From the Director of the Pymble Institute

For me, research (and education) have always been akin to textiles, with colours and textures of warmth and strength coming together to make something new. That new thing might be for protection, keeping warm, fitting in, standing out, or bringing beauty. I will happily turn my mind to crafts at the drop of a hat and often find ways to weave the threads of fabric, and other crafts, into my work and academic life. My PhD was an example where I used the story of a friend who was making a quilt at the time to explain different pieces of my data coming together. I also asked a graphic designer to take slices of the huge spreadsheet I was using to manage my interview data and create a picture of a skirt which showed the movement of the data in its ‘fabric’.

What has ‘crafting’ and ‘fabric’ got to do with research?

I’m looking forward to speaking about the important topic of partnerships in research through the school/university lens at the Trinity Grammar Building a School Research Culture through Partnerships conference to be held on the 18th June 2024. Through this lens, I’ll share insights into what the Pymble Institute does to craft university partnerships and I’ll reflect on how and why we do this. School-university partnerships can come from found materials and recycled elements, although sometimes specially sourced threads are needed.

I am using the metaphor of weaving and crafting to explore partnerships in the school research space because I believe structure is needed (think of a frame with warp threads already laid out- these are the threads that remain stationary and run vertically on the loom). The weft threads are drawn under and over the warp to create the textile. Its detailed, repetitive and careful work – like research!

But what you do with the resulting ‘fabric’ is very much up to you. This depends on what you need for your school and this is where school-based research centres are so important in terms of both generating and using research. School-generated and school-based research should not sit on a shelf  getting dusty. It should be out and about – in the sunlight, being thrown around, sat upon, used in multiple ways.

What is your metaphor for research in schools and in education more broadly? I’m looking forward to meeting many people from a range of schools and universities at our own Research Conversations afternoon on Tuesday 11 June (register here) and at the upcoming conference at Trinity Grammar School (register here).

Hope you enjoy this edition of our newsletter,

Dr Sarah Loch

Director – Pymble Institute