Sini Teräsahde investigated the imageries that adult education actors hold about the relations between research, practice, and policymaking, uncovering both pessimistic and optimistic imageries.
“Identifying imageries, such as mental images and preconceptions, is important because they influence whether actors avoid or engage in research interaction and collaboration,” she says.
“Interaction again, is the key to perceiving research as relevant, and collaborative research is likely to generate results that are useful in practice or policymaking,” she continues.
Teräsahde reviewed the discussion and models presented in the educational research literature about the relations between research, practice, and policymaking. These models often lacked illustration of interaction between actors and the places in which it occurs.
She applied Actor-Network Theory (ANT) in her study to introduce a new perspective into the discussion about the relations. ANT emphasises the interaction of human actors and their collectives, conceptualised as translations. It also recognises the role of non-human actors and mediators in the formation and maintenance of these relations.
Many adult education actors expect interaction that promotes the use of research
The empirical study drew on questionnaire data, interviews, and group discussions conducted as part of a national development project aimed at strengthening research collaboration in the field of adult education.
The analysis revealed that while some adult education actors perceive the actions of research, practice, and policymaking as separate and difficult to connect, many of them express a strong interest in building more meaningful collaboration.
“Practitioners, in particular, expect adult education research to demonstrate its value so that they can use this research to defend their activities against funding cuts,” Teräsahde says.
Various events, research and development projects, evaluations, and continuing education programmes bring actors together and enable interaction—these were identified as mediators within the relations.
The findings also underscore the need to translate research language—to make it more comprehensible to practitioners and policymakers and to address their interests in research communication.
Research advances theory on relations and how research relevance is constructed
The dissertation advances research in the field of adult education by demonstrating the analytical and creative value of Actor-Network Theory (ANT) in theorising research interaction and research relevance. Teräsahde developed two models that represent the relations between research, practice, and policymaking in an alternative way.
“The models visualise the role of mediators in these relations and show how the relevance and usability of research are constructed through interaction,” she explains.
The study also provides practical insights for developing collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and policymakers.
The doctoral dissertation of Sini Teräsahde, titled The Relations Between Research, Practice, and Policymaking in Adult Education: A Study of Imageries Using Actor-Network Theory, was publicly examined in the Faculty of Education and Culture at Tampere University on 17.09.2025. The Opponent was Associate Professor Larissa Jõgi from Tallinn University, and the Custos was Professor Hanna Toiviainen from the Faculty of Education and Culture.