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Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary,Elementary and Early Years EducationPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rett20

Changing primary classroom practice throughteacher researchRosemary Webb aa University of YorkPublished online: 30 Jul 2007.

To cite this article: Rosemary Webb (1996) Changing primary classroom practice through teacher research,Education 3-13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education, 24:3, 18-26, DOI:10.1080/03004279685200271

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CHANGING PRIMARY CLASSROOM PRACTICE THROUGH TEACHER

RESEARCH

]8

Rosemary Webb University of York

'It is difficult to see how teaching can be improved or how curricular proposals can be evaluated without self-monitoring on the part of teachers. A research tradition which is accessible to teachers and which feeds teaching must be created if education is to be significantly improved.' (Stenhouse, 1975, p 165)

INTRODUCTION While the origins of various forms of teacher research go back to the turn of the century (for a review of these, see Webb, 1990), contemporary approaches in Britain are generally viewed as being derived from Stenhouse's pioneering work in the 1960s and 1970s (see for example, Stenhouse, 1975; Rudduck and Hopkins, 1985). Stenhouse questioned the traditional relationship between educational research and changes in classroom practice, whereby teachers were expected to adopt approaches to curriculum development and teaching methods that had been 'proved' by academic researchers to be successful. Instead he argued that teachers should take the claims of such researchers as working hypotheses to be systematically evaluated in classrooms and on the basis of evidence subsequently adopted, modified or rejected. The Schools Council Humanities Curriculum Project (HCP) between 1967 and 1972 is an early example of the translation of these ideas into practice through working with teacher researchers in curriculum development and pedagogy in secondary schools. The Ford Teaching Project (1972-75), which set out to understand and overcome the difficulties posed by the implementation of inquiry-discovery methods, involved John Elliott, a former member of

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the HCP team, in developing approaches to classroom research with primary teachers.

Since that period, and especially within the last decade, teacher research has become widespread, particularly within the context of higher degrees and LEA-supported curriculum development and school management projects. Within higher education some distinct 'schools' of teacher research have become established - see, for example, the emphasis on 'practical' action research for the development of professional understanding and improvements in practice (EIliott, 1991 ); the 'living educational theory' approach associated with Whitehead's work at the University of Bath (Whitehead, 1989); and 'emancipatory action research' advocated at Deakin University (Carr and Kemmis, 1983). Increasingly, teachers' research is being published (see for example, Hustler et al, 1986; Lomax, 1991 ; Vulliamy and Webb, 1992c), thus providing examples both of the research process and of teachers' ideas and theories which are of direct relevance to other teachers because they offer alternative ways of understanding shared experiences and acting to effect improvements.

The comments of two teachers, with whose projects I was involved at the beginning of my work as a facilitator of teacher research at the University of York, well illustrate the potential of teachers researching their own classrooms to bring about a greater understanding of pupils' perceptions and experiences. The first comment is from Doreen Gregson, who researched into junior children's use of library books to find information to support their topic work. As a result of working alongside the children and trying to do the tasks that she and a colleague had set, she reflected:

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'After I studied my own behaviour in the library, I looked on that of the children with new insight. What had seemed like aimless movement was perhaps simply an intelligent reaction to the realities of the situation, and the gradual breakdown of behaviour and growth of boredom a natural reaction to frustration.' (Gregson, 1990, p 42)

From her research came a recognition of the value of the teacher placing herself in the child's situation, of the need to teach children strategies for coping with the sometimes inevitable failure to find relevant resource material and of the ways in which in her practice she frequently responded to the symptoms rather than the causes of pupils' difficulties - for example, reacting to minor classroom misbehaviour rather than seeking to understand the reasons for it.

The second comment is from a science coordinator in a middle school, who set out to develop the use of groupwork in her science teaching. As she tried out ideas, she collected information about her science teaching through keeping a diary, asking a colleague and her tutor to observe some lessons and provide feedback, interviewing pupils and taping groupwork. Listening to the tapes she had her expectations of pupils' achievements challenged, which in several cases led her to a major reassessment of their abilities:

'One thing that I was quite stunned by was the ability of some children, who you would class as having learning difficulties, and the contribution that they made in the working groups ... One of the boys, who went for special remedial reading lessons, quite clearly in his group was organising the work and coming up with some very good ideas and questioning a lot of what was happening ... I thought, well this isn't right, if a child has this ability and I haven't recognised it.' (Interview reported in Vulliamy and Webb, 1991, p

228)

These initial projects, and many of those that have followed since, have convinced me of the value of such research, especially for the increased understanding it can give of pupils' perspectives on their schooling and the ways in which they learn.

