Building Knowledge Together: CfSA Explores Collaboration with MESH Guides
By: David Wallace-Hare (CfSA Membership and Communications Administrator)
On Wednesday (Sept 25th) afternoon, members of the Council for Subject Associations gathered online to explore an exciting collaboration opportunity with MESH (Mapping Education Specialist Know-how), a charity dedicated to preserving and sharing educational research and practitioner knowledge.
What is MESH?
Professor Sarah Younie, Professor Marilyn Leisk, and Dr Linda Devlin introduced MESH as an independent educational charity founded over a decade ago in response to government changes that restricted access to teacher research. As Sarah explained: “Our research that we’d been doing for teachers was no longer accessible, because there’d been an ideological change in government. So we felt it was really important to set up a charity that kept research for teachers free at point of access.”
The platform aims to create online knowledge maps similar to Wikipedia, quality-assured, peer-reviewed guides covering pedagogy, curriculum, and subject-specific expertise. All content is published under Creative Commons licensing, making it freely accessible to teachers worldwide.
Why This Matters for Subject Associations
MESH’s vision resonates strongly with the work of subject associations. As Sarah noted: “What we wanted was to create a knowledge exchange platform… that the knowledge in the maps, the MESH guides, was research-based and evidence-informed, that we could build on innovation for the profession.”
The platform currently reaches over 200 countries, but significant gaps remain across the curriculum. This is where subject associations can play a crucial role. The MESH team emphasized that subject associations are the real experts: “The subject associations, they’re the experts in the curriculum areas. It’s not expertise that we’ve got, it belongs to the members and the subject associations.”
Multiple Pathways to Contribution
The discussion revealed several ways subject associations and their members could engage:
- Doctoral and Master’s Research
Linda Devlin highlighted the untapped potential of educational research: “We have hundreds of doctoral students across the country. Their work is not necessarily shared very widely… the MESH guides with them as a way of sharing the outcomes from their doctoral study.” - Practitioner Knowledge
The team emphasized the value of teachers’ tacit knowledge. Marilyn recalled an early success: “I sat down with him, and I said, what is it you know now that you wish you’d known before as a teacher? And he was able to give the outcomes of his research, just A, B, C, D, like that, because as a teacher, and having done the research, he knew what he’d found out that was valuable.” - Existing Resources
Linda encouraged associations to consider their existing work: “I think there’s… we’re very interested in communication coming from yourselves about what are the things that you already hold, you know, within the association with projects or work that you’ve done before.” - AI-Assisted Summarization
Marilyn explained how technology can streamline the process: “We’re using AI tools to summarize either research reports or PhDs… the AI tools can convert… can draw out of a PhD the essential knowledge within moments, actually.”
What MESH Guides Offer Teachers
The guides provide quick, accessible summaries featuring:
- Sources of evidence and research
- Definitions and key issues
- Practical implications for teachers
- Classroom resources and case studies
- Links to deeper reading
The platform also includes a YouTube channel for short videos, a podcast series, and translation capabilities for international contexts.
Moving Forward
The meeting concluded with agreement to develop a follow-up communication for CfSA members, with Andy (former CfSA chair and MESH participant) serving as liaison between the two organizations.
Sarah’s closing invitation captured the collaborative spirit of Stronger Together: “Please feel that this is the start of a discussion, and that you’re very welcome to continue talking with us… If you’ve got any questions that occur to you after we finish the meeting, please feel free to just email us.”
Key Takeaways for Subject Associations
- MESH offers a sustainable platform for preserving and sharing subject-specific knowledge
- No hierarchy exists—contributions welcome from organizations and individuals alike
- The work is pragmatic and volunteer-based, accommodating different timescales
- Guides are living documents that can be built upon and updated
- Recognition from UNESCO and OECD validates the platform’s international significance
For subject associations seeking to maximize the impact of their members’ expertise and research, MESH represents an opportunity to contribute to a growing, quality-assured knowledge base that serves teachers worldwide.
To explore collaboration opportunities with MESH, visit meshguides.org or contact the team directly.