Tales from the frontline: the experiences of early childhood practitioners working with an 'embedded' research team.
In late 2006, SDN Children's Services, an Australian not-for-profit provider of services for children, families and communities, engaged a research team that was 'embedded' within the organisation for 1 year. This action represented a significant investment of resources, such as staff time and organisational funds, and demonstrates SDN's strong commitment to research and evaluation as a means of supporting organisational learning and development. This paper highlights the innovative nature of the approach by positioning the role of the embedded researcher within the current theoretical and socio-political context. It also provides evidence of the success of the approach by reporting on the findings of a study that investigated staff's experiences of being involved in this type of collaborative investigation of their work. I argue that the employment of an embedded researcher can have positive benefits both for the organisation and the practitioners--but who the researchers are really matters.
Wong
Sandie
S
SDN Children's Services, Inc, Broadway, NSW, Australia.
D001315:Australia; D035843:Biomedical Research; D002648:Child; D003153:Community Health Services; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003657:Decision Making; D006078:Government Programs / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D017145:Models, Educational; D010372:Pediatrics; D012109:Research Support as Topic / Q000191:economics*; D013663:Teaching; D013997:Time Factors