Research–Practice Partnerships in STEM Education: An Organizational Perspective

Abstract

The research presented in this chapter examines Research–Practice Partnerships (RPPs) in Israeli Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. We performed a SWOT analysis, where we categorized factors into Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats on data collected before, during, and after a conference that was devised to examine the state of STEM RPPs in Israel. The overall data analysis revealed the following theme: Studies in STEM education focus on what goes on in the schools and the need for RPPs. Yet, RPPs face obstacles rooted in the organizational structure and culture of the two RPP partners: the Research—Academia in Israel; and the Practice—Ministry of Education (MoE). Therefore, while both the education system and academia agree on the necessity to collaborate, these collaborations are not fully actualized, and RPPs in STEM education in Israel do not invest in the most critical problems, the investigation of which is crucial for the economic growth and development of the state of Israel. The SWOT analysis presented in this chapter, which is based on data gathered from representatives of all STEM education sectors, enabled us to deepen our understanding of how this situation can be improved: specifically, (1) leveraging the multiple activities in STEM education that exist in Israel, which was identified as the most meaningful strength; (2) bridging the cultural gap between academia and the educational system, identified as the most meaningful weakness; (3) capitalizing on the increased attention and importance attributed to STEM education in the country, identified as the most meaningful opportunity; (4) overcoming the frequent policy changes that take place in the MoE due to political forces in Israel, which are beyond the control of the educational system, identified as the most meaningful threat; (5) we also found that academia is perceived as the stakeholder responsible for promoting RPPs in STEM education in Israel.