This article considers the kinds of activities that constitute teacher research and the qualities which

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ideally characterise teacher researchers. It argues that teacher research can make a valuable and distinct contribution to many aspects of school life and work, especially classroom practice where the claims and counter claims about what constitutes good teaching can be explored and tested. However, it acknowledges the criticisms most commonly made of teacher research and the factors which constrain both the successful conduct of such research and the changes which are intended to arise from it. Finally, the benefits the research process can have both for the confidence and self-image of individual teachers, and for the culture of a school as a whole, are identified.

WHAT IS TEACHER RESEARCH? Teacher research is a form of self-reflective enquiry, large or small, initiated and carried out by teachers into an aspect of their practice, it involves the systematic collection and analysis of evidence in order to understand that practice better and eventually to introduce improvements. Data collection could extend over several years, such as the doctoral research currently being carried out by the head of a small school into the impact of current legislation on the development of her own school and those within her cluster group. Alternatively, it might be on a very small scale, such as that carried out by a teacher who videoed the discussion in her classroom following the reading of an anti-sexist fairy tale and through watching it with colleagues reflected on the implications for the school's approach to equal opportunities.

Teacher research can take the form of a case study - broadly defined as a detailed portrayal of a particular pupil, group of pupils, lesson, event or issue - which offers the teacher researcher the possibility of gaining in-depth insights into an area of personal interest or acknowledged difficulty. It might be an evaluation to establish the effectiveness of a policy in action, a teaching method or a set of teaching materials, and to identify intended and unintended outcomes. Alternatively, it might be action research. Many competing and sometimes confusing definitions exist of action research. As acknowledged by Elliott (1981), such definitions frequently incorporate the notion of a cycle or spiral which involves identifying a problem,

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devising and implementing a proposed solution and researching its effects:

'this total process - review, diagnosis, planning, implementation, monitoring effects - i s called action research, and it provides the necessary link between self-evaluation and professional development.' (p ii)

According to definitions such as the above, the main distinction between action research and case-study research and evaluation is that the improvements in practice suggested by the findings are an integral part of the research process, rather than the resultant changes taking place once the research has finished. However, perhaps in acknowledgement of the time, commitment and effort required to incorporate all these stages with equal rigour and thoroughness into a teacher research project, a more recent and more straightforward definition provided by Elliott (1991) is that action research is 'the study of a social situation with a view to improving the quality of action within it' (p 69). On this definition all forms of teacher research might be deemed action research.

Teacher research may be undertaken by individuals - for example, a teacher might seek to examine her use of praise and censure in her interactions with her class in order to develop additional strategies to promote good behaviour and to boost pupil self- esteem. However, it is usually a collaborative enterprise because the researcher needs to understand the feelings, experiences and opinions of those involved in the research, but this collaboration can exist in different degrees. Even if a teacher is researching an aspect of her own teaching and not involving colleagues, she will be likely to seek pupil perspectives or involve them in the project - for example, discussions with pupils were essential for a teacher who was researching the effects of alternative arrangements of tables and classroom furniture on pupil concentration and motivation. Projects, which involve interviewing colleagues and/or asking them to collect data, are likely to promote staff discussion and interest in the topic being investigated. For example, a teacher asking colleagues to make notes for a week on the ways in which they used volunteer helpers in their classrooms provoked considerable discussion in the staffroom, especially on issues of classroom management, attitudes to discipline and cooperative

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planning. Alternatively, from the outset, a project might involve all the teachers in a school with a view to working collaboratively to bring about change. In such a context it is important to ensure the full democratic participation of all involved, including reaching agreement on the ownership of the data and the uses to which their data may be put (for discussion of the ethical principles governing teacher research and an example of these set out in an ethical code, see Altrichter et al, 1993). Dadds' (1995) account of Vicki's action research studies, undertaken in her own school as part of an Advanced Diploma course, reveals the personal demands, heartaches and dilemmas of working in this way. However, it is also a powerful testimony to the benefits collaboration brought to the research process, to Vicki's own learning, to her colleagues and to the children.

