Academics and practitioners: Partners in generating knowledge or citizens of two different worlds?

The research reported in this paper explores aspects of the relationship between academics and practitioners in the context of a professional development programme. It is illustrated by qualitative data from a case study of university teachers’ and secondary teachers’ experiences and perceptions of a university-led in-service training course in Greece. Three antithetical pairs: theory versus practice, propositional versus procedural and knowledge producers versus knowledge translators are used heuristically to guide data analysis and presentation, seen as constituting a continuum between two poles. It is indicated that rather than focusing on the ‘gap’ between academics and practitioners, the discussion should be about ‘space’ between the two groups, and that both should inhabit this space and work mutually its boundaries and its purpose, so that a vital partnership will emerge, which in turn can assist university-provided in-service training.