The intertwining of health and education: capturing learning and change while developing a tertiary health education research proposal

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper outlines the personal transformation that occurred when three university educators from very different fields (education, midwifery, and oral health) and world views, established a common understanding of their research topic and subsequent development of a research question to improve health educators’ capability when teaching interprofessional practice. Most health educators entering higher education are specialists in their clinical practice foremost, and therefore, the health researchers engaged with an education specialist to develop a project scope. Through an eight-month process of challenging, learning, reflecting, and actively testing the meaning of ideas and statements, a consensus was achieved on a research aim and proposal that would guide the research process. This paper presents the collaborative journey to achieve this consensus. The individual stories of two of the researchers’ journeys were analysed, identifying that a shift in the understanding of ontology and pedagogy takes time and effort, and change is reliant on a collective working together towards a positive outcome where consensus is arrived at through challenge and dialogue. There was an action learning phase that pre-empted the researchers’ capacity to collectively envision the research aim when working across professions, providing a practical knowing that is explored in this paper.