On the Interaction of Research and Practice. Cooperative Practices in the Context of Digital Education Projects

Edited by Anna Heinemann, Lisa Birnbaum, Benjamin Jörissen, Stephan Kröner, Jens Leber, Friederike Schmiedl, and Michael Kerres

Please submit your abstract until 13th July 2025 at https://www.medienpaed.com/about/submissions ein. Please also find the author guidelines there.
Call for Papers as PDF

The term ‘digitalisation’ refers to fundamental challenges for various aspects of education, which have led both educational practice and educational research to intensively engage with the implications of the digital realm (Jörissen et al. 2022; Kerres 2022). The stakeholder groups in educational research, practice, and other fields possess knowledge systems that are associated with different practices and logics of action (Hartmann and Kunter 2022; Farley-Ripple et al. 2018), raising the question of how these actors can collaborate to address the challenges outlined.

Educational researchers involved in the discourse about digitalisation, sometimes pursue the aim of emphasising the relevance of independently addressing their research questions as part of the academic system (self-referentially) (Grünberg and Lange 2025). However, there is an increasing political and societal expectation to respond jointly to these transformative processes, particularly in funding projects with mixed actor constellations (OECD 2022; BMBF 2018). It seems therefore crucial to reflect on how the interface between educational research and practice can be shaped in a manner that benefits the involved stakeholders, and where the boundaries of such collaboration lie.

The interaction of stakeholders from both research and practice can take various forms: it may involve providing and disseminating developments and findings from research projects to practice or discussing them with practitioners. The presentation of research findings in scientific communication plays a significant role in this process. Currently, there is particular emphasis on forms of collaboration that are more focused on dialogical or discursive practices (Kerres, Sander, and Waffner 2022). Intermediary actors, who mediate between educational research and practice, are also gaining attention (Cooper 2014; Ghadiri-Mohajerzad and Schrader 2024). Furthermore, there is an increasing focus on constellations in which technological, ecological, and spatial-material actors are not just considered as conditions but are also addressed as active participants (Bettinger and Jörissen 2022; Macgilchrist et al. 2024). The discussion of research approaches such as Design-Based Research, participatory approaches, or model partnerships between research institutions, educational providers, and technology development groups points to an expanding field of corresponding practices and new actor constellations (e.g., Cooper, MacGregor, and Shewchuk 2021; Endberg, Heinemann, and Hasselkuß 2022; Liegmann et al. 2022).

It becomes clear that the differing perspectives of cooperation partners do not automatically converge and lead to a shared outcome. Instead, successful collaboration – if it occurs at all – depends on specific prerequisites, such as shared problem definitions, transparent role distributions, sustainable relationship cultures, and structural resources. Obstacles often arise where these prerequisites are absent – whether due to differing expectations, goals, or a lack of feedback loops between the fields. This special issue also focuses on how structures can be created that promote broad connectivity in co-constructive collaboration and sustainable transfer (e.g., Hartmann and Kunter 2022; Gorard, See, and Siddiqui 2020).

The aim is to present conceptual and empirical approaches, contextualise existing work, and critically reflect on it. It concerns the practices of (non-)success in the collaboration between educational research and practice in digital education initiatives. Methodological considerations, overview papers, or case studies may also be presented in contributions.

This special issue will publish contributions that focus on the interaction between educational research, practice, and other involved stakeholders in research and development projects with practical relevance – especially in digital education projects – and the insights gained about the success and failure of action practices.

We invite interested researchers to submit contributions, possibly in collaboration with practice partners, to this special issue.

Submissions are possible in two formats:

Full papers (max. 40.000 characters, https://www.medienpaed.com/about/submissions) as empirical or conceptual contributions on the interaction between educational research and practice in the context of digital education. These contributions should address the implications of digitalisation in education through the interplay of different actor constellations and their forms of communication or cooperation: Theoretical submissions should systematically and thoroughly elaborate on fundamental considerations regarding the interaction between educational research and practice. Empirical papers should follow the typical structure of social science research papers.

Full papers may include:

• Perspective of the paper (conceptual, theoretical, empirical)
• Focused actor constellations
• Explored forms of cooperation or communication between the involved stakeholders (design and reflection of these formats)
• Conditions, challenges, or areas of tension concerning the success or failure of the interaction
• Implications for future cooperation forms and transfer processes in the field of digital education
• Further questions, desiderata, or research needs that emerge from the paper

These contents serve as orientation and do not constitute formal structuring requirements.

Short papers from research projects with practical orientation (max. 25.000 characters; for further formalia: https://www.medienpaed.com/about/submissions) should describe their approach and experiences in collaboration in the context of current research. They should reflect on the design of their initiatives, report experiences, or describe conditions for success or failure in research projects with practical orientation, in which cross-system co-construction and knowledge generation (e.g., in the form of joint tool development) were realised.

Short papers may include:

• Description and objectives of the project and the involved actors
• Positioning within the state of research | experiences from other projects | contexts
• Explanation of the approach, project organisation, steps taken, and responsibilities in the project
• Practices of collaboration: presentation of experiences in knowledge communication, co-construction, transfer, or other forms of interaction
• Conclusion: What experiences can be reported concerning the success and failure of various formats of interaction? What research questions emerge?

These contents serve as orientation and do not constitute formal structuring requirements.

For reasons of scientific transparency, we encourage all researchers to follow the principles of Open Science (Christ, Birnbaum, and Kröner 2025) and make research and metadata, as well as codes, available with their submission.

