Why Teacher Research Matters for Educational Research

Dr Ian ThompsonDepartment of Education

University of Oxford

• English Teacher• Action Researcher-PhD• Educational Researcher

Personal Context

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Teachers and Research

• Teacher research high visibility• Teaching Schools • National College for Teaching and Leadership:

Education Endowment Foundation; CfBT; teacher research conferences

• Ben Goldacre- rigour/validity RCT like• Action research/practioner research

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Department for Education Priority

• Evidence based practice for teaching and learning

• Whether policy reforms make a difference in practice

• Teachers identifying research • DfE (2013): The most important outcome of our

shared approach to research should be that teaching practice becomes increasingly based on rigorous evidence of what works.

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But: Academic Critiques

• Dylan Wiliam ‘The Research Delusion.’ TES April 2015• “Researching is a particular skill. Some of us took

years to gain that skill. Asking teachers to be researchers? They are not. I want to put the emphasis on teachers as evaluators of their impact. Be skilled at that. Whereas the whole research side, leave that to the academics.” John Hattie TES April 2015

• ‘Evidence-based education is dead — long live evidence-informed education’ Tom Bennett TES April 2015

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Implications: a False Dichotomy

Teacher Research 1. Done by teachers and

schools2. Small scale3. Aims to improve existing

practice 4. Aims to have impact by

producing better student outcomes

Academic research 1. Done to teachers and

schools2. Large scale3. Aims to research teaching

and learning in schools by examining existing practice or by testing interventions

4. Aims to have impact by informing policy

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How do we know what works?

• Research effective when theory and practice combine- McIntyre ‘practical theorising’

• Collaboration between schools and university• Range of research methods to answer

important questions• 2 mixed methods examples: • Closing the Gap; Test and Learn• Collaboration for Effective learning and

teaching: mixed methods, research champions

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Responding to Knowledge Society

As casualties • Coach children to memorise

standardised learning

• Learn to teach as they are told

• Work harder; learn alone

• Treat parents as consumers and complainers

• Perform emotional labour

• Respond to imposed change with fearful compliance

• Trust no one (including research)

As transformers• Flexible and creative teaching• Problem-solving(inclusiveness) • Professional trust (security) • Risk-taking • Continuous improvement • Respond to change through

knowledge of local context• Collective intelligence

(trust)

Oxford’s Cultural Historical Contexts

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Oxford Education Deanery

• Research collaboration between schools and the University that responds to the needs of local schools and works to ensure that the findings are effectively embedded and evaluated in schools’ practice.

• Aims to: • build capacity in schools for making knowledge visible

and open to scrutiny;• sharing of the knowledge that matters in being a

teacher;• researching topics that matter for the profession.

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Teacher Research Matters

• Real value and impact of teacher research is both on pupils’ learning and teachers’ engagement with research.

• Sharing of teacher research a way to re-engage schools and teachers both with each other and with the wider research community.

• Enjoy the Showcase