Abstract
Through exploring the author’s experiences of working with five teachers who undertook an action research project for their master’s dissertations, this article establishes that it is possible for critical participatory action research to address issues around the perceived de-professionalization of teachers, and challenge the exploitative nature of education within English state schools. Semi-structured interviews with five teachers showed that this was an empowering experience, which provided a number of benefits, including an increased sense of professionalism, and that they would recommend action research to other teachers. Their experiences and insights have been used to discuss options for implementing action research more widely, identifying potential challenges and suggesting possible solutions. Based on both sets of experiences, I suggest that it would be valuable for action research to be implemented more widely within the English education system, as a method of addressing teachers’ frustrations around accountability and performativity.
Highlights
This article explores the question, ‘To what extent can action research mitigate the perceived de-professionalization of teachers and challenge the exploitative nature of education?’ I examine this question through reflection on my experiences of working with teachers who have undertaken action research projects, and through semi-structured interviews with teachers who used action research for their master’s dissertations
Based on both sets of experiences, I explore whether implementing action research more widely within the English education system would be a valuable opportunity for addressing teachers’ perceived lack of autonomy and feelings of helplessness related to accountability and performativity
I suggest that for action research to have impact, there would need to be a forum for teachers to share ideas and develop practice across the sector. This could be achieved by encouraging teachers to write for professional journals, which would reinforce their feelings of professionalism. These findings demonstrate that critical participatory action research can successfully address issues around accountability and performativity, which have significant impact on teachers’ job satisfaction, and retention, but they emphasize that teachers need to be allowed time and space for reflection in order for such projects to have the desired outcomes
Summary
This article explores the question, ‘To what extent can action research mitigate the perceived de-professionalization of teachers and challenge the exploitative nature of education?’ I examine this question through reflection on my experiences of working with teachers who have undertaken action research projects, and through semi-structured interviews with teachers who used action research for their master’s dissertations. Appraisal requirements and performance-related pay have resulted in significant variations in the demands placed on teachers in different schools, affecting both school turnover and attrition, as Sims and Jerrim (2020) found They took the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) data for English schools and linked it to data from the School Workforce Census (SWC), which provides information about all state-funded schools in England, to investigate variations in working conditions, and to determine the effects of working conditions on job satisfaction, turnover and retention. Teachers in schools where leadership teams created supportive cultures and gave teachers the autonomy necessary to do their job reported higher levels of job satisfaction, and they were less likely to leave their job, or the profession This shows that individual school leaders can put measures in place to address issues affecting teacher retention. We provide an overview of action research, followed by an exploration of my experiences of introducing master’s students to action research
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