Research and Teaching: Conditions for a positive link

It has become increasingly clear over the past decade that the question of a positive link between research and teaching has no simple or general answer. At the same time, there may well be a positive link under particular conditions. This paper argues that a positive link can be due primarily to the processes, rather than the outcomes, inherent in research and teaching, and that, in particular, student-centred teaching and learning processes are intrinsically favourable towards a positive link, while more traditional teaching methods may at best lead to a positive link for the most able students, who in the perception of traditional academics are, of course, the future university teachers. This finding, in turn, leads to a rational explanation of the persistent myth of a general positive link. Finally, it is argued that pedagogic research and its outcomes could play an important role in strengthening the link.