health, learning and knowledge production in this field must be comprehensive and include knowledge from five different knowledge domains: 35 (i) distribution of relevant characteristics; (ii) determinants or causal web; (iii) consequences; (iv) intervention methods; and (v) policy options. Knowledge of scaling-up to the population level is also important. For this, studies of effects of different methods and interventions need to be analysed. These can be efficacy studies done under optimal conditions, where the researcher has a high degree of control. Such methods can also be studied under ordinary conditions in effectiveness studies. There is a need for more piloting of different interventions in the school system before national implementation. An example is a suggested experimental approach to the analysis of the effects of different approaches to reduce school class sizes. 36
Specialisation and going beyond disciplinary borders 37 The development in the universities can be regarded as an increasingly specialised activity where the research approaches are influenced by how attractive the questions are for publishing and citations. In the social sciences, this has been described as a transition from science as a vocation to science as a game. 38 The concern of some academics is to get published rather than having something socially meaningful to say. Higher education has transformed from a temple of wisdom to a factory producing academic credits for the many. There is competition about status positions, the micro level of individuals pursuing career success, the meso level of universities wanting position and repute, and the macro level of societies gaining advantages of knowledge societies, international reputation, and votes in national elections. The researchers have not only to satisfy the requirements of local and national colleagues but also meet the international reviewers and the global competition. Researchers face the challenge of defining themselves and others as engaged knowledge seekers instead of just paper-producing technicians.
Eriksson, C. (2000). Learning and knowledge-production for public health – a review of approaches to evidence-based public health. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 28, 298–308. 36Solheim, O. J., & Opheim, V. (2019). Beyond class size reduction: Towards more flexible ways of implementing a reduced pupil–teacher ratio. International Journal of Educational Research, 96, 146– 153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2018.10.008 37 This section is based on a previous report: Eriksson, C. (2019). En analys av omvärlden för Institutionen for Kost- och Idrottsvetenskap, Utbildningsvetenskapliga fakulteten, Göteborgs universitet. Stockholm. 38 Alvesson, M., Gabriel, Y., & Paulsen, R. (2017). Return to meaning. A social science with something to say. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 35
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