We invite interested authors to submit an abstract (max. 400 words excluding references) along with 3-5 keywords for their planned contribution by 13^th July 2025 via the journal’s submission platform: https://www.medienpaed.com/about/submissions. Authors whose abstracts are accepted will be asked to submit their full texts by 15^th January 2026.

Contributions can be submitted in either German or English. Please refer to the submission guidelines for manuscripts. Submissions must be original works or first publications. An abstract of 150-200 words should briefly summarise the key statements and findings. Both the title and abstract must be provided in both German and English. Authors retain the rights to their works (CC-BY 4.0 intl.).

Submissions will undergo double-blind peer review.

• Anna Heinemann , Universität Duisburg-Essen: anna.heinemann@uni-due.de
• Lisa Birnbaum , Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg: lisa.birnbaum@fau.de
• Benjamin Jörissen , Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg: benjamin.joerissen@fau.de
• Stephan Kröner , Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg: stephan.kroener@fau.de
• Jens Leber , Universität Duisburg-Essen: jens.leber@uni-due.de
• Friederike Schmiedl , Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, friederike.schmiedl@fau.de
• Michael Kerres , Universität Duisburg-Essen: michael.kerres@uni-due.de

Bettinger, Patrick, und Benjamin Jörissen. 2022. «Medienbildung». In Handbuch Medienpädagogik, herausgegeben von Uwe Sander, Friederike von Gross, und Kai-Uwe Hugger, 81–93. Wiesbaden: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-23578-9_10.

Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF). 2018. Rahmenprogramm empirische Bildungsforschung. Bielefeld: wbv media.

Christ, Alexander, Lisa Birnbaum, und Stephan Kröner. 2025. «Kriterien zur Sicherstellung der Reproduzierbarkeit quantitativ-empirischer Studien: Empfehlungen und Positivbeispiele». Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-025-01301-7.

Cooper, Amanda. 2014. «Knowledge mobilisation in education across Canada: A cross-case analysis of 44 research brokering organisations». Evidence & Policy 10 (1): 29–59. https://doi.org/10.1332/174426413X662806.

Cooper, Amanda, Stephen MacGregor, und Samantha Shewchuk. 2021. «A research model to study research-practice partnerships in education». Journal of Professional Capital and Community 6 (1): 44–63. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPCC-11-2019-0031.

Endberg, Manuela, Anna Heinemann, Marco Hasselkuß, und Lisa Gageik. 2022. «Editorial: Schulentwicklungsprozesse für Bildung in der digitalen Welt. Akteurskonstellationen, Kommunikationswege und Kooperationsstrukturen». MedienPädagogik: Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis der Medienbildung 49. https://doi.org/10.21240/mpaed/49/2022.11.14.X.

Farley-Ripple, Elizabeth, Henry May, Allison Karpyn, Katherine Tilley, und Kalyn McDonough. 2018. «Rethinking Connections Between Research and Practice in Education: A Conceptual Framework». Educational Researcher 47 (4): 235–245. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x18761042.

Ghadiri-Mohajerzad, Hadjar, und Josef Schrader. 2024. Wissenstransfer im Bildungsbereich: Konzepte, Erfahrungen und Perspektiven. Wiesbaden: Springer VS. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-45460-9.

Gorard, Stephen, Beng Huat See, und Nadia Siddiqui. 2020. «What is the evidence on the best way to get evidence into use in education?». Review Of Education 8 (2): 570–610. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3200.

Hartmann, Ulrike, und Mareike Kunter. 2022. «Mehr Praxis in der Bildungsforschung? Eine Studie zu Praxisperspektiven in Forschungsprojekten». Bildungsforschung 2: 1–24. https://doi.org/10.25656/01:25469.

Jörissen, Benjamin, Stephan Kröner, Lisa Birnbaum, Franz Krämer, und Friederike Schmiedl. 2023. Digitalisierung in der kulturellen Bildung. Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven für ein Feld im Aufbruch. München: kopaed. https://doi.org/10.25656/01:26963.

Kerres, Michael. 2022. «Mediendidaktik». In Handbuch Medienpädagogik, 105–114. Wiesbaden: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-23578-9_12.

Kerres, Michael, Pia Sander, und Bettina Waffner. 2022. «Zum Zusammenwirken von Bildungsforschung und Bildungspraxis: Gestaltungsorientierte Bildungsforschung als Ko-Konstruktion». Bildungsforschung (2): 1–20. https://doi.org/10.25656/01:25457.

Liegmann, Anke Barbara, René Breiwe, Jessica Bau, Britta Ervens, Marion Schwehr, und Kathrin Racherbäumer. 2022. «Wissenschaft-Praxis-Kooperation in der spätmodernen Gesellschaft: Kritische Perspektiven auf Kooperationsstrukturen in Research Learning Communities». MedienPädagogik: Zeitschrift für Theorie und Praxis der Medienbildung 49: 229–249. https://doi.org/10.21240/mpaed/49/2022.06.30.X.

Macgilchrist, Felicitas, Juliane Jarke, Heidrun Allert, und Teresa Cerratto Pargman. 2024. «Design Beyond Design Thinking: Designing Postdigital Futures when Weaving Worlds with Others». Postdigital Science and Education 6 (1): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42438-023-00447-z.

OECD. 2022. Who Cares about Using Education Research in Policy and Practice?: Strengthening Research Engagement, Educational Research and Innovation. Paris: OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/d7ff793d-en.

Von Grünberg, Hans-Hennig, und Lütje Lange. 2025. «On the Divergence of Function and Service: Knowledge and Technology Transfer Understood as the Service Processes of the Science System». Journal Of The Knowledge Economy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-025-02646-4.