The science-practice gap in education: knowledge conceptualization, knowledge production, and knowledge transfer problems

There is a disconnection between the knowledge that researchers produce and the knowledge that practitioners use in their daily routines. This so-called science-practice gap is one of the main scientific challenges in this era in applied fields such as educational sciences, because it implies that practitioners fail to adopt evidence-informed practices. This conceptual paper presents a theory synthesis with the aim to unravel the complex challenge of reducing the science-practice gap in education. Based on an integrative conceptual literature review, I argue that new leads to reduce the science-practice gap in education lie in a fundamental understanding of (a) the knowledge conceptualization problem, (b) the knowledge production problem, and (c) the knowledge transfer problem. We face complex societal challenges that can only be solved by collective engagement and collaboration between researchers and practitioners to address these three fundamental problems. In this paper, I propose that the interchange between science and practice should start with the question “What knowledge do we need to improve educational practice?”.