This commentary observes that the contributions to this special issue of this journal not only show that the question of the relationship between research and practice is still very much alive today but they are also testimony to the persistent nature of this question. This suggests that the issue of the relationship between research and practice may well be an endemic feature of the field of education. The contributions to this special issue explore a range of different aspects of the relationship between research and practice in education with all starting from the assumption that there is a "gap" between research and practice. The question that is not addressed in any detail, however, concerns the different ways in which knowledge might be used and, more generally, the different ways in which educational research might be of practical relevance. It is as important to try to bridge gaps between research and practice as it is to keep a critical distance between the two, both from the side of educational research and from the side of educational practice.