Perspective chapter: How evidence changes practice and vice versa: A framework for describing knowledge transformations in early childhood education

Abstract

In-service training is a key learning opportunity for the professionalization of educational staff in childcare facilities. The extent to which the content of in-service training is applied in everyday practice is a key quality criterion for in-service training. There are therefore many different ideas and concepts about how this application—the transfer—can be supported. This article takes up theoretical and empirical findings from educational and teaching-learning research and presents a model of knowledge transformation from theory to action and from action to theory. Central to this model is the idea that knowledge is transformed by various actors (trainers and educational professionals) and that contextual and individual characteristics influence this transformation process. Implications for research and practice are discussed.