Negotiating the Teaching-Research Nexus: A Case of Classroom Teaching in an MEd Program

This paper reports a case study of the manifestation of the teaching-research nexus in a research-active professor’s classroom teaching of a research methods course targeting a cohort of Master of Education (MEd) students in early childhood education (ECE). The study was conducted at a research-intensive English-medium university in Hong Kong where excellence in both teaching and research is emphasized. Data were gathered through classroom observation and interviews with the focal participant. Data analyses showed that in teaching the research methods course the focal professor aimed to train the students to become critical ‘consumers’ and novice ‘producers’ of research through a ‘PBL-triple’—problem-based, practice-based, and project-based—approach, and his identity as a prolific researcher also influenced his class teaching. Our study contributes to the literature by providing a new perspective on research-teaching relationships from the classroom.