Collaborative projects can extend across schools or LEAs. For example, in Bradford the LEA have set up a DfEE GEST-funded Achievement in Multilingual Schools (AIMS) project which is supporting groups of teachers from 45 of the LEA's first, middle and high schools in action research into aspects of improving access to the curriculum and developing the English language skills of their bilingual pupils. The schools have devised their own initiatives on issues such as schemes to promote partnership with parents, the development of reading, writing and oracy and the language of specific curriculum areas such as mathematics, science and technology - all of which have a classroom focus. Such collaborative enquiry provides a support and information network for the teachers involved and enables the issues to be investigated from a variety of perspectives and across key stages, different subject areas and staff hierarchies. Also, the greater the number of staff involved, the stronger the likely impact of the project and the greater commitment to the subsequent implementation of changes within the schools.

WHO ARE TEACHER RESEARCHERS? This definition of the action researcher~teacher researcher taken from the mid-1950s - amended to remove the suggestion that all action researchers are male - exactly sums up what the role is about:

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'The action researcher is a person who does not feel that he (she) has all the facts and knows all the answers. He (she) tries to gather facts and carefully assess and delineate the problem. Rather than resorting to propaganda techniques, he (she) tries to ask and search for evidence when he himself (she herself) or other members present opinions. Rather than having a pre-designed solution, and predefined judgments, he (she) states solutions tentatively as hypotheses to be tested. He (she) withholds judgments and conclusions until evidence is collected and analysed.' (Passow et al, 1955, p 143)

Research findings of all kinds can all too readily be used as propaganda, as was well illustrated by the selective use of findings in the PRINDEP report on one LEA (Alexander, 1992) by some politicians and the media to attack progressive approaches to primary education. Heads and those with positions of responsibility have to guard against using their research to manipulate colleagues to work in certain predetermined ways. All teachers have to be careful to avoid only collecting data which serve to justify their actions and support their prejudices. Teacher researchers, as all researchers, have to strive to be open-minded and to acknowledge their personal beliefs, preferences and assumptions and actively seek evidence to challenge these.

However, just in case the notion of doing research seems too esoteric and open-mindedness problematic in a context where certainties - whether from the mouths of politicians or the print of OFSTED inspections - seem to abound, then it is necessary to stress that teacher researchers are:

'"normal" teachers, who reflect on their practice to strengthen and develop its positive features. They are not prepared to accept blindly the problems they face from day to day, but instead they reflect upon them and search for solutions and improvements. They are committed to building on their strengths and to overcoming their weaknesses. They wish to experiment with new ideas and strategies, rather than letting their practice petrify.' (Altrichter et al, 1993, p 5)

While the current continual pressure for change may make most teachers feel there is little chance of

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petrification, trying to keep abreast of demands has led many teachers to believe opportunities must be found to reflect critically on and evaluate the changes in order to learn from them and to consolidate achievements.

WHY CARRY OUT TEACHER RESEARCH? Drawing on comments made to me by teacher researchers and research carried out into one of our part-time MA programmes (Vulliamy and Webb, 1991), a sizeable list of potential reasons for carrying out teacher research, some of which have already been mentioned, emerges:

• to improve classroom practice and the quality of pupil learning experiences

• to identify the differences between policy and practice, rhetoric and reality

• to inform and stimulate school discourse about educational problems

• to provide evidence to inform decision making and the writing of policies

• to assist teachers to manage externally driven change creatively

• to enhance the capacity of teachers to explain and justify their practices

• to enable teachers to develop critical distance on events

• to evaluate claims about, and to contribute to, theories on effective classroom practice

• to develop skills of data collection and analysis useful for pupil assessment, appraisal, monitoring and evaluation

• to provide findings to use as a resource for school- based INSET

• to make the school a learning organisation for the teachers as well as for pupils

