Academics and practitioners: the challenge of collaboration an example from social work and social services in Israel
| DOI | 10.1177/0020852316676543 |
| Date | 01 March 2019 |
| Published date | 01 March 2019 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
International Review of
Administrative Sciences
2019, Vol. 85(1) 173–190
!The Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/0020852316676543
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International
Review of
Administrative
Sciences
Article
Academics and practitioners:
the challenge of collaboration
an example from social work
and social services in Israel
Lihi Lahat
Sapir College, Hof Ashkelon, Israel
Abstract
Although the need to integrate research into the practice world has always been a desire
of researchers and practitioners alike, recently there has been growing interest in this
collaboration. While studies have explored various aspects of this connection, few have
investigated the ‘black box’ of social relations between academics and practitioners. Based
on a qualitative study, the current article examines how practitioners and academics per-
ceive this connection. Using Foucault’s perspective and the causes typology of Stone, the
findings reveal three meta themes: the descriptive, emotional and functional stories, and
identify more nuanced features of the connection between academics and practitioners.
Points for practitioners
.Managers should be aware that the connection between academics and practitioners
involves functional, descriptive and emotional perceptions.
.Managers can diminish the relationship between power and knowledge by promoting
formal mechanisms that acknowledge the common interests of academics and
practitioners.
.Boundary spanners can be used to create more equal and productive relationships.
Keywords
academia, connection, Foucault, practice, qualitative
Introduction
Knowledge has value in itself, but the desire of social science researchers to affect
policy processes and decision-making has always been significant. Lindblom and
Corresponding author:
Lihi Lahat, Sapir College, M. P. Hof Ashkelon, 79165, Israel.
Email: lahat_l@mail.sapir.ac.il
Cohen (1979) indicated that the disappointment that arises from the lack of use-
fulness of social research in contributing to policy is due to misperceptions. Due to
its individualistic nature and limitations in terms of resources and time, it is unrea-
sonable to assume that it can have a direct influence on resolving social problems.
Therefore, they suggest conducting professional social inquiry which integrates
practitioners’ experience with social research.
Most commentators have noted the importance of the connection between aca-
demia and practitioners, but acknowledged the difficulties of creating and preser-
ving these connections as well. While the literature generally focuses on the
institutional difficulties and differences between academics and practitioners to
explain the challenge of maintaining these connections, I argue that these explan-
ations are insufficient for understanding the barriers between the two groups.
Therefore, I provide a complementary explanation that relies on the social con-
struction and perceptions of the relationships between the two groups.
The connection between research and practice is not new ( Bushouse et al., 2011;
Perry, 2015;Weiss, 1979), but recently therehas been greater awareness ofthe import-
ance of this collaboration (Flinders, 2013a; Mead,2015; Newman et al., 2016; Van de
Ven and Johnson, 2006). Many studies deal with the connection between academics
and practitioners, but few discuss the transformation and development of knowledge
as a social process(Rogers, 1995, in Rynes et al., 2001: 349).De Leeuw et al. (2008: 16)
indicate the need to explore the complexity of the relationship further, not just as a
technical or structural matter. Thus, I examine the social interaction between aca-
demics and practitioners based on their subjective perceptions. Although there are
some researchers who embrace the distinctions between research, policy and practice
(De Leeuw et al., 2008), dueto my interest in the socialinteraction between these two
groups, I use a dichotomous categorization and focus on the question of how practi-
tioners and academics in social work and social services perceive the connection
between them.My approach consists of a qualitative analysisthat integrates narrative
analysis with grounded theory (Eikenaar et al., 2016) and is based on semi-open
interviews with seven managers from the social services and seven academics in
social work departments in higher education in Israel. This connection in this field
has received little attention (Kromer-Nevo and Lavie-Ajayi, 2009).
Literature review
The connection between academia and practice
The connection between academia and practice has become increasingly important
for several reasons. First, the complexity of social problems has led to growing
interest in integrating research in policy design (Bourgon, 2007). Second, there is
growing demand for outcomes that are both efficient and effective. Therefore,
questions about what works are more pressing than ever before (Rynes et al.,
2001). Furthermore, voices are calling for research that will benefit society and
demonstrate the impact of studies on it (Bushouse et al., 2011; Flinders, 2013a;
174 International Review of Administrative Sciences 85(1)
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