Dialogic Methods for Scalability of Successful Educational Actions in Portugal

Abstract

One of the pathways to achieve social impact of research is based on a meaningful citizen engagement, especially with main stakeholders, from early stages through all of the project. Scale-up evidence-based educational practices with social impact is a key challenge for systemic change and yet remains understudied in academic literature. This article aims to explore dialogic methods for citizen engagement in educational research, through the case of the scalability of the Successful Educational Actions identified on INCLUD-ED research (FP6, 2006–2011) in 139 schools in Portugal, from 2017 to 2020. Data collection includes document analysis, communicative observation, and interviews. Findings highlight the dialogue maintained not only between schools and researchers but also a multidirectional dialogue between schools that have already implemented research results and schools willing to replicate them and also among government, trainers, and other agents from the community. We identify three features of this multidirectional dialogue: it maintains an evidence-based approach, it is based on egalitarian dialogue, and it is clearly oriented toward the improvement of educational quality for all. The multidirectional dialogue perspective illustrates key methodological issues to take into account during the replicability and scalability of research to enhance its social impact.