Despite the relevance of academic research conducted in schools for improving educational practice and policy, participation rates are often low. This study explores how school staff in Serbia perceive academic research and what factors contribute to their willingness to participate. Quantitative data from 557 respondents (Mage = 45.54, SDage = 9.75, 84.3% female) and qualitative responses to an open-ended question were analyzed. Results show that school staff value research when it is clearly communicated, relevant to practice, and perceived as beneficial. Key reasons for participation include professional development, intrinsic motivation, and trust in the research process. Main barriers highlighted by participants are the following: time pressure, lack of feedback, and concerns about anonymity and researcher intentions. The findings suggest the need for stronger collaboration between researchers and practitioners, including better communication, mutual recognition, and institutional backing. The study concludes with suggestions for fostering collaboration and increasing research participation.
AzmiAJamaludinMFAnuarS, et al. (2024) The role of educator’s research perceptions in shaping attitudes: Insights from technical and vocational education. International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science iii(X): 170–184.
2.
BaildonMCOngMWL (2022) Singapore teachers’ perceptions of research in practice: Contexts, constraints, and possibilities. Teaching and Teacher Education119: 103850.
3.
BefortCLynchRJamesRL, et al. (2008) Perceived barriers and benefits to research participation among school administrators. Journal of School Health78(11): 581–586.
4.
BeyciogluKOzerNUgurluCT (2010) Teachers’ views on educational research. Teaching and Teacher Education26(4): 1088–1093.
5.
BeširevićK (2025) “Nisi nadležan”: How a Student Movement Dictates Political Change in Serbia (2024/2025). Contemporary Southeastern Europe12(1): 30–38.
6.
BraunVClarkeV (2021) Can I use TA? Should I use TA? Should I not use TA? Comparing reflexive thematic analysis and other pattern-based qualitative analytic approaches. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research21(1): 37–47.
7.
BraunVClarkeVHayfieldNet al. (2019) Handbook of Research Methods in Health and Social Sciences. Singapore: Springer Nature.
8.
BroekkampHvan Hout-WoltersB (2007) The gap between educational research and practice: A literature review, symposium, and questionnaire. Educational Research and Evaluation13(3): 203–220.
CainT (2019) School-university links for evidence-informed practice. Education Sciences9(2): 97.
11.
CheungKLTen KloosterPMSmitC, et al. (2017) The impact of non-response bias due to sampling in public health studies: A comparison of voluntary versus mandatory recruitment in a Dutch national survey on adolescent health. BMC Public Health17(1): 276.
12.
ChingBCFFosterASchliefM, et al. (2024) Co-producing school-based mental health interventions with young people, teachers, and schools: A case study. Research Involvement and Engagement10(1): 109.
13.
ChiuTKFMengHChaiCS, et al. (2022) Creation and evaluation of a pretertiary artificial intelligence (AI) curriculum. IEEE Transactions on Education65(1): 30–39.
14.
ClarkT (2010) On being researched: Why do people engage with qualitative research?Qualitative Research10(4): 399–419.
15.
CoburnCEPenuelWR (2016) Research–practice partnerships in education: Outcomes, dynamics, and open questions. Educational Researcher45(1): 48–54.
16.
ColognaVMedeNGBergerS, et al. (2025) Trust in scientists and their role in society across 68 countries. Nature Human Behaviour9: 713–730.
17.
DeyMMartiLHelblingLA, et al. (2022) Non-participation in epidemiological school-based surveys: Using mixed methods to study predictors and modes of justification for (non-)participation at the school level. International Journal of Social Research Methodology25(2): 171–182.
18.
DzunicMGolubovicNMarinkovicS (2020) Determinants of institutional trust in transition economies: Lessons from Serbia. Economic Annals65(225): 135–161.
19.
FalkB (2004) A passion for inquiry in an era of right answers: Inquiring about teachers inquiring about their practice. Teacher Education Quarterly31(4): 73–84.
20.
FarringdonFMcBrideNMidfordR (2000) Conducting research in schools: Lessons learnt from experience. Health Promotion Journal of Australia10(1): 63.
21.
FirdosSKhanMLAttaN (2024) Intrinsic motivation and social emotional competence and job satisfaction among school. International Research Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities3(2): 58–79.
22.
GisevNBellJSChenTF (2013) Interrater agreement and interrater reliability: Key concepts, approaches, and applications. Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy9(3): 330–338.
HarringtonKFBinkleyDReynoldsKD, et al. (1997) Recruitment issues in school-based research: Lessons learned from the high 5 Alabama project. Journal of School Health67(10): 415–421.
25.
JerkovABešlinMRadeljićB (2025) The depoliticization of protest: Understanding the 2024/2025 Serbian students’ uprising. Cogent Social Sciences11(1): 2583748.
26.
JerrimJ (2026) How do views of working conditions vary across school staff?Research Papers in Education41(1): 51–73.
27.
JeuneNJuhelJDessusP, et al. (2024) Six factors facilitating teachers’ use of research. An experimental factorial survey of educational stakeholders perspectives. Frontiers in Education9: 1368565.
28.
