In April 2016 three Higher Education organisations in Norway published a international state-of-the-art literature review on the relationship between research and education. These organisations are NIFU (the Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education, NOKUT (the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education) and the Research Council of Norway. This report examines literature on the relationship between research and education.
The review uncovered that literature in this area is inconclusive. The positive relationship between research and education in the tradition of Humboldt is supported by academic staff, but also taken for granted. At the same time, multiple studies show no relationship. However, the literature broadly does suggest that engaging students in student-active learning forms has positive effects on student learning outcomes. Overall, the evidence reveals a highly complex and multidimensional picture on the research- education relationship at different levels such as national, organizational/institutional, curriculum and individual.