore, we describe the researchers’ roles related to developing the three kinds of knowledge. Based on data from the project, we argue that bridging the gap between practice-based and research-based knowledge requires the ability to transform theoretical knowledge to apply the knowledge in real-world practices.