Translating Longitudinal Research: From Large Datasets to Insights for Professional Practice

Given that longitudinal research typically produces substantial multi-layered data, research translation for practitioners can be difficult. In disciplines such as education, however, such translation for end-users is particularly important as the onus is far too often on teachers to engage with research evidence in their own time and draw conclusions for practice. This chapter offers important insights for youth longitudinal research, and educational research more broadly, by illustrating how findings from a four-year longitudinal mixed-methods study into young people’s post-school educational and occupational futures was translated into a professional development course for teachers and school leaders. Framed within the context of the ‘aspiration raising’ agenda that has come to dominate Australian higher education equity policy, the chapter: details the design of the research, which set out to challenge deficit discourses and help enact positive change; explains how findings from complex statistical analyses and student focus groups were communicated to end-users to inform professional practice; and, offers some concluding thoughts on research translation. In so doing, the chapter highlights the importance of accessible and relevant translation of longitudinal data to end-users, which can support practitioners to better understand young lives in general and the young people they work with in particular.