• to increase teachers' confidence and enhance their self-image

• to contribute to educational debate at local and national level

Research into teachers' work (see, for example, Campbell and Neill, 1994; Webb and Vulliamy, 1996) reveal the extremely heavy workloads generated by the introduction of the National Curriculum, its associated testing and subsequent reforms such as the introduction of the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational

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Needs. However, throughout the post-ERA period primary teachers have continued to enrol on research- based part-time higher degree courses. This is despite the increased demands made on teachers and the fact that, whereas a targe number of course members were previously funded by their LEA, they nearly all now pay for themselves. The reasons given are varied but the majority of course members at the University of York appear to view carrying out research as a means of both experiencing intellectual stimulation and professional development and gaining additional support in understanding government-imposed changes and introducing them in ways beneficial to their schools. The former is viewed as especially important in a context where much externally provided INSET is about information updates and the provision of technical skills 'to get the job done'.

Topics for classroom-focused research are plentiful and the following may prove useful as starting points:

• an aspect of practice of particular interest or concern, eg feedback given to children during lessons

• role responsibility, eg the teaching of a coordinator's subject

• particular areas of whole schoor concern, eg lunchtime discipline

• the attitudes, values and views of colleagues, eg in relation to the use of classroom assistants

• a surprising set of facts, eg higher or lower scores on reading tests than anticipated

• a major event, eg the opening of a nursery or creation of a special unit

• published research findings, eg Brown and Wragg (1993) on teachers' questions

• claims in OFSTFD reports, eg on insufficient differentiation

• media coverage, eg TES report on classroom seating arrangements (Hastings and Schwieso, 1994)

• new legislation or government directives, eg the Code of Practice

Plentiful advice exists on designing a project and formulating research questions (see, for example, Vulliamy and Webb, 1992b) and selecting the most appropriate techniques for data collection (see, for example, McKernan, 1991; Altrichter et al, 1993). Teacher-research evidence can be gathered through a range of data collection techniques including:

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• interviews (Powney and Watts, 1987) • observations (Wragg, 1994) • diaries (Holly, 1984) • document analysis (Hitchcock and Hughes, 1989,

chapter 5)

In relation to data collection from pupils, strategies can be devised to give additional access to their views, such as group discussions, the use of simulations, asking pupils to provide drawings, make diary entries, complete questionnaires, interview other pupils and seeking their cooperation in simple experiments to trial new ideas. As demonstrated by Gregson (1990), carrying out tasks set for pupils can be very insightful and, where feasible, pupil shadowing can also supply thought-provoking information.

CRITICISMS OF TEACHER RESEARCH Conducting teacher research requires time, commitment and a willingness to take risks and to experience feelings of uncertainty and at times inadequacy. This is the case whether the research be part of a large project or on a very small scale. The teacher referred to earlier, who videoed the response to her storytelling, had to set up the video-recorder, be prepared to try out new kinds of materials and have the confidence to invite colleagues to share and comment on the video, which contained not only evidence of pupil perceptions but also of her practice in managing whole-class discussion. Carrying out research challenges assumptions and frequently generates data which suggest that there are problems with aspects of practice previously viewed as successful or challenge the worthwhileness of initiatives in which the teacher researcher has invested considerable faith and energy. Without support and encouragement from colleagues and/or project facilitators this phase of a project can be a depressing, even extremely threatening, experience, which could lead at best to certain findings being ignored or at worst the research being abandoned leaving the researcher demoralised.

While teachers have many relevant skills to bring to research, such as observational and communication skills, they are not trained in research methods. Adding the role of researcher to the growing number of roles and responsibilities that teachers are expected

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to fulfil may be unrealistic and contribute further to a sense of 'doing nothing properly'. Also, the initial problem of over-familiarity with the situation being researched, which prevents anything being recorded other than the taken-for-granted and well known, is one experienced by the majority of teacher researchers. Making the familiar strange can be achieved through contrasting descriptions and understanding of an issue in different types of schools or countries. For example, across the countries in Europe there are different meanings and practices associated with what is termed whole-class teaching. Other strategies are to be clear from the outset of the precise focus and purpose of the research and to formulate five or six questions to guide data collection and to help guard projects from formlessness, digression and/or unmanageable expansion.

