The Uphill Battle of Performing Education Scholarship: Barriers Educators and Education Researchers Face

Abstract

IntroductionEducators and education researchers report that their scholarship is limited by lack of time, funding, mentorship, expertise, and reward. This study aims to evaluate these groups’ perceptions regarding barriers to scholarship and potential strategies for success.MethodsCore emergency medicine (EM) educators and education researchers completed an online survey consisting of multiple-choice, 10-point Likert scale, and free-response items in 2015. Descriptive statistics were reported. We used qualitative analysis applying a thematic approach to free-response items.ResultsA total of 204 educators and 42 education researchers participated. Education researchers were highly productive: 19/42 reported more than 20 peer-reviewed education scholarship publications on their curricula vitae. In contrast, 68/197 educators reported no education publications within five years. Only a minority, 61/197 had formal research training compared to 25/42 education researchers. Barriers to performing research for both groups were lack of time, competing demands, lack of support, lack of funding, and challenges achieving scientifically rigorous methods and publication. The most common motivators identified were dissemination of knowledge, support of evidence-based practices, and promotion. Respondents advised those who seek greater education research involvement to pursue mentorship, formal research training, collaboration, and rigorous methodological standards.ConclusionThe most commonly cited barriers were lack of time and competing demands. Stakeholders were motivated by the desire to disseminate knowledge, support evidence-based practices, and achieve promotion. Suggested strategies for success included formal training, mentorship, and collaboration. This information may inform interventions to support educators in their scholarly pursuits and improve the overall quality of education research in EM.

Emergency Medicine Education Research Since the 2012 Consensus Conference: How Far Have We Come and What’s Next?

“…Educators have reported barriers in obtaining protected time, departmental support, and funding for their research . They cited a lack of proper training in research methods and unavailability of appropriate training programs to develop this skill set . As described in our paper, numerous specialized fellowships have arisen and there are both society‐driven and institutionally‐driven short courses to establish basic knowledge.…”

“…Educators have reported barriers in obtaining protected time, departmental support, and funding for their research . They cited a lack of proper training in research methods and unavailability of appropriate training programs to develop this skill set .…”

Use of the “Step‐back” Method for Education Research Consultation at the National Level: A Pilot Study

“…This demonstrates the wide range of content that was addressed through this modality. Another benefit of this session was the ability to create new educational networks for future collaboration, which has been recommended by education researchers as a strategy for success . The majority of facilitators perceived this activity to be participation in a community of practice.…”

“…This pilot study suggests that the “Step‐Back” method can be utilized to provide much needed faculty development in education research content, methodology, as well as create an opportunity for collaboration and mentorship, thereby serving to address identified needs to improve the quality and quantity of education research . Future studies should also assess what is the most effective time frame and number of group members for this technique.…”

Addressing needs of diverse stakeholders: Twelve tips for leaders of health professions education programs

“…They provide a systematic structure for gaining buy-in and determining what is feasible given time and other resource constraints and emphasize the importance of up-front efforts that enable more efficient and productive implementation. Finally, these tips offer a robust framework for designing and evaluating educational programs that require grappling with rapidly evolving circumstances filled with ambiguity and uncertaintyincluding the challenges associated with conducting educational research: lack of funding, time constraints due to competing responsibilities, finding collaborators/mentors, maintaining methodological rigor/lack of methods training, and lack of perceived value of educational research/departmental support (Smesny et al 2007;LaMantia et al 2012;Jordan et al 2016).…”