BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH FINDINGS AND IMPLEMENTATION IN BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Educational research is a vital component of education because it provides evidence-based solutions to educational problems and supports improvement in educational practice. However, the persistent gap between research findings and their implementation remains a major concern. This study investigated strategies for bridging the gap between educational research findings and implementation in educational institutions in Benue State, Nigeria. The study was guided by two research questions and adopted a quantitative descriptive survey design. The population comprised 557 researchers (lecturers) in the three public colleges of education in Benue State, while a sample of 232 researchers was selected using stratified random sampling. Data were collected using a researcher-developed instrument titled Implementation of Research Findings Questionnaire (IRFQ), which was validated by two experts and yielded a Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of 0.87. Mean and standard deviation were used to analyze the data. Findings showed that researchers adopted strategies for implementing research findings to a moderate extent ($\bar{X} = 2.813$), including policy briefs, flyers, brochures, newsletters, television broadcasts, digital platforms, academic conferences, workshops, webinars and teacher training programmes. Researchers also experienced implementation challenges to a moderate extent ($\bar{X} = 2.837$), including weak researcher-policy-maker linkages, inadequate ICT tools, poor internet access, weak government policy implementation, poor-quality research outputs, lack of trust, limited dissemination capacity and absence of coordinated platforms for sharing findings. The study concluded that implementation remains constrained despite moderate dissemination efforts. It recommended regular capacity-building workshops for researchers and stakeholders.