‘Good enough’ research use: responding to the knowledge mobilisation agenda

This paper responds to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) knowledge mobilisation report that asks, “How can research and initial teacher education institutions support research use?”. In responding to the report, I argue that teacher interest in research cannot be understood solely as a matter of increasing skill, motivation or compliance. In doing so, I do not reject a need for knowledge mobilisation but problematise the context of teacher research use. Primarily, research is often closed: economically, through paywalled journals; temporally through a lack of dedicated time; and, discursively, through academic jargon. I ask how knowledge mobilisation can occur in a context of a closed research system and a research landscape increasingly divided over what counts as evidence. To answer these questions, I develop the idea of “good enough” research, building on Jo-Anne Reid’s framing of the “good enough” teacher. Reid identifies teaching as situated, uncertain and ethically demanding work. “Good enough” research use positions research as one resource through which teachers can exercise professional judgement under conditions of uncertainty.