This paper summarises research presented in the symposium organised by the Groupe International de Recherche sur l’Enseignment de la Physique (GIREP) on content-focused research and research-based instruction. A specific topic area, electromagnetism, was chosen to provide focus and continuity. The interpretative ideas developed by physicists to account for electromagnetic phenomena and the mathematical formalism used to represent these ideas make the subject ideal for exploring issues in learning and teaching that include the impact of students’ prior real-world experiences, their understanding of the nature of the interpretative process and their ability to relate formalism to phenomena. Electromagnetism also offers the opportunity to explore the relationships between macroscopic and microscopic models, as well as the ‘field’ concept. Thus the research findings presented have implications that go beyond the nominal content of electricity and magnetism. The symposium addressed learning among primary, secondary and university students pursuing careers as engineers or scientists and pre-service teachers. The themes include the study of conceptual knots related to the content, the implications for teacher training and the persistence of difficulties at the university level. Instructional approaches motivated by research findings were discussed. Researchers from Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United States presented results from their own investigations. As shown in this paper, the perspectives vary with regard to research questions, methods, interpretative frameworks and the role of specific research findings in driving educational innovation.