JovanovicVHinicDDzamonja-IgnjatovicT, et al. (2021) Individual-psychological factors and perception of social support in burnout syndrome. Vojnosanitetski Pregled78(9): 944–954.
29.
JošićSDžinovićVĆirovićI (2014) Teachers’ perceptions of factors impeding school improvement in Serbia. Psihologija47(2): 231–247.
30.
KanoMFrankeTAfifiAA, et al. (2008) Adequacy of reporting results of school surveys and nonresponse effects: A review of the literature and a case study. Educational Researcher37(8): 480–490.
31.
Kovačević LepojevićMPopović-ĆitićB (2022) Zadovoljstvo poslom kod nastavnika osnovnih škola u vreme pandemije (Job satisfaction among primary school teachers during the pandemic). Obrazovanje u osnovnoj školi u vreme pandemije (Primary school education during the pandemic) (pp. 64–73). University of Novi Sad.
32.
KypriKSamaranayakaAConnorJ, et al. (2011) Non-response bias in a web-based health behaviour survey of New Zealand tertiary students. Preventive Medicine53(4-5): 274–277.
33.
LandersR (2023) Computing Intraclass Correlations (ICC) as Estimates of Interrater Reliability in SPSS. Authorea Preprints.
34.
LeinerDJ (2020) SoSci Survey (Program Version 3.2.06) [Computer software]. Available at: http://www.soscisurvey.com
35.
MakkiAKandilB (2023) The perceptions of teaching and non-teaching staff about school climate in a sample of private schools in Beirut. International Journal of Education and Research11(5): 131–146.
36.
MaksimovićASĆosićI (2019) Mišljenje nastavnika o implementaciji obrazovnih standarda u Srbiji i Hrvatskoj. Psihološka istraživanja22(2): 189–206.
37.
MertlerCA (2002) Patterns of response and nonresponse from teachers to traditional and web surveys. Practical Assessment, Research, and Evaluation8(1): Article 22. DOI: 10.7275/2kdf-g675
38.
NeillRDBestPLloydK. et al (2021) Engaging teachers and school leaders in participatory data analysis for the development of a school-based mental health intervention. School Mental Health13(2): 312–324.
39.
PejuskovicBLecic-TosevskiD (2023) School shooting in Serbia – A huge collective trauma and challenge for public mental health. World Social Psychiatry5(2): 179–182.
40.
PešikanAIvićI (2021) The impact of specific social factors on changes in education in Serbia. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal11(2): 59–76.
41.
PopovSSokićJAntićJ (2021) Occupational stressors and irrational beliefs as predictors of teachers’ mental health during the COVID-19 emergency state. Psiholoska istrazivanja24(2): 183–199.
42.
RakovićJO’DonoghueTClarkeS (2019) Leaders and Leadership in Serbian Primary Schools: Perspectives Across Two Worlds. Hoboken, NJ: Palgrave Macmillan.
43.
RichardVBélangerM (2018) Accepting research: Teachers’ representations of participation in educational research projects. International Journal of Educational Methodology4(2): 61–73.
44.
RichterEFüttererTEisenkraftA, et al. (2025) Profiling teachers’ motivation for professional development: A nationwide study. Journal of Teacher Education76(1): 90–103.
45.
RosmanTMerkS (2021) Teachers’ reasons for trust and distrust in scientific evidence: Reflecting a smart but evil stereotype?AERA Open7: 23328584211028599.
46.
SchaikPVVolmanMAdmiraalW, et al. (2018) Barriers and conditions for teachers’ utilisation of academic knowledge. International Journal of Educational Research90: 50–63.
47.
SchmidtKRosmanTCramerC, et al. (2022) Teachers trust educational science, especially if it confirms their beliefs. Frontiers in Education7: 1–16. DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2022.976556
48.
SimićNMarušić JablanovićMGrbićS (2022) Why teaching? A validation of the fit-choice scale in the Serbian context. Journal of Education for Teaching48(1): 35–56.
49.
TeodorovićJStankovićDBodrožaB, et al. (2016) Education policymaking in Serbia through the eyes of teachers, counselors, and principals. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability28(4): 347–375.
50.
ThrulJPabstAKrausL (2016) The impact of school nonresponse on substance use prevalence estimates - Germany as a case study. International Journal of Drug Policy27: 164–172.
51.
VanderlindeRvan BraakJ (2010) The gap between educational research and practice: Views of teachers, school leaders, intermediaries and researchers. British Educational Research Journal36(2): 299–316.
52.
Wahyu PurnomoYPramudianiPAbdul AzizT, et al. (2019) Indonesian teachers beliefs on the gap between educational research and practice. Australian Journal of Teacher Education45(12): 24–42.
53.
WieserC (2016) Teaching and personal educational knowledge – Conceptual considerations for research on knowledge transformation. European Journal of Teacher Education39(5): 588–601.
54.
WintterlinFHendriksFMedeNG, et al. (2022) Predicting public trust in science: The role of basic orientations toward science, perceived trustworthiness of scientists, and experiences with science. Frontiers in Communication6: 822757.
55.
ZeichnerKM (1995) Beyond the divide of teacher research and academic research. Teachers and Teaching1(2): 153–172.
