Transformative Research and Social Inclusion: An Educational Research‐Policy Dialogue

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Abstract
This article presents the outcome of an interdisciplinary co‐creative research‐policy dialogue between senior policymakers in education and scholars in transformative research about what it means to create a caring society in the face of persistent inequalities. The article is based on an innovative collaboration between policymakers in the Department of Education and Youth in Ireland and researchers working on deep whole‐of‐society transformation. The participating policymakers within the Department of Education and Youth cover a wide range of issues across the Department’s policy portfolio, including quality, wellbeing, workforce planning, inclusion, curriculum development, and teacher education. Three key future‐oriented ideas with potentially transformative potential were presented by the research group to the policymakers and responses were gathered through a follow‐up questionnaire and in‐depth conversations. The ideas presented were (a) the idea of the polycrisis, (b) a generative framework for transformation, and (c) social duality and the “sacred ordinary.” The article presents the findings of this dialogue, focusing on the challenges and opportunities of implementing such far‐reaching ideas in practice, including the deep structural changes needed to address issues of social inclusion in education.

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