Criticisms are levelled at teacher research that it seldom brings about radical or fundamental changes but tends to lead only to slight modifications of existing practice. In part this is linked with views that teachers often fail to recognise or choose to ignore the wider institutional and social processes which impinge on the changes that can be made (Grundy, 1987). However, a problem that I have encountered in facilitating teacher research, especially that which is conceived as action research involving a cycle such as suggested by Elliott (1981), is that it can give rise to a considerable amount of action, but relatively little activity which could be characterised as research. In a higher degree context this becomes very apparent at the writing-up stage when the data presented are thin, there is little analysis and claims are not well substantiated. However, in action research projects, where writing up is not a requirement, the relationship or lack of relationship between the practical solutions posed and research findings may be hidden. For this reason it is important that alternative ways are found to enable the research process, especially the approach to data analysis, to be subjected to scrutiny. A colleague might be invited to act as a 'critical friend' - someone who agrees to examine critically research procedures and findings (see, for example, Altrichter et al, 1993) - and/or the research could be presented at a meeting at school or LEA level of those whose policy and practice were likely to be expected to

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change as a result of the findings or who had similar interests or were working on a related project.

Analysing data to uncover possible meanings and implications is always a difficult and demanding process for all researchers. While some guidance is available (see, for example, Vulliamy and Webb, 1992a) there is considerably less written on analysis than on data collection. Therefore, the dominance of description over analysis in many accounts is unsurprising but needs addressing:

'Some see in case study a requirement to create large amounts of descriptive data but they resist the opportunity to theorise. The result is often that studies and reports are filled with slabs of lightly edited transcript which are organised into ad hoc categories but there is little questioning or demonstrated understanding of the problem of making it mean something. Often, it seems, we refer to 'grounded theory' as a reference point, but use it to produce all ground and no theory.' (Schratz and Walker, 1995, p 168)

To omit to search the data rigorously and exhaustively until all themes, issues, patterns and ideas have been uncovered is to miss opportunities to learn from the work undertaken.

Once this first level of analysis has been carried out, further analysis and theorising can be greatly helped by consulting a range of literature which provides alternative interpretations and explanations for the findings as well as practical solutions to problems. However, teachers are extremely busy and have difficulties fipding time to read the documentation shaping their work emanating from national bodies such as the DfEE, OFSTED and SCAA, let alone carrying out literature reviews. Unfortunately, this limits teachers' insights into their research findings and prevents them benefiting from the outcomes of related projects.

A further perceived limitation of teacher research, which is frequently argued by educational researchers, is that, while it may lead to the improvement of the individual or small group of teachers actually carrying out the research, the findings are not generalisable to other contexts and thus cannot contribute to the development of theory. However, Bassey (1981; 1990) draws an important distinction between 'generalisability' and 'relatability'.

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He argues that the findings of much traditional educational research, whilst supposedly generalisable because they are derived from large samples, are perceived by teachers as unrelatable to the realities of their specific classroom situations. By contrast, given an in-depth analytic portrayal of a particular classroom instance, event, issue or approach to teaching, then teachers can readily relate aspects of such a portrayal to their own experience and derive understanding and assistance from it.

RESEARCH AND THE SCHOOL CONTEXT Dearing's notional 20 per cent of curriculum time for schools to exercise curriculum choice appears difficult to realise in practice. The impact of subject requirements at Key Stage 2, pronouncements on effective pedagogy by politicians and inspectors and the pressures of OFSTED inspections combine to make teachers feel that their practice is increasingly shaped by values and criteria external to their schools. However, while the political and media 'discourse of derision' (Ball, 1990) is demoralising for primary teachers, the debates generated by the implementation of recent legislation have raised the profile of primary education. As stressed by Altrichter et al (1993), teachers need to engage in this debate and use it constructively for professional development and school improvement:

'The current period of rapid social change (while challenging stability) offers exciting possibilities for the educational system to build a more dynamic culture of teaching and learning in schools. This implies a need, however, for teachers and heads individually and collaboratively to reflect upon their practice, analyse the functioning of their institution and its strengths and weaknesses, develop perspectives for the future, translate them into actions and structures, and monitor their impact on real situations.' (pp 5-6)

Teacher research, especially when undertaken collaboratively as a whole-school project, can greatly contribute to the process of teachers taking back control of classroom practice through enabling decisions to be made on the basis of informed judgement, thus giving teachers additional confidence in those decisions and the evidence to justify them.

