This Keynote will take the form of a conversation between two researchers who have the honour of being awarded John Nisbet Fellowships this year. Coincidentally, we have also worked closely together since 2002 when we became directors of the Teaching and Learning Research Programme. As the title of the TLRP suggests, our research interests have related to pedagogy although Andrew’s background as a primary school teacher and Mary’s in secondary schools have given us different but complementary perspectives.
The roles we have fulfilled, before, during and after TLRP, have also influenced our views and framed priorities in our work.  Our different genders and personalities may have made a difference too.  The conversation will be framed around five themes, all conveniently beginning with ‘H’.  We will describe and analyse our experience in relation to these.
Head
Research is first and foremost about head-work.  This is inescapable.  It requires long hours, often in isolation, reading extensively, learning new ideas and methods, analysing data, thinking deeply and critically, revising one’s taken for granted assumptions, seeking new connections, patterns and interpretations, and struggling to find the words to express them orally and in writing in ways that research users will judge to be high quality. Â
Heart
The commitment that being an educational researcher demands is sustained by passionate desire to ‘make a difference’.  This comes in many forms. It can be purely a wish to contribute to knowledge but often it, like medical research, is driven by a desire to contribute to improvements – making things better.  This requires more than intellectual curiosity; it involves principles and values, and optimism.  In a sense this is a version of the Enlightenment project for the 21st century.
Hands
Academic work, although intellectual, also has a practical, ’hands on’, dimension, particularly if working closely with policy-makers, practitioners and, especially children and young people. Dealing with the messiness of real-life research settings has challenges rarely experienced in a laboratory.  ‘Giving a hand’ is also important in signifying the collaborative and social aspects of educational research.  Seeking and accepting the help of others, and offering help to them, is crucial for growing both knowledge and community.
Happenstance
It would be foolish to deny that luck has a part in the development of most research careers.  Opportunities emerge or fail to materialise.  One learns to take advantage of opportunities, and to learn from failures.  Sometimes it is possible to develop strategies that, to some extent, increase the chances of success. ‘If you don’t buy a ticket, you won’t win the raffle’; so all those applications do make some sort of sense.
Horrors
Looking back over any long research career, there will surely be horror stories to tell. In some cases, it is possible to be amused by these when viewed from a distance.  They can be instructive as well as unsettling, and it may be possible to reflect, learn and move on. In other cases, horror stories are more serious, particularly, in our experience, if evidence-blind policy making is involved.
Overall, we look back at our careers with much amazement at what, somehow, happened over the past 50 years. Although guided perhaps by principles and values, there was certainly little long-term planning. We developed our specialist interests and expertise, spurred on by academic and professional experiences, debates, networks and events. We grabbed and relished opportunities to collaborate with colleagues on various aspects of ‘educational improvement’. We are grateful to ½¿É«µ¼º½ for recognising the efforts of our generation of educational researchers.