DEBATING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACADEMICS AND PRACTITIONERS IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION FIELD

Abstract. In this article we present findings from focus groups (FGs) consisting of academics and practitioners in the higher education (HE) field from different parts of the world, who debated their perceptions of the current state of the art in the HE field. The main findings, which call for further research, as well as activities of academics, practitioners and policymakers at various levels, are as follows: 1) there is a gap between basic academic research and applied research (with the latter often not meeting the appropriate conceptual level), which needs to be closed; 2) this gap is expressed also in the global context of the HE field; 3) multidisciplinarity, interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity, methodological quality of both basic and applied research need to be developed and 4) scholars’, practitioners’ and governments’ (policymakers’) responsibilities need to be addressed. Keywords: higher education (HE), research, academics, practitioners, government, policy