The conduct and impact of teacher research is both determined by the school environment in which it is carried out and can make a positive contribution to the nature of that environment. Factors such as a supportive head, collegial staff relationships and good channels of communication aid the research process and assist and sustain subsequent changes in practice, whereas the converse of these exert considerable constraints on what can be achieved. Webb and Vulliamy (1996) have described ways in which teachers working together on National Curriculum implementation and assessment have encouraged the sharing of anxieties and ideas and developed collaborative approaches to planning and policy making. However, they have also noted the growth of more top-down directive managerial styles as a response to the amount and pace of change, the pressures of OFSTED inspections, the adoption of quality assurance mechanisms and increasing accountability to governors and parents. Thus the beliefs and practices associated with collaborative working appear to co-exist in a state of tension with the growth in managerialism. In his research with teachers, Hargreaves (1994) found that the necessity to get together at prescribed times in order to tackle work imposed by external requirements often resulted in what he characterises as 'contrived collegiality' i 'a safe administrative simulation of collaboration'. 'It replaces spontaneous unpredictable and difficult-to- control forms of teacher generated collaboration with forms of collaboration that are captured, contained and contrived by administrators instead' (p 196). Teacher research offers a unique opportunity for teacher-generated collaboration on an area of particular interest or concern to a group of teachers or the whole school that through its processes contributes to the development of a cooperative and reflexive school ethos which stimulates and supports professional development.

CONCLUSION This article has argued that teacher research can bring a range of benefits to teachers and to schools. The most important of these for the improvement of classroom practice is the greater understanding of pupils' learning which arises from teachers spending additional time talking in depth with pupils,

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observing their activities and interactions and analysing their experiences and behaviours.

Most teacher research is carried out in order to bring about changes designed to effect improvements in the situation studied. While in action research the intent is that action should be taken and monitored as part of the research process, in all teacher research changes are likely to occur not only at the end of the project, as a result of the implications of the findings, but also during the enquiry process, owing to the reflection and discussion that it usually generates among research participants. The potential impact of teacher research on a school is greatly increased if the headteacher recognises its value and from the outset provides moral and practical support. Opportunities for progress reports and disseminating emergent findings are important to keep alive interest in the work and create expectations that ultimately well informed changes will result. However, the nature, extent and duration of any change subsequently implemented will be determined by the commitment and rigour with which the research is carried out, the quality of the findings and the ability to meet allotted or self- imposed deadlines so that the impetus for the work and the opportunities for influencing policies and events are not lost.

The multiple innovations that have been thrust on schools since the Education Reform Act 1 988 have meant that the pace and quantity of changes required has left many teachers feeling exhausted. Many of the requirements - - for example, much record keeping - are extremely time-consuming, involve monotonous clerical work and are perceived as providing minimal benefit to pupils, parents or teachers in return for all the effort expended. Much of the time that used to be spent getting to know pupils and providing extra-curricular clubs and other activities has been filled up with paper work. As Jeffrey and Woods (1 995) put it: 'bureaucratisation is developing into an iron cage where routinisation mechanises almost every aspect of human life, eroding the human spirit and capacity for spontaneous action' (p 6). Teacher research can be an antidote to bureaucratisation, freeing the creative spirit. It provides an opportunity for teachers to take control of the development of their classroom practice, to put the focus of their time and effort

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firmly back on pupils and to develop closer relationships with them through seeking their views on classroom issues and involving them in the research process. Another recurrent theme in teachers' comments is that 'nowadays all the fun has gone out of teaching'. Fun is regarded as a vital component in making teaching enjoyable and satisfying and thereby creating a positive, lively classroom environment conducive to pupil learning. Working with pupils as researchers on a classroom- focused project can supply that vital component.

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